What Happens When You Put Weed in the Microwave?

What Happens When You Put Weed in the Microwave

Putting weed in a microwave would have the same effects as vaporizing it. The weed would heat up, and start to release THC vapor when it got to the right temperature. If you kept heating it up it would dry out, and eventually would burn. Nothing bad would happen if you smoked microwaved weed.

Did you know that Snoop Dogg microwaves his blunts for 11 seconds prior to smoking it? According to Snoop, it’s meant to “trap all the flavors” within the blunt. While this is by far not “new news”, it was something that sparked interest. Does microwaving a blunt actually increase the potency and flavor of a blunt?

How Do I Decarb My Weed?

How to Decarboxylate Marijuana Decarboxylation naturally occurs in smokers and vapers due to the toking process. While less advanced than the techniques below, heating cannabis decarbs cannabinoids and terpenes helps you draw in and feel the results immediately.

However, the intense heat generated by this process is likely to “destroy” some unstable molecules. Vaporization is more regulated; appliances are warmed to enable THC and other cannabinoids and terpenes just around the boiling point, providing an almost maximum dosage for each compound.

Decarboxylating Cannabis in the Oven

What Happens When You Put Weed in the Microwave?

Studies show that THCA decarboxylation occurs at approximately 220-250 degrees Fahrenheit after 30-40 minutes.

However, microwaving weed happens at much higher temperatures which can not only damage the THC potency and flavor, but also unleash some other volatile compounds that evaporate at higher heat, resulting in a bad smell and taste.

Therefore, those who want to decarboxylate weed at home should either use their convection oven or a toaster microwave oven whose temperatures vary between 150° Fahrenheit (65° C) and 500° Fahrenheit (260° C), making it suitable for decarboxylation weed.

The method is as follows:

  1. Preheat the oven to 220-235 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Break up your buds into small chunks or grind them (two different approaches).
  3. Spread them on parchment paper, place them on a baking tray, and put them in the oven to bake for around 30 minutes.
  4. When done, it should be crispy and light to medium brown in color.

Microwaving weed is more challenging than using an oven since you can’t regulate the heat. Besides, microwaves vary a lot, so you need to manage things based on the specific model you have at home.

If you are concerned about burning your marijuana through this process, try to use a low microwave setting and cook the cannabis a little longer. Just check your weed and make sure it doesn’t burn and then use your nose to tell you if it’s appropriately decarbed.

No matter how you want to decarboxylate the cannabis, keep in mind: low and steady. Using higher temperatures to quickly warm the marijuana risks burning the cannabinoids and terpenes, that will mess up the effectiveness and scent of your cannabis. Stick to low heats and bide your time, and then you will wind up with potent pot ready to be used for all of your best recipes.

Although these are the most widely used and the most straightforward method, there are other techniques to decarboxylate cannabis.

There is no restriction on the various recipes and concoctions you can think up with to combine with marijuana. However, it all begins with decarboxylation. Experience the enticing scent of cannabis as it heats from your oven and is ready to offer a lot of entrancing enjoyment to everyday treats!

Can you dry out weed in a microwave?

What Happens When You Put Weed in the Microwave?

If you are properly controlling the temperature of the microwave / RF oven you can do it. There are technologies available in the market that allows quick temperature detection of buds and enforce cyclical heating compared to continuous heating. The key is effective temperature control.

There are many companies in the USA and Canada that has been using Rugged Monitoring’s fiber optic temperature sensors for combined drying and pasteurization of Cannabis using RF/Microwave oven. Mostly RF ovens.

With fiber optic temperature sensors, you can monitor the temperature for buds while Cannabis are inside the RF/Microwave oven getting dried / pasteurized.

Firstly, we know that cannabis, in its flower form, has THCa. This is the acid form of the cannabinoid we love to smoke. This is also not psychoactive in this state. For the THCa to be converted to Delta-9-THC, we require roughly 104 ºC (219 ºF) and about 15-20 mins of “baking time”.

What this does is it turns the acid form of THC into a psychoactive form of THC. We do this usually for edibles and so forth.

A microwave, however, doesn’t generate “heat” but rather “excited the molecules” within whatever you place inside it. Depending on the wattage of the microwave, you can have a variety of different “temperatures” it can reach.

Typically, people have 900-watt microwaves at home and in all likeliness, Snoop uses a 900-watt microwave as well. At 900-watts, the microwave will average roughly 104º C, meaning that technically it would be able to activate the THC within the blunt.

This would mean that when you light it up, you already have (at the very least) some THC activated within the blunt. Additionally, blunt wraps are typically very soft due to the wetness of the wrap. Having a blunt wrap too dry can cause it to break.

Microwaves usually don’t get higher than 220 degrees Fahrenheit, using electromagnetic radiation to cook molecules instead of direct heat. The food or liquid that you’re infusing with THC or CBD is likely to burn or degrade before the cannabinoids do, so the microwave will get the job done despite the results lacking in taste and texture. But stay limited to single servings, because the more stuff you put inside the microwave, the longer and less even the infusion process will be.

Conclusion: Should You Microwave Weed to Decarb It?

If you want to enjoy the full aroma and THC potency of your weed, the answer is no, you should not microwave weed.

Weed shops and individual growers around the world spend weeks and months drying and curing their Cannabis plants to get a good selling product with distinct and refined flavor. As one user on Roll It Up says: “Microwaving pot is much like microwaving a top grade steak, yes it will work but does no justice to the final product”. It’s your weed after all, but why consume a low-quality product?

You can find out about Cannabutter Tips You Need to Know here!

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