{This post is sponsored by Flower Child CBD}
CBD oil has many benefits and medicinal uses, the most popular being for all natural pain management. Learn how to make this homemade CBD infused oil, which can be used to make a topical CBD salve.
What is CBD?
Here is a video that explains more about CBD:
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”E1w2cxzz” upload-date=”2019-01-02T21:24:33.000Z” name=”What is CBD and How Can We Benefit From It?” description=”Learn more about CBD and its medicinal benefits.”]
Grow Your Own High CBD Cannabis
Recreational marijuana became legal in the state of Oregon in 2015, and I fully supported this law. Cannabis is a plant that was created by nature, god, mother earth, or whatever your belief system may be.
This past summer, we grew the four plants that we were legally allowed in containers in our backyard, next to our tomatoes and squash. We harvested it in the fall along with our other vegetable and herb crops.
We grew varieties that are high in a compound called CBD, which stands for cannabidiol. CBD does not get you high like THC does (another main component of cannabis), and is highly medicinal and pain relieving.
I decided to make some CBD infused oil for topical use using the Harlequin variety that we grew, which is extremely rich in CBD.
Learn more about how to grow your own organic cannabis here.
Harlequin High CBD Cannabis Variety
High CBD Cannabis Varieties
You will want to use a high CBD cannabis strain to make this infused oil. Some popular CBD strains are Harlequin, ACDC, Remedy, and Charlotte’s Web, but there are many others to choose from. Check with your local cannabis pharmacy to see what they have in stock.
If you are interested in growing your own I recommend buying seeds from Seedsman. They have a large selection of high CBD varieties and ship to nearly everywhere.
Legality of CBD in the United States
If you are unsure what the marijuana laws are in your state, here is a handy guide from NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).
There is a bit of controversy and misunderstandings surrounding the laws about CBD itself. There are many claims that pure CBD extract is legal in “all 50 states,” but that is actually not entirely true.
The wonderful folks over at Project CBD (such a great resource!) have spelled this out in clear detail when I questioned them about it:
“In the United States, CBD is classified as a Schedule 1 Drug, whether derived from industrial hemp or cannabis. CBD is not yet legal federally and it’s not legal in all 50 states, as is often claimed. The FDA has not approved CBD as a dietary or health supplement. All cannabinoids, whether psychoactive or not, are scheduled. All researchers attempting to study it must get a license from the Federal Government in order to do research. If it was legal, then there wouldn’t be so much difficulty getting more studies conducted on this compound. Selling CBD products in non-medical states seems to be a grey area in the law, but FDA recently busted people selling CBD in Massachusetts and Wisconsin. It isn’t out of the question to have legal action brought towards those selling CBD if they aren’t in a state recognized cannabis law.”
They also have a great page titled Sourcing CBD: Marijuana, Industrial Hemp, & the Vagaries of Federal Law that is an excellent read for more information on this.
Where to Buy CBD Oil
If you aren’t able to make your own, I have found an amazing place to buy super high quality organic CBD products! I searched high and low for a cannabis company I could recommend, and Flower Child CBD is it. They are a Colorado company, where recreational marijuana is legal, but they use pure CBD extract from organic hemp, so they are able to ship their products nationwide!
FlowerChild CBD created a 10% off coupon code to share with my readers. Use this code when you check out to get the discount: growforage10
I also have a list of my favorite CBD brands here.
Cannabis CBD Infused Oil Recipe
Disclaimer: I only endorse you making infused CBD oil at home if recreational or medical marijuana is legal in your state, and you have any required cards and/or licenses to do so!
Now let’s get to making this CBD infused oil! This recipe is intended for use as a topical pain relieving oil that can be used as is or turned into a salve. I will be making a salve from this oil, you can see my recipe for that here.
The first step once you have your dried buds from a high CBD strain is to decarboxylate them. This is actually an optional but recommended step, as it will make more of the CBD bioavailable to the body.
Luckily, it’s an easy process as well. Simply spread your buds out in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake at 230°F for 40 minutes.
As you may have noticed, we did not trim all of the inner leaves off of these buds, because they were covered with crystals that we didn’t want to go to waste!
Then put your decarbed cannabis buds into a jar and completely cover them with the carrier oil of your choice. I used a blend of approximately 25% unrefined coconut oil, 25% sweet almond oil, and 50% extra virgin olive oil.
Cover the jar with a lid and let sit in a dark place for at least six weeks. You may want to gently heat your oil a few times while it’s infusing, especially if you did not decarb your buds first. I like to do this in my Excalibur dehydrator, as it has excellent temperature control.
