Indopedia All Things Marijuana
As the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, it’s no surprise that cooking and baking with cannabis is growing in popularity. In order to enjoy their pharmacological effects, THC and CBD need to be decarboxylated. To put it another way: no heat, no buzz!
Decarboxylation is a horrible word. It reminds many of us of those awful school chemistry lessons. But anyone who is interested in cooking and baking with cannabis needs to know what decarboxylation is all about.
Let’s start at the beginning: Cannabis consists of hundreds of cannabinoids. The best known of these, THC and CBD, are present in the plant in the form of what are known as carboxyl acids. This is why in this form they are also referred to as THC-A and CBD-A (‘A’ stands for acid).
When you heat these substances, the acid releases a carbon dioxide molecule in a process known as decarboxylation or activation. This is in fact the natural process of decay and the application of heat just serves to speed it up.
Why do you need to decarboxylate your…
