Cannabis Dark Chocolate: The Ultimate Edible
As cannabis becomes more widely accepted and poised for recreational legalization in Canada, people are looking at it in more than just a recreational sense. Marijuana has many medical benefits, and it’s becoming a mainstream option for people with illnesses ranging from anxiety to glaucoma to cancer.
Of course, this comes with new alternatives to consuming cannabis, and edibles are becoming increasingly popular. When you can combine the benefits of marijuana with the health benefits of something like dark chocolate, it’s a match made in heaven.
Although there is cannabis infused dark chocolate available to buy, it’s a lot more fun to make it yourself! Let’s explore what happens when you combine these two incredible ingredients and learn how to make cannabis dark chocolate.
Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is an incredibly healthy substance. People think of chocolate as a sugary candy that’s bad for your blood sugar and overall health, but in truth, when you stick to dark chocolate, you’re getting a range of health benefits. It’s outstanding for lowering blood pressure, for example, because it is full of antioxidants.
Dark chocolate is a “superfood,” a food that is rich in antioxidants. A study published in 2003 in Nature magazine showed that people who ate 100 grams of dark chocolate every day for two weeks showed a significant drop in blood pressure, and that after eating 100 grams of dark chocolate, antioxidant levels showed a marked increase.
Antioxidants are chemical compounds in chocolate that negate and consume the free radicals that can be responsible for all manner of health issues. free radicals are molecules that cause a chain reaction in your body, turning other molecules into free radicals. This causes cellular damage in a process called oxidative stress. It can result in everything from headaches and muscle pains to cancer, atherosclerosis, and other chronic issues.
Other benefits of dark chocolate include possibly preventing cancer, improved heart health, reduced bad cholesterol and increased good cholesterol, improved cognitive function, and reduced blood sugar in diabetics. If you’re looking for a tasty treat that’s great for your body, dark chocolate is the way to go.
Health Benefits of Cannabis
If dark chocolate is a superfood, marijuana really takes it to the next level. Nearly two-dozen health benefits from marijuana have firm scientific backing. The earliest benefits of cannabis recognized by the public include chronic pain management, anxiety, and glaucoma relief. These uses are the most popular and powerfully supported by research, even today.
According to clinical evidence, medical marijuana can help people who suffer from muscle spasms related to illnesses like multiple sclerosis, seizure disorders like epilepsy and Dravet Syndrome, it has anticancer properties, can help to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s, can be used to treat IBS, can help to control blood sugar in diabetics, and can help with weight management.
Even the National Institutes of Health are behind the science, pointing out that cannabis has had medical uses documented for over 3,000 years. Though the FDA has yet to get with the times, studies show that not only is it a super-substance like dark chocolate, but its use is increasing across the nation.
When one considers the benefits of both dark chocolate and marijuana, it seems that cannabis dark chocolate is a natural and delicious mix.
Cannabis Dark Chocolate: The Ultimate Edible
With both cacao beans (the plant from which chocolate is made) and cannabis having thousands of years of medical use and health benefits behind them, cannabis dark chocolate is the ultimate edible, both delicious and great for you at the same time. Besides their other benefits, both chocolate and marijuana are mood enhancers.
The mood-lifting capabilities of marijuana are well-known. Dark chocolate, however, also has powerful mood stimulating properties, due to its high levels of tryptophan. This chemical elevates serotonin and other mood-boosting hormones in the brain. That means that cannabis dark chocolate has extra mood-enhancing effects. Some evidence supports that it may even be an aphrodisiac.
A Vegan-Friendly Treat
One of the best things about dark chocolate is that it can be very vegan friendly. Unlike milk chocolate, dark chocolate doesn’t require animal products to make. Rather, it can be made with cocoa butter and maple syrup! That means if you’ve sworn off meat for health or ethical reasons, you can have a delicious and guilt-free treat that provides all the health benefits and mood-lifting qualities you crave.
How to Infuse Dark Chocolate with Marijuana
The question that remains is, how to infuse dark chocolate with marijuana. In the end, it’s much easier than you might otherwise think. Since you’re making the chocolate from a liquid, you’ll just finely grind up and mix the cannabis in, just as you would with just about any herb in a recipe! The real trick is determining the right dose of cannabis in each serving of chocolate.
To determine this, simply divide the total amount of bud you are using by the total amount of chocolate you’re making. That gives you the amount of bud per gram of chocolate you need. If, for example, you’re using 20 grams of marijuana, and you have 400 grams of chocolate, you’ll want 0.05 grams of cannabis per chocolate. If the molds you’re using produce 20-gram chunks of chocolate, each chunk will then have 1 gram of marijuana.
Tips to Make Your Edibles a Success
Since infusing dark chocolate with cannabis is easy to do, you’ll want to make sure it’s the best tasting treat possible. This means buying the tastiest chocolate that’s in your budget. Cheap chocolate tends to use more wax and less quality cacao, which will minimize the benefits and create an “off” taste.
Chocolate can be a tricky ingredient, and it has to be properly tempered. This requires a lot of patience, care, and practice. You also need to take care to stick to the dosing guidelines above so that you get the right balance of flavors.
Other Cannabis Edibles
After you’ve mastered infusing cannabis dark chocolate, you can even try other kinds of cannabis edibles, from brownies and cookies to marshmallow cereal treats, salads, and more! Marijuana isn’t just a recreational substance anymore. It’s something you can use as a part of your everyday healthy living lifestyle.
