As a Medical Marijuana cardholder, the world is your oyster when it comes to medicating. There are dozens of ways to treat your condition, from vaping and baking edibles to topicals and more. While baking with cannabis or making your own marijuana-infused gummies is a popular choice, many cardholders often forget that you can medicate while quenching your thirst!
Now that cold weather is upon us here on the East Coast, The Greener Institute has compiled a few of our favorite cannabis-infused hot drinks. Here are a few recipes to help you enjoy the relief of your medication as you sip on a warming, delicious beverage:
The Quick & Easy Option
While we’ll get to some completely homemade cannabis-infused drinks in a hot minute (no pun intended), we think it’s worth mentioning that you can infuse cannabis into the drink of your choice in seconds.
Cannabis-infused tinctures are widely available at dispensaries and can be added to almost any drink imaginable. Simply brew yourself a cup of your favorite tea or pour a cup of coffee and add the tincture straight to your mug. Quick, easy, delicious, warming and, most importantly, effective.
The Prep Work
If you’re looking to become a “cooking with cannabis connoisseur,” you’re going to have to put in the work. Most cannabis-infused drinks and food requires quite a bit of prep work. After all, if you want to get a bit fancier than adding tinctures, you’re going to have to make your own infusions. For these medicated drinks, we’ll be relying on cannabis milk. Here’s how to make it at home:
Cannabis Milk
Often used as the base of many edible recipes, cannabis milk is rather time consuming to make, but relatively simple once you’ve gotten the process down. The important thing to note, though, is that if you make this, you have to use it up quickly. Cannabis milk expires much faster than cannabis-infused butter or oil.
To make this edibles staple, you’ll need:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3.5 – 7 grams of decarboxylated flower (the amount of cannabis you use can be customized to your needs)
- Oven
- Stove
- Double Boiler
- Cheesecloth
Step 1: Decarboxylate your cannabis (this step is CRUCIAL and is what activates the marijuana). Preheat your often to 240 degrees F. Spread your ground flower evenly onto a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Place in the oven for 40 -60 minutes until the bud has turned a darker green, or light-brownish color. Remove from oven and set aside.
Place your cooled, decarboxylated flower into a cheesecloth and tightly tie to secure.
Step 2: Heat the milk in a double-boiler over medium heat. DO NOT let the milk come to a boil. Once warm, add the flower-filled cheesecloth to the milk and continue to steep over medium heat for 1 to 1½ hours. Stir every 10 or so minutes.
Step 3: Once time has passed, strain milk into an air-tight container.
Cannabis-Infused Hot Drink Recipes
Once you’ve successfully made your own cannabis milk, you can begin using it in a variety of ways. For a warm pick-me-up on cold fall and winter days, follow these recipes to medicate cozily!
Cannabis-Infused Hot Chocolate – 3 Servings
What you’ll need:
- 2½ cups whole milk
- ½ cup cannabis milk
- ⅓ cup grated semi-sweet chocolate
- 1 tbsp sugar
- Optional additions include: ½ tsp cinnamon, whipped topping, or mini marshmallows
Step 1: Place regular and infused milk in a microwave-safe container and heat on High in the microwave for 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir in chocolate, sugar, and cinnamon, if using.
Step 2: Return container to the microwave and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until foamy. Whisk until smooth and divide hot chocolate between three mugs. Top with whipped cream or mini marshmallows, if desired.
Cannabis-Infused Chai Tea Latte – 2 servings
What you’ll need:
- 1½ cup cannabis milk
- ½ cup water
- 2 chai tea bags
- 2 tbsp honey
- Optional: nutmeg and cinnamon for garnish
Step 1: Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Once water is boiling, add tea bags and steep for 7-10 minutes.
Step 2: Once the tea has steeped to your desired strength, stir in the cannabis milk and honey, turning the head to medium to warm the milk without boiling it.
Step 3: Froth the tea using a whisk, frother, or immersion blender until frothy. Divide between two cups and sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on top, if using.
Cannabis-Infused Latte – 2 servings
What you’ll need:
- 1 cup cannabis milk
- ¼ cup hot espresso or strong coffee
- 1 tbsp sugar
- Optional: add ¼ tsp of cinnamon, ½ tsp vanilla extract, or flavor shots of your choice
Step 1: Froth the cannabis milk using a frother, immersion blender, or whisk.
Step 2: Pour hot espresso or strong coffee into a mug. Using a large spoon, hold back the foam and begin pouring the infused milk into the coffee until you’ve filled three-quarters of the mug. Now, remove the spoon to let the foam pour into the mug. This should leave you with a rich and creamy base and a foamy top.
Final Notes
Reading recipes for edibles and cannabis-infused drinks can always seem overwhelming. Articles like these are long and seemingly foreboding, but know that they are actually incredibly simple once you understand how to make your own bases. While time-consuming, creating your own cannabis-infusions makes all the difference and can help you medicate in a way that feels more like self-care than popping a gummy in your mouth or taking a sublingual.
If you’re interested in obtaining your PA medical marijuana card so you can medicate responsibly (and deliciously!) schedule an appointment with us here.
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