For generations in every corner of the Earth, countless elixirs have come in the form of a syrup that goes down easy and provides relief from what ails you, a powerful high, and oftentimes both. The same principle applies to THC syrup, a unique and potent way of ingesting cannabis that you may have heard of lately. 

But what is THC syrup? First off, let’s look at what it isn’t. 

What is THC syrup?

It’s cannabis taken as a liquid where cannabis concentrates the likes of hash oil has been used as the basis. Other ingredients of the concoction include vegetable glycerine, sugar, coconut oil, agave, or other flavors, depending on the recipe.

Because of its sugary combination, THC syrups usually have the consistency that of cough syrups. Store-bought bottles also greatly remind of cough medicine bottles. Though, needless to say, the effects of ingesting THC syrup are rather different than taking cough medicine.

THC syrups work similarly to other cannabis edibles such as hash brownies, space cake, gummies, or tinctures. Pot syrup has to make its way around the stomach before it kicks in the effects, with the only difference, it can still have a faster onset than other traditional cannabis snacks.

Based on how the syrup is ingested into the body and the person’s tolerance level, the syrupy substance onset times and effects can still vary significantly.

Inexperienced users should be cautious about how much syrup they take, just like they are cautious with trying new extremely potent strains of weed.

Since the product is reasonably sugary, it’s best to consume in moderation.

How to use THC syrup?

The beauty of THC syrup is that you can use it in very different ways.

You can administer in the mouth, similar to how you would use a cannabis tincture. Either sublingually or directly on the tongue and mouth. Just apply the desired dosage and leave it for up to two minutes for the concoction to get absorbed in the mouth cavity, then swallow.

You can use THC syrups also in drinks. Add small doses of the syrup in non-alcoholic beverages such as any soda, or ginger beer, stir the concoction, and take one drink at a time.

Be patient with drinks because your stomach needs to digest the THC, and don’t immediately assume you need another drink after 15 minutes or half an hour.

If you are doing cocktail nights with friends, where you’ll experiment with more fancy drinks that contain pot syrup, it’s best to stay at home. A couple of drinks will likely get you too stoned.

Another way to take your THC syrup as “alcohol” is you do it in shots. Just like you would go with tequila shots.

As a food supplement, THC syrup can be your new magic ingredient to dozens of sweet recipes. It can be put in pancakes, waffles, jello shots, ice cream, or you name it.

Always clutter the bottle with your hand before you open and sip from the syrup.

How to prepare THC syrup?

From apple to watermelon, dispensaries sell THC syrups in all the different flavors. But in case you can’t find syrup from the place you supply your stash, you can always make it yourself. The recipe is easy. 

Ingredients: 

• Hash oil, wax, or cannabis flower (per choice) 
• Water 
• Sugar 
• Vegetable glycerine (2 tablespoons for every 3 cups of liquid)
• Additional flavor extracts such as vanilla, apple, coconut, hazelnut, lemon, etc. (per choice)

Instructions:

Step 1: You can prepare a syrup using either cannabis concentrates such as hash oil or wax, or cannabis flower. If you opt for the latter, you first need to decarboxylate the amount of pot you will use for the syrup. It’s the same process you would use for preparing other weed-infused treats such as cannabis peanut butter.

Step 2: Mix equal amounts of water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the sugar has softened and dissolved in the water, reduce the heat to medium-low. 

Step 3: Next, add the cannabis concentrate or the decarboxylated pot and heat together for about half an hour. 

Step 4: Continue cooking on low heat and add vegetable glycerine. For every 3 cups of liquid, add 2 tablespoons of glycerine. 

Step 5: Stir the concoction with a spoon on very low heat for 5 more minutes, then remove from the heat. 

Step 6: Transfer the concoction into a jar. In case you’ve used cannabis flower as the basis of the pot syrup, filter out the flower before you add the liquid into a jar. 

Step 7: Before storing your THC syrup, add additional flavor solutions such as vanilla or any flavor you prefer personally. If you don’t add flavor, the syrup will taste rather neutral. If you are not sure, you can experiment with adding trace amounts of flavor solutions.

If you can’t find THC syrup in the local dispensary and if you are too lazy to cook one yourself, perhaps your dealer already has some.

THC syrup is not ‘lean’

Lean, Barre, Purple Drank, Sizzurp, Texas Tea. Call it what you want, but Codeine and promethazine cough syrup has for the past 20 years or so been popular across the United States — and before that in the South — and arguably the most mentioned drug in hip hop.

With its roots in the blues clubs of Houston in the 1960s, drinking lean (often mixed in a styrofoam cup with Sprite and Jolly Ranchers) creates a powerfully intoxicating, euphoric effect that can slow down the whole world and have you sitting sideways, with your speech slurred and your whole body leaned over (hence the name). It has featured in the sound of countless hip hop artists, and has been linked to the untimely deaths of some of those same musicians. 

THC syrup is nothing on that same level of intoxication — or danger. It does not contain any opiates whatsoever, but some caution should be exercised (like any edible, you’ll want to start slow, with a small dose the first time.) It also is not related to THC lean, which is just codeine and promethazine syrup infused with THC. 

THC syrup could also be confused with cannabis simple syrup, which is made by infusing simple syrup with weed. THC simple syrup is a great way to sweeten — and add THC — to cold drinks like iced coffee, or to add a little kick to a cocktail. THC simple syrup is easy to make and very effective, but we’ll save that for another article.

So, what exactly is THC syrup?

This liquid marijuana (not to be confused with the cocktail) is made by infusing vegetable glycerine with cannabis concentrate or oil and adding sugar or other sweeteners during preparation. Recipes abound on the internet for THC syrup, and many of them vow to create a syrup that mimics the viscosity and sugary sweetness of cough syrups, just without that medicine flavor. It can also be purchased at dispensaries in legal cannabis jurisdictions, though it can be expensive and hard to find. 

Unless you added any antihistamines and the like (which you shouldn’t), don’t expect any of those sorts of medicinal effects, though. 

What can you use THC syrup for?

You already have several grams of premium flour, some THC gummies, and a pipe or some papers within arms reach, why bother with THC syrup? 

THC syrup is popular with users because it has all the same effects as marijuana edibles, but with an onset that users say can be far quicker. While a hash brownie or a THC gummy can take well over an hour to kick in, the internet is abound with people swearing you can feel the effects of THC syrup in around a half hour or so, possibly even sooner, although there is no scientific evidence of rapid onset.

Like any edible or oral method of taking cannabis, one might choose to use THC syrup as an alternative to smoking or simply because it is more discrete.