Cultivating marijuana is not a piece of cake. It will take time, countless efforts, and patience just to develop a healthy and vigorous plant. If there is one frustrating thing that growers mostly hate is a pile of leftover stems from harvested marijuana. Throwing the stems is such a tremendous waste. It is very heartbreaking that some parts of the hard-earned work are gone to waste.
However, growers should stop whining about the leftover stems because now, there are a lot of ways to make use of them. Let us share to you what to do with marijuana stems. The hack of recycling the stems will make good use of them without having to worry about making a huge waste. Below, we have compiled the things and ideas to make a valuable piece out of marijuana stems.
Tea Time
Making tea is the most commonly used method on what to do with marijuana stems and considered to be the most excellent idea ever created. How to do it? Well, making marijuana tea is very simple. First, slice the stem vertically and pour boiling water over it. Let the stems soak in the water for at least one day.
However, this process is only applicable when you attempt to get the flavors of marijuana for the tea. But if you want to acquire its potency, it requires the marijuana stems to undergo the process of decarboxylation. This is a way to activate the essential cannabinoid compounds of the marijuana present in the stem.
To do this, you need to put the stems inside the oven preheated at 100 degrees Celsius within fifteen minutes’ time. Afterward, you can elevate the temperature up to 120 degrees Celsius and let the stems be baked within forty-five minutes. After that, take out the marijuana stems from the oven and allow it to cool before grinding the same. Do not grind the decarboxylated stems too much as it can create a rather bitter taste.
Right after doing it, place the decarboxylated stems in a pot and put enough water to soak the stems before adding a few drops of coconut oil. Let it boil and simmer within a maximum of fifteen minutes. You can use filters for coffee or cloth to filter out the excess particles of the stem. It is now ready to drink. If you want to improve the taste, you are allowed to add into the mixture your favorite tea or some cocoa powder.
Booze
There are already beers and wines with infused weed being sold in the market presently. However, making your own booze will not only save you money but also save your stem from wasting.
Another method is infusing extract from the stems into your booze. This can be done by preparing a bottle of alcohol of your choice, preferably vodka. You can grind marijuana stems and mix about 1.5 grams of it in every ounce of the alcohol.
You may have to wait for a while and let the mixture sit in a room with no lights for around three weeks. You are required to shake the mixture occasionally to stir the components. Anticipate a powerful taste after the three weeks of isolation. It is recommended to take just a few shots and observe for some time on how it affects you. You can likewise mix the booze with your favorite mix. Indeed, this is a fun and much cheaper way on what to do with marijuana stems!
Cannabutter
Typically, in making cannabutter, people use buds. However, marijuana stems can also be a great replacement as an ingredient. This is another way of what to do with marijuana stems. Before making a cannabutter, initially, you are required to make sure that you have enough marijuana stems as these are the parts of the plant which contain less THC content.
Afterward, you can start grinding the stems using a food processor to make things fast and easy, as there will be a lot of marijuana stems to grind. Once finished, prepare a saucepan and pour the ground stems together with butter and let it simmer for forty-five minutes.
Stir the mixture every once in a while. When it turns brown, you can turn off the fire and pour the mixture into a strainer. In this way, the excess particles of marijuana stems will be separated. Store the finished product in the refrigerator. Not everyone knows that cannabutter can be made out of the stem. Surely, this is one of the most efficient ways of what to do with marijuana stems.
Ointments or Creams
There are tons of creative and cheap ideas on what to do with marijuana stems, and making them into a topical medication is one of them. Ointment and creams made from marijuana have shown great value in providing instant relief and effective treatment for some types of illness and pain. Making topical medication at home will not require many ingredients.
There are different ways that can be searched on the internet on how to properly make these topicals using marijuana stems. You are even allowed to add important vitamins that work perfectly with the medicinal properties of marijuana stems.
Bubble Hash
There is another option on what to do with marijuana stems, and that is making a bubble hash. To make this possible, all you need to do is to prepare the stems and break them apart. Grind the stems in the blender. Always take note: use only how much THC you can tolerate. In this case, since marijuana stems have lesser THC content, you may want to double the amount as compared to utilizing the buds.
In a jar, preferably a mason jar, mix isopropyl alcohol of 90% solution with the stems you’ve just ground up. Shake them altogether for around one minute at maximum. Pour the mixture using a coffee filter or cloth and place it in a glass container.
You can dry it using a fan and allow the liquid to evaporate gradually. This process of evaporation will last longer than three hours. However, for better results, you can be patient and wait for one day. After this, you are allowed to indulge in the finished product.
Crafty Paper
Marijuana has already been used worldwide in many different ways other than smoking it. In fact, one of the first papers made was from marijuana fibers. Stems are an extremely great part of the plant containing a bountiful amount of fibers that can be used for making papers.
To make a paper from marijuana stems, the first thing to do is to grind the marijuana stems and let it soak in the water together with scrap papers overnight. The next day after soaking it, pour the mixture into the blender and thoroughly blend it.
You could add water if necessary just to blend it smoothly. Afterward, place the blended mixture into a screen and wait until it dries. It is expected to finish the drying part within a day. However, it may take a while if the paper is thick or the environment around is humid.
Baskets
Making weave baskets is another creative way of what to do with marijuana stems. In making this artistic thing, first, soak the marijuana stems in water overnight at the least. In this way, you are preventing the stems from an easy breakage. Afterward, pick a few stems and tie them in the center together using a rope made out of hemp. You can start weaving the basket of your desired size.
Baking
Marijuana stems can be used for baking. You can create delicious and new recipes out of it. This is another method on what to do with marijuana stems. After making cannabutter from marijuana stems, you can easily add the same to any of your recipes. The flavor and seasoning will be up to your preferences and taste. Just expect that marijuana stems will have a woody flavor. You can make edibles out of it without costing too much money.
Skewers
You can also use marijuana stems as skewers. It is a very simple procedure. Just sharpen the endpoint of the marijuana stem and soak it in water for at least one night. Afterward, you can now make kabobs with some vegetables and meats of your likes.
The Don’ts on What To Do With Marijuana Stems
It is old news that some growers must have thought of smoking marijuana stems from leftovers. However, this idea should be avoided. Majority of the stem is composed of plant matter. These plant matters do not have any therapeutic nor psychoactive effects on humans when smoked. The only valuable component of marijuana stems is the minimal THC amount that it has.
Hence, when you try to smoke a marijuana stem, you are merely combusting plenty of unwanted plant matters that will give you no benefit at all. Rather, it can cause severe headaches after smoking.
Final Thoughts
The next time you have leftover marijuana stems, instead of throwing them out in the garbage, try experimenting and make something creative and useful out of them. The list mentioned above are just a few and the most common ways on what to do with marijuana stems. However, if you can be more creative, there are tons of other ways. But of course, smoking them should be off the list.
There is nothing to hate about marijuana stems; it just requires a little creativity and patience to turn a once leftover into something outstanding and useful. Marijuana stems can still be put to good use which will make you appreciate more the versatility of the marijuana plant.
