How to Make Cannabis Capsules with CBD or Whole Plant Extract

If you want to take advantage of an efficient and effective method of dosing your cannabis orally, then capsules might be a good option for you. This is a perfect method for users who want to avoid unwanted calories and extra ingredients. Sometimes, capsules are known as canna caps, and they are one of the more popular methods of using CBD. Many people consider them to be both effective and safe. You can measure your dose with ease, and your body can easily metabolize the capsules. You can find marijuana capsules in many dispensaries, but depending on where you get them, they can vary in their ingredients and potency.

About CBD Capsules 

Making capsules infused with CBD at home is a fun project to take on, and the process is relatively simple and inexpensive. The materials can be obtained at health food stores or online. It only takes a few hours to make your capsules, and you can do it with several different methods depending on the equipment and ingredients you have on hand. 

One way of making these capsules is by using soy lecithin and coconut oil. When combined, these ingredients can help your body better metabolize the cannabinoids as they move through your digestive system. That way, you can get more for your money.

Why Choose Capsules?

Currently, you can find many edibles when it comes to oral forms of CBD. That means that you can find a range of food items, such as chocolates and candies. Of course, having a treat every now and then is fine, too. Many people are in the habit of mixing marijuana and food. However, most people do not need to have an extra brownie or more in their diet each day. 

Many patients who use CBD also have chronic health issues, such as diabetes, and having extra sugar is not a good idea. To avoid these issues, CBD capsules are a perfect solution. They allow you to avoid ingesting extra sugar, and they can even let you have a more precise dosage. They can be easier to use for many people. 

Sometimes, it can be expensive to purchase premade capsules at certain dispensaries. The good news is that making your own can be less expensive than purchasing the premade ones from your local store.

Another advantage of using capsules is that capsules can be more concentrated. You can choose the dosage for each capsule, and depending on your reasons for using capsules, you might choose to make stronger or weaker ones. For instance, some people use the capsules to try to help with sleep disorders, seizures, cancer, depression, pain, or inflammation. 

For medical users, staying in control of the dosage is vital, and this is why so many people depend on capsules to take their marijuana. It is often harder to determine the size of the dosage when vaping or smoking. It is not always entirely clear how much has been taken after each hit. Plus, when you smoke cannabis, the terpenes often are burned off, and many people believe that the terpenes offer some advantages. You can get a more consistent and potent dosage when you use pills. 

Sometimes, smoking marijuana can cause lung irritation, wheezing, or coughing. Excess mucous might be produced, as well. Often, the air is too hot, which is what can cause this issue. Some people believe that combusting marijuana can cause potentially carcinogenic components to be produced. But with cannabis capsules, your digestive system will process the cannabinoids instead of your lungs. That will reduce any potential risk that might come from inhaling the burnt material. 

Uses of Coconut Oil and Cannabis

The dosing of your capsules will depend on many different factors, including how potent the materials are in the beginning and the ingredients that you use. There is no one perfect ratio of ingredients, but there are some good starting points, and then you can experiment from there to determine the best dose for you. If you want to know the true potency of the capsule, you would have to send them off to a lab for testing. If this is an option for you and you are serious about making your own capsules, don’t be afraid to go with this method. 

Making Your Capsules

To begin with, you will need some ingredients. This includes:

• 7 to 14 grams of a cannabis strain high in CBD — ground bud is often the best option
• 7 to 8 grams of soy lecithin 
• 109 grams of coconut oil
• Slow cooker or oven
• Several dozen gelatin capsules
• Capsule filling machine
• Cooking pot and lid
• Cheesecloth
• Syringe
• Baking tray
• Glass bowl
• Parchment paper
• Small bowl
• Rubber band
• Spatula

Decarboxylating the Cannabis

First, you will decarb your cannabis. You will preheat the oven to about 115 degrees Celsius. Next, you will grind the cannabis with a grinder and spread it across some parchment paper on your baking tray. The oven’s temperature might fluctuate a bit, so you should not set the oven any hotter than 120 degrees. If it is hotter, then you might begin to cook off the cannabinoids. 

You will bake the cannabis for around 30 to 45 minutes to ensure that it is decarboxylated right. Once it is done, you can take it out of the oven. If you will be using an oven instead of a slow cooker to infuse the oil, you can leave the temperature on at around 115 degrees. 

