Drying weed in a slow cooker?

[moeburn]

Everywhere I go I get different answers from everybody. It seems stoners like to answer questions without bothering to look up their facts.

I would like to know how to dry some very sticky bud in a slow cooker, ie what temperature to use (i have a thermometer). The bud is too sticky to powder, and I need to powder it to cook with it.

So far I have been told:

• Anything above 150F will destroy the THC
• Anything below 390F will not destroy the THC
• Curing and drying for months in your closet has a much better potency
• Drying your weed in an oven has an equal potency, but shittier taste and smoke.

So I have no idea what temperature to use, or if I should even do it, because everyone's answer is different. How about your answers?

moeburn Reviewed by moeburn on 10-30-2008. Drying weed in a slow cooker? Everywhere I go I get different answers from everybody. It seems stoners like to answer questions without bothering to look up their facts. I would like to know how to dry some very sticky bud in a slow cooker, ie what temperature to use (i have a thermometer). The bud is too sticky to powder, and I need to powder it to cook with it. So far I have been told: Anything above 150F will destroy the THC Anything below 390F will not destroy the THC Curing and drying for months in Rating: 5

[Coelho]

Well... the only sure facts i do know:

The boiling point of many cannabinoids (THC included) is about 350F-390F. So any temperature above it will boil off some cannabinoids.

The ideal temperature for decarboxilating the THCA to THC is 220F. So heating the weed at this tempertaure can actually improve the weeds potency. Decarboxilation also happens by itself, during the curing process, but its slow, and thats why it can be made faster by heating.

I dont know if heating changes the taste noticeably. I always make hash oil with my weed, so it always tastes like hash oil... :stoned:

[moeburn]

Well... the only sure facts i do know:

The boiling point of many cannabinoids (THC included) is about 350F-390F. So any temperature above it will boil off some cannabinoids.

The ideal temperature for decarboxilating the THCA to THC is 220F. So heating the weed at this tempertaure can actually improve the weeds potency. Decarboxilation also happens by itself, during the curing process, but its slow, and thats why it can be made faster by heating.

I dont know if heating changes the taste noticeably. I always make hash oil with my weed, so it always tastes like hash oil... :stoned:

Thanks thats what I thought, but I wasn't sure if there was some other chemical reaction below that temp that could occur to reduce potency. My slow cooker only has 3 settings, the lowest setting is about 150*F, the highest setting is about 280*F. This was measured using a candy thermometer in an inch of water in the slow cooker

When you say 'ideal' temp, does that mean that a temp above that is not as effective?

Well I just finished my first batch. I dried 2 grams of ground up weed (in a hand grinder), and put them in my slow cooker. First i used the 'low' setting for about 10 minutes, and noticed no effect, so I cranked it up to 'high' and left it in there for 20 minutes (longer than usual, but to account for heat-up time). There was almost no smell given off, and the weed appears to not have changed in color.

But most importantly, it no longer feels like a live, spongy plant anymore. It is now crumbly and dusty, so I can finally powder it in a coffee grinder (hooray!).

As for whether this increased the potency at all, I shall report back.

[moeburn]

OH MY POT it WORKED

After baking my weed with the above guide, the weed became about 5x more potent. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

sorry, fell asleep on the keyboard (seriously). I baked the weed at an average of 250*F for 15 min. It went from being spongy and like a live plant, to crisp, brittle, dry as a bone, jwhichhhhhh is exactly what i wanted for cooking purpo ses

it has taken me 30 minutes to write this post, i keep falling asleep standing up O

[Coelho]

Well... the "ideal temperature" is the one which has the best results. Anyway, it seems you already discovered what works for you... so enjoy! :thumbsup::rastasmoke::stoned::jointsmile::abduct:

[WhiskeyTango]

hmmmm......have heard a lot of this latey...might try it! Just chopped some down;-)

[flyingimam]

wait wait

does this only apply yo wet/sticky/fresh bud or is this applicable to dried bud as well?

meaning if i get a few cured grams and heat them for a few minutes with the mentioned temperatures, would that increase the potency???

[Coelho]

wait wait

does this only apply yo wet/sticky/fresh bud or is this applicable to dried bud as well?

meaning if i get a few cured grams and heat them for a few minutes with the mentioned temperatures, would that increase the potency???

Well... the increase in potency is far greater when the bud is fresh. If it were properly cured, the increase is small, or even none.
But you could try it, as its hard to know exactly how well cured is the bud...