| Denver Westword. |
Editor’s note: Our sister paper, the Denver Westword, runs a weekly marijuana advice column, Ask a Stoner. Today, we bring you one of the more frequently-asked questions:
Dear Stoner: Can you just brew up cannabis like tea and drink it to get stoned? I figure a bud in a teabag in the morning is much easier than taking an afternoon to make myself butter and then all those fatty treats. — T Sipper
Dear T: Yes, you can make tea out of cannabis — though if you want to actually get stoned off it, you’ll have to add some creamer. That’s because marijuana’s main get-you-high ingredient, THC, is only soluble in alcohol and fat. In other words, you can’t extract the buzz from the bud just by soaking it in hot water. For that you need something for the THC to bond with — and in this case, your best bet is a spoonful of creamer. The fatty milk will draw out the THC and allow your body to get more of the good stuff. By dispersing the THC in the fat, your body can absorb more at once. Otherwise, you’re not going to get high unless you eat the bud that you’ve been soaking — and even then, you’re likely to catch only a minor buzz and be left with a few green flakes in your teeth for later.
Click for the Ask a Stoner archive.