Infusing the Oil with an Oven

First, you will begin by filling the pot around three-quarters of the way with water. Bring it to a low boil. Now add in the soy lecithin and the coconut oil to a glass bowl and put this in the pot. It should sit a couple of inches above the water. This will produce just enough heat to begin to melt down the soy lecithin and the coconut oil, and then you can add in the ground marijuana.

Mix this together until it is blended well. Now, empty the hot water and put the oil mixture in the pot. Then, put your pot in the oven for around 30 to 45 minutes. Check on it every once in a while and mix it a bit. You can cook it longer if you like, but remember that heat can affect the potency of the CBD and make it less effective.

Infusing the Oil with a Slow Cooker

If you want to use a slow cooker instead of your oven, add the decarboxylated material, soy lecithin, and coconut oil to your slow cooker and turn it on to the lowest setting. Allow it to cook for around two hours or longer if you want. This will ensure that it is decarboxylated properly. Stir it several times each hour. Make sure that you check what temperature the cooker works at beforehand, so you can know how much time you might need. 

Filling the Capsules

While you are waiting for the oil mixture to infuse in your slow cooker or oven, prepare your gelatin capsules, as well as the capsule filling machine, if you are using one. Follow the package’s instructions when doing this. Using a capsule filling machine can make the process a lot easier and faster, but it is not required. You can use a pen to poke some holes into a box to hold your capsules as you are filling them instead. But many people who want to make their own capsules find that a machine is worthwhile. 

Now, take the cheesecloth and place it over the rim of the bowl with a rubber band. When the oil mixture is done, take it out of the oven or slow cooker and strain it through the cheesecloth and in the bowl. You can catch the unnecessary bits along the way. Once you are done, allow the oil to cool to a comfortable temperature, so you do not burn yourself. If it is too hot, you might cause the gelatin capsules to melt, as well, so check instructions on the package to see if this is the case. Let the oil cool as much as you can without letting it become solid. 

Once the oil is cool enough, fill your syringe. Follow the instructions on the packaging of the syringe beforehand since each one can work differently. Ensure that the oil is still warm enough that it is a liquid. Use the tapered tip on the syringe to place some oil in each of the capsules. 

Once you are done, look at the instructions of the filling machine on how to close each of your capsules. You might find that a couple of capsules are a little too full, so you can use some paper towels to wipe off any of the residue. 

You can store your capsules in a dark, cool place, such as the fridge, until it is time to use them. If you do them correctly, then the recipe can make as much as 45 to 50 capsules, depending on how much cannabis and oil were used to begin with. 

Other Variations

The effects of these capsules will depend a lot on the type of cannabis that you use during the extraction process. The more cannabinoids are in the material, the more potent your capsules will be. To increase the level of potency, you can infuse the coconut oil with marijuana resin that has gone through extraction as well. That might include one of the many solventless extracts you can find, such as rosin, or hash. You can also use BHO, but many people prefer to use a resin that has not been extracted using solvents. They believe that these resins are more natural. 

But if you choose to use a whole plant extract, remember that they are much more potent, and you should be careful. Depending on how high your tolerance is, you might choose to make the ratio higher or lower based on what you put in the capsule. 

You can also add some other ingredients to the capsules if you want to change them up a bit. For instance, some people like to add powdered cumin or a bit of black pepper to their capsules, as well. They believe that these ingredients might have potential anti-inflammatory effects and might increase the effects of the CBD in the capsules. 

Dosing Your Capsules

There are a few different variables that can affect your dosage. This includes the ratio of CBD material to oil, the potency of the cannabis strain, and how decarbed it was. The best way to determine how strong the capsules are is to take them off to a lab to be tested.

However, this can be expensive, and you might only need to have a rough estimate of the strength of the capsules. If that is the case, then you can take the starting strain’s potency and covert it to milligrams.

Then, you can divide this number by the weight of the final yield and subtract about 10 percent to consider decarboxylation. This will give you an estimate of the potency of the entire batch. Then, you can divide this number by the number of capsules that you filled, which will give you an estimate of the potency of each of your capsules.

Remember that when you use an oral form of CBD, the effects will appear around 45 to 60 minutes after ingestion. Your digestive system needs time to absorb the cannabinoids, then they must enter the bloodstream. It is important to take just one capsule to begin with and wait an hour or two until taking the next one. Then, you can find the right dose for you. 

Closing Thoughts

Making your own CBD capsules at home is a fun and easy way of customizing your cannabis intake. They are easy to dose each morning and offer a discreet method of using CBD during the day. You also can experiment to find the right dosage for you.