This cannabis cream is a fantastic topical that reduces inflammation and pain. THC has twenty times the anti-inflammatory potency of aspirin and twice that of hydrocortisone (Evans 1991). I was first introduced to cannabis cream after a motorcycle accident left me with a badly broken femur. Two surgeries and three months spent in a splint lead to painful muscle atrophy, arthrofibrosis and inflammation. This cream was a lifesaver for me. The topical was $50 for a jar so I started making my own after recovering from the accident. This is the recipe that I settled on. It produces 50 oz. Scale as you see fit using the calculator below
Ingredients (50 oz total):
- Cannabis Input:
- 50g of hash rosin (25g decarboxylated, 25g raw)
- or 450 grams of cannabis flower (225g decarboxylated, 225g dried)
- or 600 grams of cannabis trim (300g decarboxylated, 300g dried)
- 2 cups (650g) Coconut Oil
- 50 grams Menthol Crystals
- 30 drops (2 mL) Vitamine E Oil
- 14 grams (1% by weight) Dimethyl sulfoxide (also know as DMSO this helps with transdermal absorption)
- 1/2 cup (115g) Shea Butter
- 1/2 cup (115g) Cocoa Butter
- 1/2 cup (115g) Castor Oil
- 3/4 cup (175g) Beeswax
- Cheesecloth or Ultra Fine Mesh Strainer (not necessary if using hash rosin)
- Small Glass Jars (either 1 oz, 2 oz, or 4 oz)
Tools:
Overview
THC vs THC-A in Cannabis Cream
If you have made cannabutter before you will know that THC-A has no psychoactive effects unless it is decarboxylated into THC. With a cannabis cream THC-A does confer it’s own anti-inflammatory properties. For a full spectrum effect I decarb half the input material into (THC/CBD) while leaving half of it raw (THC-A/CBD-A).
Using Hash Rosin vs Cannabis vs Trim
Using hash rosin will give you the cleanest and most potent cream but is absolutely not necessary for this recipe. Using cannabis flower or trim will give you an equally effective product, though with a slightly weaker potency and more green colour (chlorophyll) in the final product, especially if using trim. I typically use hash rosin that is either old or chalky (low terpene content) as this is stuff that I likely will not be smoking anyways.
Usage of DMSO in Cannabis Topicals
The usage of DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) is in my opinion one of the more important parts of the recipe. DMSO facilitates transdermal penetration of the cannabis cream, allowing it to work deep in the tissue/injury. Unlike many solvents DMSO is essentially nontoxic when ingested, having an oral single-dose LD-50 value of 17.4–28.3 g/kg (rat).
The DMSO potency for this cream is set at 1.10% by weight.
The Process
Decarboxylation (THCa -> THC)
Decarboxylation is best done in the oven. Make sure you cannabis is dry. If using hash rosin place it into a sealed oven proof jar (250 mL mason jar or 1oz u-line jar). You may want to line the jar with parchment paper to make removal easier.
Preheat your oven to 250F. If you have a probe thermometer it will come in handy. Check the internal temperature of your cannabis every 5 minutes. Once it reaches 230F start a 30-minute timer. This preheating is an often forgotten step in cannabutter guides, especially when working with large amounts of trim. It can take up to 20-30 minutes to bring your cannabis up to temperature, meaning the total time spent in the oven will be 40-60 minutes.
If decarboxylating hash rosin you can tell it is done when it stops bubbling (approx. 20-30 minutes).
Cannabis Infusion into Carrier Oil
The next step is to infuse the cannabis into the coconut oil. Heat the coconut oil to approx. 170F.
Add the cannabis plant matter or hash rosin and allow it to steep for 2 hours. If using hash rosin you can cut the time down to 30 minutes. With hash rosin this can also be done in the same jar that you de-carbed in as I did in the pictures below.
After steeping use cheesecloth to strain out the plant matter or a rosin bag if using hash. I used bubble hash (not hash rosin) so there was still some wax leftover after infusion that I filtered out with a 25u rosin screen.
Making the Cream
If the DMSO has solidified (which is quite likely), gently heat it under running hot tap water or in the slow cooker.
Add the Vitamin E oil, DMSO, shea butter, cocoa butter, castor oil, almond oil, beeswax and infused coconut oil to a medium-sized metal bowl. Do not add the menthol until the end or it will volatilize off during heating.
Create a double boiler by putting the medium-sized metal bowl inside a larger slow cooker. This will moderate temperatures and prevent scorching. Turn the slowcooker to high mode to emulsify the solids.
Once fully melted mix well and turn heat down to low for 8 hours. The extended ‘low n’ slow’ cooking time will prevent the oil from separating the the future. Allow the mixture to cool down. You can use an ice bath to speed up this process.
Once the cream is starting to solidify use an egg mixer to cream it up. This will give you a homogenous consistency and also help keep the cream from separating in the jars after packaging.
Packaging and Storage of Cannabis Cream
Spoon the whipped cream into jars, minimizing headspace as much as possible (i.e. pack to 90% full). Store the jars in the refrigerator until ready to use. Jars may be vacuum sealed and frozen for long term storage (6+ months).