I don’t like to heat my oils at too high of a temperature in order to preserve the quality of the oil and to keep it from going rancid. This is not as much of an issue if you are making edibles rather than topicals, as they are generally consumed within a much shorter amount of time.
When you are ready to use the CBD oil, strain out the buds with a fine mesh sieve. If you want to make a super strong CBD infused oil, place a second round of decarbed buds into the oil and repeat the process.
You will end up with a highly fragrant and beautiful CBD rich oil!
There are many amazing uses for this oil, but the most popular use is probably for its pain relieving properties. Here is a list of all the medicinal benefits of CBD and its products, such as this oil.
I used this homemade CBD oil into a topical healing cannabis CBD salve, check out my recipe!
Or if you’d prefer, you can see my homemade cannabis CBD tincture recipe here.
Homemade Cannabis CBD Infused Oil
Ingredients
- 1 ounce high CBD cannabis buds
- 10 ounces carrier oil (I used a blend of approximately 25% unrefined coconut oil, 25% sweet almond oil, and 50% extra virgin olive oil.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 230°F.
- Decarboxylate dried buds by spreading your buds out in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 40 minutes.
- Put your decarbed cannabis buds into a jar and completely cover them with the carrier oil of your choice (use more oil if needed to cover).
- Cover the jar with a lid and let sit in a dark place for 4-6 weeks.
- When you are ready to use the CBD oil, strain out the buds with a fine mesh sieve.
HI. Thank you for this recipe. I am curious as to what happens to the unrefined coconut oil as it cools. The only type I could find is in a “paste” form when at room temp. Does this happen when its “soaking” with the buds?
Hi Grant—there is a liquid coconut oil that never goes hard but it is quite expensive. I found it at the Bulk Barn store but am sure it must be available at some grocery stores.
When it is mixed with other oils it doesn’t do that as much. You can always slightly warm it to liquify if needed.
Is there a cbd that helps with energy
Hi… I have a buddy who grows for his own self. He said I could have all the trims/leaves, and stems to make CBD salve. Will it work with just leaves and stems? Also I don’t want the THC in it because I have A-fib and THC causes my heart to go whacko.
Yes, it would work with leaves and stems. If you want low THC you need to make sure that the variety that you are using is a high CBD low THC variety.
how does u use cannabis infuse 190 ever clear proof? same dosage as cannaoil using coconut or olive oil?
Could you or would you think redehydrating the buds after the oil making process would work to grind and use in edibles like baked goods?
The buds are saturated with oil after the infusion process, so I don’t think that re-dehydrating them would be possible. Also, most of the CBD, THC, and other beneficial compounds will now be in the infused oil itself, rather than in the buds.
Do you know why this method would be preferable to gently heating the oil with ground up cannabis (I use coffee grinder)? It decarboxylates the CBD/THC directly into the oil. Thank you for this recipe.
I was under the impression that it was the drying or heating of the buds that activate the THC which is why I’m looking for cold fusion because it doesn’t make you high. My question is if you heat it in the oven wouldn’t that create the psychoactive effects?
Could this infused CBD oil recipe be used to give to my cat for pain? And does it help with joint pain?
It does help with joint pain, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea to use on your cat. Cats are much more sensitive to herbs than humans. I would consult with a veterinarian first.
Is there a way to estimate the milligrams of CBD that comes from your jar of oil?
If there is, I have no idea how to do it! 🙂
Hi, I’ve been reading through these comments. I’d like you share an app that I recently downloaded on my android called thc calculator. We purchased some buds called White Widow from our California dispensary. It says this particular strain is 17-19% thc. I’ll be using 1/4 oz in my recipe, which is 7gms. According to those figures, and knowing the amount of edibles (100 pcs), the calc say per dose will be 12.6mg thc each pc. I’m sure there’s a cbd calculator that’s similar.
A friend gave me some several years ago to see if it happened to help my psoriasis. It didn’t, but I was surprised it didn’t Anything you can recommend?
Hi GrowForageCookFerment! I’m wondering if you have been able to try out your infused oil and what your thoughts are about the results! Did it help with pain? It sounds very interesting. I wondered about tinctures for pain too. Thanks for sharing.
I turned my infused oil into a pain relieving salve (see the link for that recipe in the post) and it works very well, particularly for muscle pain.
How about eating the buds after … Maybe in baked goods. Not as potent for sure… Another way to get greens and roughage … And not as overwhelming.
