1DO THE MATH BEFORE YOU COOK
A weed dinner party is not the place for a family-style free-for-all, says Storrs. “A known, quantifiable amount in each food will help you guide your guests.” So, if your delivery method is a dish cooked in a cannabis-infused oil (see Storr's recipe below), make sure you know how many milligrams are in each teaspoon (most dispensary-purchased weed has the THC content clearly indicated), and keep track of how many teaspoons you’ve used to make the dish. Then do the division, figuring out how much THC will be in each individual portion. A relatively modest five milligrams per serving is usually ideal. Seasoned stoners can always go back for seconds.
2BE UPFRONT ABOUT DOSAGE
We’re all grownups here — and grownups like to know what they’re getting themselves into. “For each dish, I like to point out the delivery system I used and how strong it is,” Storrs says. It’s just common courtesy — and because foreknowledge tends to ease anxiety, it’s also a way to keep inexperienced cannabis users from curling up into a ball later in the meal.
3FRONT-LOAD THE FUN
Edibles take time to kick in, anywhere from 20 minutes when consumed in a drink to two hours for cooked foods. So unless you want your guests’ high to hit when they’re paying the babysitter, plan to concentrate consumption at the start of the meal. Storrs suggests kicking the night off with a tincture-spiked cocktail — like his take on the Manhattan (pictured above; recipe below) — and, say, a salad made with an infused-oil dressing or a ricotta spread drizzled with infused oil. After the starters, stick to noninfused dishes.
4PREPARE FOR SOMEONE TO OVERDO IT
Storrs’s goal is always for guests to leave feeling like they could have had more cannabis and not gone over the edge. “But there’s not a formula for who is gonna behave how, and there’s no way of undoing it once you’ve started.” So keep an eye on the room as the meal progresses. Did your pal at the end of the table grab one too many servings of the chard? Make sure there’s a quiet place for him to lie down.
5TRANSITION TO CBD FOR DESSERT
The nonpsychoactive, body-buzz-inducing component of weed known as cannabidiol — CBD for short — has been touted as everything from a pain reliever to a cognition enhancer. Take from that what you will, but Storrs swears by the stuff for “sanding the edges down from the THC.” He likes to offer CBD-only vape pens, CBD tinctures, and CBD-infused teas — all available at your local dispensary — to bring the meal to a mellow close.
How to Make a THC-Infused Manhattan
To make five cocktails, mix 5 ounces bourbon, 5 ounces sweet vermouth, 5 ounces Averna liqueur, 5 dashes black walnut bitters, and 1 teaspoon THC tincture (available at your local dispensary) in a pitcher and stir. Divide between five ice-filled rocks glasses; garnish each with a twist. (Each drink contains about 5 milligrams of THC.)
How to Make THC-Infused Cooking Oil
Spread out 7 grams of marijuana flower on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake at 240 degrees for 30 minutes. (This step is necessary to activate the THC.) Crumble the marijuana into a 16-ounce Mason jar, add 1 cup grapeseed oil, and seal. Submerge the jar in a pot of water and simmer gently for 2 ½ hours, removing the jar every 30 minutes to shake it. Let sit overnight at room temperature. Strain the oil, discarding the spent marijuana. The oil will keep in the freezer for up to two months. (Each teaspoon contains around 25 milligrams of THC — enough for five 5-milligram individual portions of food.)