Cannabis Sugar - Guide for Medical Patients

Cannabis sugar—sugar crystals infused with a cannabis tincture—represents an easy and delicious way to consume cannabis. It's also very easy to make at home.

“Canna sugar” provides an alternative for people who prefer not to smoke or inhale marijuana. Cannabis sugar is just one of many different cannabis products that medical marijuana patients can use to treat various qualifying conditions.

What Is Cannabis Sugar or Cannabis-Infused Sugar?

“Cannabis sugar” and “cannabis-infused sugar” refer to any sugar product that has been infused with a cannabis tincture. This results in an infused ingredient you can add to meals and beverages for effortless marijuana delivery. 

Cannabis sugar is ideal for making cannabis-infused edibles like brownies, cookies, or any other sweet baked good. Some consumers like to add cannasugar to cocktails or coffee.

Don't Confuse Cannabis-Infused Sugar With Sugar Wax

Sugar wax is a highly potent cannabis concentrate. It's called “sugar wax” due to its resemblance to wet granulated sugar. Said to have a THC potency of around 70-90%, sugar wax is a completely different product from the cannabis-infused sugar we refer to in this article.

What Advantages Does Cannabis Sugar Offer MMJ Patients?

Cannabis-infused sugar offers a consumption method that sidesteps smoking or inhaling. While this may simply be a preference for some, other patients suffering from AZ qualifying conditions like cancer may wish to avoid smoking—especially if they have or are at risk of lung cancer—as edibles may be safer for your lungs.

It can also be easier to calculate the THC dose with infused edibles like cannabis sugar compared to smoking cannabis buds. This is especially true if you use a lab-tested, store-bought cannabis tincture as the basis for your infused sugar.

How to Make Cannabis Sugar

If you use a store-bought tincture, the process is very straightforward. Using this method, you'll only need two ingredients to make your own cannabis-infused sugar:

• An alcohol-based cannabis tincture

• Sugar: The most commonly used ingredient for THC sugar is regular sugar (granulated sugar). However, cane sugar, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, coconut sugar, monk fruit sweetener, or Erythritol (a non-nutritive sugar alcohol) could also work. Don't try to make cannabis sugar with powdered sugar.

Using Store-Bought Tincture

Follow these steps to make your own cannabis sugar:

1. Put your sugar into a glass baking dish.

2. Pour your alcohol-based tincture on top of the sugar.

3. Stir well so the tincture covers all of the sugar.

4. Cover it with a cloth and leave it in a safe place for drying.

5. Once the sugar is prepared, you can stir in some dried herbs or powdered dried fruit, if desired, for flavor. Lavender sugar tastes great in cookies!

Making Cannabis Sugar from Scratch

For cannabis enthusiasts who want to get more hands-on in the kitchen, making your own tincture to infuse your sugar is a fun and rewarding experience.

You will first need to decarboxylate (decarb) your cannabis flower to turn the THCA into THC. This is because freshly-harvested cannabis contains THCA which is an inactive and non-psychotropic cannabinoid. The psychoactive effects for which THC is famous only appear when the raw cannabis plant is heated.

Step 1: Decarb Your Weed

1. Grind your cannabis using a grinder or by hand. Don't grind too much; you want your nugs to be coarse and fluffy, not ground into dust.

2. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Place your ground cannabis onto the baking tray and bake for 30-40 minutes.

4. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and allow the cannabis to cool.

Step 2: Make the Tincture

The next step is to make your alcohol tincture with the cooled decarbed cannabis. This process is similar to the process for making vanilla extract at home (if you’ve never tried it, you should!).

1. Fill a mason jar with decarbed marijuana, leaving space for the alcohol.

2. Fill the mason jar with high-proof alcohol. Make sure the flower is completely covered with liquid. As a rule of thumb, 1/8th ounce of flower will require 1-2 cups of alcohol. The ratio used will affect the potency of the final product.

3. Close the lid and shake the jar every five minutes for the next 20 minutes.

4. Uncap the jar and place cheesecloth or a coffee filter over the top of the jar. Pour the alcohol through the cheesecloth (or coffee filter) into a clean bowl.

This infused alcohol can now be used to infuse your sugar.

Step 3: Infuse your Sugar

1. Infuse the sugar with your homemade tincture, following the same steps as listed above in the section “Using Store-Bought Tincture.”

How to Calculate the Dosage of Cannabis Sugar

The best way to know the exact potency of your canna sugar is either to use lab-tested store-bought cannabis tincture or to use an online edibles calculator. When trying out a new batch of cannabis sugar that you've made at home, try a small amount in tea or coffee and wait for an hour or two to test out the potency before using it in baking or ingesting it in large amounts.

How to Use Cannabis Sugar

A little bit of cannabis sugar can go a long way. It can prove to be a cost-effective way of consuming cannabis while enjoying the medicinal benefits of MMJ. The following are some of the most popular ideas for incorporating cannabis sugar into your food:

• Add a spoonful (or half) of cannabis sugar to your coffee or breakfast in the morning. Canna sugar could give your oatmeal a delicious touch, for example.

• Add cannabis sugar to any sweet edible like brownies or cookies.

• Add a spoonful of cannabis-infused sugar to a smoothie

• Spread some cannabis-infused sugar around the rim of your Margarita or mojito glass.

Thanks to the versatility of the product, cannabis consumers with a sweet tooth can add their canna sugar to any recipe or meal they like, making it a wonderfully adaptable way of consuming MMJ.

Cannabis Sugar: Sweet and Smoke-Free

Some medical marijuana patients—and also recreational users—may prefer to avoid inhaling marijuana for medical or personal reasons. Cannabis sugar offers an alternative cannabis consumption method for these people.

Because of the way cannabis edibles are metabolized, go slow with your dosage, especially if you're unaccustomed to consuming cannabis-based products. With prudent use, cannabis sugar can make a cost-effective and delicious addition to your breakfast, coffee, baked goods, or any other snack.