We’ve all known the bittersweet feeling of vaping one last last hit of weed before our stash runs out. It’s nice to be high at that exact moment, but there’s a nagging thought in the back of your head: so this is it, huh? And when money’s tight or the supply chain isn’t running smoothly, who knows when your next chance to toke up might come?
But what if there was a way to get high twice off the same weed?
Well, thank whatever deities you happen to believe in, because we’ve got some good news for you: miracles are real. It’s totally possible–and actually not that hard—to recycle your stash. We’re going to show you how to bake with vaped weed, and pull off a few other tricks that’ll help you stretch your supply twice as far.
What Do I Do With My Vaped Weed?
If you’ve ever looked inside your vape at the slightly charred remnants of the dank buds you just enjoyed, you’ve probably had the same thought you have when you look at a filter full of coffee grounds. That frizzled mash is useless, right? So you scrape it out, dump it in the trash, and go about your day.
Not so fast, friend. There’s actually quite a lot you can do with that once-verdant goodness, such as:
- Turn it into cannabutter or infused coconut oil
- Extract the cannabis oil from it
- Use it in edibles
- Put it in drinks like tea or coffee
- Make concentrates out of it
Let’s run through what these various endeavors entail.
How to Turn Vaped Weed Into Cannabutter or Infused Coconut Oil
Unlike ground-up coffee beans, which lose all their potency after a single use, ground-up vaporized weed still retains a decent amount of THC. Best of all, that weed has already been decarboxylated, or “activated,” in layman’s terms, so you can skip one of the most annoying steps of making infused butters and oils (or baking with weed in general).
Before we continue, let’s address the question of why you’d want to infuse your vaporized weed into butter or oil in the first place. TL;DR—these have a high fat content that “melts” the THC and lets your body absorb it more easily, and they can be used in pretty much any cooking project you can imagine.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- As much vaporized weed as you can get
- A pan
- A cheesecloth or empty tea bag
- Butter or oil
- A stirring spoon or spatula
- A glass container
The actual process of making infused butter or oil is quite simple:
- Put your vaporized weed in the cheesecloth and tie it up tight
- Drop the weed in the pan, and add the butter or oil
- Stir it up, as a great man once said
- Simmer the mixture for 15-20 minutes, or longer if you’ve got the patience
- Toss the used-up bag of weed, and pour the butter or oil into your container
That’s it. That’s the process. Now you’re ready to start using your infused butter or oil in whatever recipes suit your fancy. But before we get into that, let’s cover one other way to reuse your vaporized weed.
How to Extract Cannabis Oil From Vaporized Weed
The terms “cannabis oil” and “cannabis tincture” are, for our purposes, interchangeable. Basically, they’re little vials of liquid with a dropper, which you can use to add a dash of THC to food or beverages (or just consume straight by placing it under your tongue).
Extracting the oil from your vaporized weed is, again, pretty easy. All you have to do is put the weed in some alcohol, and wait. That being said, there are two important things to keep in mind.
First, it might take a while. As in: several weeks. If you’re not the patient type, you can cheat this step by shaking the mixture vigorously (like a Polaroid picture, one might say) for several minutes, but the potency might not be what you hoped.
The second thing to remember—and this is very, very, important—is to use drinking alcohol, not the stuff you might use to clean your vape. The more potent the alcohol, the more effectively it’ll extract the oil. This is why many people like to use Everclear. If you’re not a fan of pure grain alcohol you can use tequila or rum or whatever floats your boat. Just don’t use isopropyl alcohol, rubbing alcohol, or whatever you call the non-potable stuff.
Anyway, here’s what you’ll need:
- Some drinkable alcohol
- Some vaporized weed
- A sealable jar
And here’s how you get that oil:
- Put the alcohol and the weed in the jar
- Let it sit for a few weeks (or if you can’t wait, shake the jar as hard as you can for at least 3 minutes)
In terms of potency, a helpful rule of thumb is: the more alcohol you use, the less strong each individual dose of oil will be. That’s because the oil gets more diluted, so you’re getting less of it in each dropper.
At this point, we’ve covered how to make both cannabutter and cannabis tinctures. So how are you supposed to use them?
Baking Edibles With Vaporized Weed
If you’re looking to do some baking with vaporized weed, and your taste buds are of the hardy variety, you can actually skip the step of making cannabutter. That’s because, as mentioned before, the weed is already decarboxylated. You can sprinkle it directly into your brownie mix or cookie batter, pop the pan in the oven, and go to town.
However, if you’re not a huge fan of the taste of charred weed, using cannabutter or infused oil in your recipes might be a more appetizing option. Just remember the Golden Rule of Cannabis Consumption: start low and go slow. It might sound fun to load up a batch of your favorite desserts with an extra-strength dose of your “secret ingredient,” but trust us, that story doesn’t always end well.
Another good thing to keep in mind is that THC and high temperatures don’t get along. You’ll want to keep the oven below 176 Celsius/350 Fahrenheit. Any higher and you risk torching the delicate THC molecules, rendering them useless.
Mixing Drinks With Vaporized Weed
If you’ve got a vial of cannabis oil lying around, adding a few drops to your favorite beverage is both easy and convenient. Whether you’re spicing up a regular glass of orange juice or a mimosa at brunch, the process literally could not be easier.
Just remember to be careful with your dosing, especially if you’re adding your cannabis oil to an alcoholic drink. The effects aren’t going to hit you immediately, but once they do, an excessive dose can put a serious damper on your day (or evening). When it comes to weed and booze, 1+1=3.
If you haven’t gone to the trouble of extracting oil, you can also add vaporized weed directly to your coffee or tea.
- To make weed-infused coffee, just add the vaporized bud to your coffee grounds before brewing a pot.
- For weed-infused tea, mix the vaporized bud with your tea leaves and let it steep, as usual.
You’ve now got a bunch of easy options for repurposing your vaporized bud. But if you’re feeling extra adventurous, there’s one more method worth mentioning.
Making Dab Concentrates With Vaporized Weed
It might sound a bit crazy, but you can also use vaporized weed to make concentrates for dabbing (either with a dab pen or a full-on rig). Some people use specialized rosin presses to extract the concentrate, but you can also MacGyver your way into a batch of rosin using common household objects.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Some vaporized weed
- A hair straightener
- Parchment paper
- A razor blade
And here’s how you use them:
- Wrap the vaporized bud in parchment paper
- Set the hairdryer to a low temperature (no higher than 149 Celsius/300 Fahrenheit)
- Squeeze the packet of bud in the hairdryer as hard as you can for a few seconds
- Use the razor blade to scrape off the sticky rosin that seeps out of the bud
- Repeat until no more rosin comes out
Your final product isn’t going to be as potent as rosin made from non-vaporized weed, but it’s still better than nothing.
The Final Word on Reusing Your Vaporized Weed
Vaporizing your weed is already a great way to get the most for your money. Yes, there’s something satisfying about roasting an old-fashioned joint, but if you’re on a tight budget it’s nice to get the same effects from a much smaller amount.
By repurposing your vaporized buds into cannabutter, concentrates, or cannabis oil, you can stretch your stash even further. Instead of (literally) watching your weed go up in smoke, give these tricks a try and see what you think.
