Marijuana edibles have been around for a very long time. In fact, ingesting the plant (rather than smoking it) is probably how it was discovered in the first place. The glorious “discovery” of cannabis’ textile, health, and psychoactive benefits occurred some 5,000 years ago by Chinese sage emperor Shennong. It is rumored that both a servant, and Emperor Shennong himself, failed to notice a leaf fall into the emperor’s boiling tea water. The emperor drank the tea, became obsessed with the cannabis plant, and began studying its uses. He eventually recorded his findings—which included cures for gout, rheumatism, malaria, and absentmindedness—in the Pen Ts’ao Ching pharmacopeia. From there, the use of cannabis spread to India, the Caribbean, and around the world to a grow operation near you.
But just because Emperor Shennong felt the effects just by steeping a leaf in boiling water, doesn’t mean you can do the same thing with all your edibles. You don’t just dump Sour Diesel nugs into the cookie dough. That won’t work. It takes a bit of work first. Trust us, though, it’s worth it. One of the best ways to cook with cannabis is by mixing up your own batch of cannabis butter (cannabutter or weed butter for short).