CBD edibles aren’t anything new. Today, you can visit any vendor and find a whole selection of food and drink items infused with CBD. And while they might seem gimmicky at best, lots of customers vouch for their effects.
Needless to say, the wide availability of these products has raised a number of questions. For instance, if you can get your daily dose of CBD from edibles, could you possibly do the same with raw CBD flowers? Here’s what you need to know.
Of course, the first thing to ask would be whether it’s actually safe to eat raw hemp flowers. And the answer is yes. While it’s not exactly an accepted practice among hemp users, there’s no immediate danger to eating hemp flowers.
As a fibrous, plant-derived material, CBD hemp flower will act like psyllium husk which basically just passes through the system without getting digested because of its fibrous qualities.
But even if it’s safe, it’s not necessarily recommended. Eating raw CBD hemp flower will not produce the same effects as eating CBD-infused edibles or as smoking raw hemp flower, and the reason behind this is decarboxylation.
There’s a reason why smoking hemp flower is the most popular method of taking CBD doses. As is, the plant material itself contains cannabidiolic acid or CBDA. This organic compound is the inactive form of CBD.
When exposed to heat, CBDA converts to CBD, which is what interacts with your CBD1 and 2 receptors. Without decarboxylation, precursors remain as precursors, and you don’t actually get any CBD from the raw flower.
The same thing goes for every other cannabinoid in the hemp plant. Cannabinol for instance remains as cannabinolic acid or CBNA unless exposed to heat.
So ultimately, when you eat the raw flowers, you’re only eating the precursors of all of the cannabinoids in the plant, and thus you’re not actually getting any important or relevant compounds that would provide the effects of decarboxylated hemp.
The CBD used for CBD-infused edibles gets extracted from plants using specific methods that expose the compounds to heat. Prior to extraction, the hemp plant material is baked at specific temperatures to convert cannabinoid acids and turn them into actual active cannabinoids.
Once heated and extracted, the full spectrum substance gets mixed into various recipes and food items to produce CBD edibles. This can include things like cookies, chocolates, gummy candies, and even power drinks, and more.
This remains a gray area because of the limitations levied by the FDA. According to the 2018 Farm Bill, any part of the Cannabis sativa L. plant containing 0.3% THC or less will fall under the category of hemp and will thus be considered legal.
So all parts of the plant can be federally legal, given that they qualify as hemp. It’s important to remember however that the FDA has its own guidelines and restrictions as to how hemp can be used.
Although the plant and all of its parts might not get you in trouble, edibles aren’t necessarily approved by the FDA just yet. Without sufficient research to confirm that hemp doesn’t pose any health risks when consumed, the FDA maintains its position that hemp should not be taken as food, drink, or supplements.
On the upside, the restrictions fall mainly on businesses that sell and market these products. That’s why you’ll notice that most vendors will avoid making mention of certain phrases that could indicate that their products should be consumed even if they’re sold in the form of food and drink.
If however, you’re making your own edibles at home, the FDA can’t really pin you down for it. If anything, their mandates fall more heavily on brands, companies, and businesses that sell products and not on private individuals who like to mix things up in the comfort and privacy of their homes.
What’s nice about making your own CBD edibles is that you can access CBD oils and tinctures online that you can pretty much mix up with whatever food or drink you have at home. You can even make your own CBD tincture by extracting the cannabinoids using high-proof alcohol.
Once you’ve got CBD oil, tincture, extract, or resin, you can basically toss it into any recipe you have and make your own homemade CBD-infused edibles. Here are a few reasons you can try:
Butter is a versatile ingredient that can go with virtually anything. Whether it’s buttered vegetables, a decadent steak, or simply a couple of slices of toast, you can never really go wrong with CBD-infused butter.
Here’s how to make your own at home:
CBD butter (sometimes called cannabutter) also works well for baking. So whether you’re looking to make a pan of brownies or a small batch of cookies, breaking out the CBD butter can make for a wonderful way to enjoy your fresh baked goodies.
These are incredibly popular because they’re easy on the palate, easy to eat, and easy to conceal. But because some vendors overprice their CBD gummies, it might be more economical to make your own at home.
It’s always fun to break apart a big ol’ slab of chocolate bark. But it’s even better when your colorful candy bark contains just enough CBD to see you through the day.
CBD edibles aren’t as complicated as they seem. So before you shell out for those eye-popping expensive edibles in-store, try your own hand at it first. These easy recipes should open your eyes to the convenience of making your own homemade CBD-infused edibles minus the crazy costs.
