I bet you have the main ingredients lying around your house.

As a healer, I definitely call upon my plant allies to assist me day to day. Cannabis is one of my favorites but it’s not the only one by a long shot.

Here is my recipe for a basic cannabis tincture, yet another way to intake weed without having to smoke it.

Basic Cannabis Tincture

~3.5 grams of cannabis

~at least 40-proof alcohol (whiskey, vodka, gin, etc.)

~Jar

1) Preheat oven to 220°F. Grind up cannabis and toast it on a baking sheet for 25 minutes*.

*This is the process of decarboxylation, which makes certain cannabinoids bio-available to be absorbed by the body. This step is essential for making homemade edibles and tinctures.

2) Grab your jar, and fill it 1/3rd of the way with plant material, and 2/3rds with alcohol. Stick to a general 1:2 ratio of cannabis to alcohol.

3) Leave jar in a cabinet, out of the sun for 4-6 weeks. Shake it up every once in a while!

4) After minimum 4 weeks, strain it and pour the magic liquid into a tincture bottle with a pipette. Voila!

How easy is that?

You can also customize this recipe and add other complementary herbs in. I recently made a cannabis tincture and threw in some rose petals, lemon balm, and calendula in with it.

And if you want to expand to other plant allies outside of cannabis, you can make a tincture without it as well.

Take the opportunity to head to your local apothecary or bulk herb distributor (bring your own jar!), and start on the journey to learn about the beautiful healing plants out there.

Stephanie Zhu is a freelance writer covering the sectors of health & wellness, cannabis, and sustainability. She is also a healer, a massage therapist, and Reiki practitioner. Learn more about her at themysticdreamer.com, and on Instagram as @themysticdreamer.