Where do I find seeds to grow my own. I have looked on-line and most sellers are from another country.
I’m not sure about that. Recreational marijuana is legal where I live, so I bought my plants from the local cannabis pharmacy.
I am looking for medicine to ingest by mouth. Would you consider this an edible oil?
I would probably omit the sweet almond oil and just use coconut and/or olive oil.
I make healing oils with medicinal herbs. I use my crock pot on warm until the herbs are brittle. Would this method work with cbd buds?
Thank you for the post. I am also in Oregon and plan to use your recipe. Loved all the discussion too.
Pardon my naivety on this subject, but what is done with the buds used to make the oil? That looks like a whole lot there to not be usable. My state just passed mmj bill and I am going to try to get a card as soon as they hash out the details (which they already are pushing back date in the name of “safety”)
I usually just compost the buds afterwards. All the good stuff will be in the oil at that point, so there’s really no point saving them for any other use.
How much of the marijuana do you use to make 1 jar of oil? I really want to try to make the salve. I don’t want to use to little and it won’t work but I don’t want to over do it and waste buds that could be use to make more… If this works for me. I get migraines to the point of dizziness, fainting and vomiting and I would normally smoke cbd before it gets to the point of “death” but I can’t at work. I believe the cause of my migraine is the tension in my neck and shoulders. I hoping this will help relieve some of the symptoms so it doesn’t get so bad. Fingers crossed!
Honestly I didn’t really measure it, I just filled the quart sized jar almost full with bud and then poured the oil over it to cover. Hoping this will help you!
Thanks for the recipe, I’m starting this right now! Now my whole house smells like weed during the decarboxylating step…
Need options for dealing with joint pain but i also have aching biceps and am unable to work out. i do have medical cards. I have tried prescription drugs but prefer to use mj.
Thank you for posting this!! What are the quantities of bud to oil that you use?
Honestly I didn’t really measure it, I just filled the quart sized jar almost full with bud and then poured the oil over it to cover.
How true is it that it grows hair too.?
250F sounds really high. I would think a lower temperature would keep the properties stronger. I’m curious how that initial temp was decided on. This looks like a better method than I’ve seen before which I gave up on as its complicated. This gives me hope!
I did some research beforehand and that seems to be the generally agreed upon temp. for decarbing. You can definitely try it at a lower temp. though. When regular marijuana is smoked, it is decarbed by the direct flame that is put on it, so a decent amount of heat is needed to make the CBD and THC more bioavailable to us.
In order to make the black oil ,which you only take the half size of a grain of rice do a search on You Tube for Rick Simpson.There also are recipes on You Tube from others giving instructions on the making of the oil.
Do you sell your product? If so how much? I have used cannibus oil before and it worked very well. I am from California and pretty much chair bound from the pains of good old “Arthur”.
Unfortunately I don’t. I would have to have a license to sell (which I’m looking into getting), and even then I could only sell to dispenseries within the state of Oregon.
My next door neighbor grow it and it smells horrible. Everyone that comes to my house asked if we have skunk problems or gives us that knowing smile… how do you deal with the odor of the growing plants? It is pretty unbearable just coming from next door.
Thanks so much!
It’s a common smell around us, as many people grow their own in our area. It doesn’t bother me at all, I actually like it 🙂
What made you chose to use three different oils? Can I just use one type of oil?
Yes, you can use just one kind of oil if you want. I just really love the combination of coconut, sweet almond, and olive oils when I make a salve, which is what I’m planning on doing 🙂
I’m looking for a recipe to make FECO using Everclear or some other less toxic solvent than butane or rubbing alcohol. I will be using high CBD/high THC for this oil, as I want it to cause apoptosis. Will you be doing a tutorial on FECO soon?
foodchoicefreedom-you do everything the same except you ad the alcohol, and not rubbing alcohol but 100 proof alcohol, or Everclear–(some use 151 Rum) pour over your cannabas and let it soak for a few days. I strain mine and put in eye droppers, works great for pain by adding a dropper into whatever liquid you might be consuming. I have never tried it as a rub, only to take internally.
Very interesting. I’m up in Washington where it is legal and although I don’t use I’m not against it and am always interested in different medicinal uses. You just never know. ???? I do have a friend who takes it for MS and it has worked amazingly for pain. Better than the strongest prescriptions.
Where did you purchase your plants? Or seeds?
Because recreational marijuana is legal in Oregon, I was able to purchase clones from the local cannabis pharmacy down the street. Pretty cool 🙂