Creative ways to use your leftover marijuana stems

In the previous post we talked about trimming your hard earned cannabis. Now that you have beautiful nuggets to display you may also notice you have a ton of leftover trim and stems.  As the saying goes: waste not, want not, so don’t just throw out all that cannabinoid infused leftovers, use them!

The stems might not be an obvious place to go to for your kicks but they still pack a good cannabinoid profile. The more you have of them the better your chances are at making something useful out of it.

One of the most fun ways to use cannabis stems, and a sure way to entertain party guests, is to make a Green Dragon cocktail infused with cannabis. You will need a mason jar worth of marijuana stems in order to make this exotic cocktail. When your collection is complete and you have a full jar then add the strongest grain alcohol you can find; I’m talking about the rocket fuel stuff like Everclear. Fill the jar to the top with the alcohol and put it into a cool, dark place. Give the jar a shake every day. Do this for a week to let the stems get a proper soak and let the THC get drawn out of the stems with the alcohol. Pour the alcohol through a strainer to catch the little stems. Now you are ready to mix some green dragon cocktails, you can thank me later.

Another drink that made the cut is weed tea. Weed tea has been used for centuries as an effective and traditional way to treat all types of ailments in cultures all over the world. So, if you’re feeling a bit ill or simply want to relax with a nice cup of tea then give weed tea a try.

 For a tea that will get the job done you will need about 5 grams worth of stems. This is a small mason jar worth in case you don’t have a scale. Now you can start brewing. Bring two cups of water to a boil in a pot and add two tablespoons of either butter or coconut oil to the water. Cannabis compounds are fat soluble so in order to reap the benefits of dietary cannabinoids you need to add some fat. Now reduce the heat to a low simmer. It’s time to add your collection of stems to the water.  Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for an hour until the water starts to turn brown. You can add a bit more water if necessary. At this point add a cup of whole milk to the water and turn the heat back up to bring the mixture to a boil for 10 minutes while stirring. Turn off the heat and allow the tea to cool. Strain the mixture to catch all the little stems. Now get your teacup ready and add a little honey or sugar. Your cannabis tea party awaits.

Toxic butane

Using lighters to smoke out of pipes and bongs can be toxic as lighters contains butane. When butane is inhaled it can cause irritation to the delicate tissues inside the lungs. A safer alternative is to use hemp wicks to avoid butane inhalation. You can easily make your own hemp wick with your leftover stems. All you need to do is strip long stems using a sharp blade o razor to make several very thin, long stringy fibers. You canalso split the stem in half and peel  the outer fibers off the wood core. Then twist the fibers together tightly to form a type of rope. Fold the rope over and twist again. Melt some beeswax in a bowl and dip the twister fiber in the beeswax. Wipe off some of the excess beeswax and then lay it or hang it to dry. This homemade hemp wick will keep you and your lungs happy.

Marijuana stems don’t need to end up in the bin; there are plenty of ways to put them to good use. Although the effects may not be has potent as the buds when consuming products from the  stems, you will still gain medicinal effects from the cannabinoids in the stem.