What to Do With Weed Stems (Hint: Don't Smoke Them)

Don't toss your weed stems. They're too low in THC to smoke (and harsh on your throat), but you can steep them into tea, throw them into cannabutter or a homemade topical, shake the last bits of kief off them in the freezer, or even turn them into paper and hemp wick. The cannabis plant is a goldmine, from trichomes to terpenes to the flower itself, and the stems deserve a second look too.

First things first: weed stems aren't trash. They get a bad rap, mostly because they carry barely any trichomes, which means next to no THC and no high. That's why plenty of smokers figure the stems are useless and throw them out. But there's more to them than that.

Can you smoke weed stems?

Before you think about smoking stems, keep in mind they hold very little THC, the cannabinoid responsible for the famous high you get from smoking. So, can you smoke a plant's stems?

You can, but you shouldn't, because smoking stems won't get you high. If anything, smoking weed stems is all risk and no reward: toss stems into the mix and you're much more likely to end up coughing your lungs out or with a sore throat.

Smoking broken-up stems won't improve the flavor of your hit, either. All it does is put more plant material into your lungs, which can be harsh and unpleasant. Your session won't get any better.

What can you do with weed stems instead?

Given all that, you're better off not grinding up your stems and packing them into your bong. So what are they good for?

The cool thing about cannabis stems is that you can use them in other preparations, edible or not, that give you a whole different experience. Here are some ways to use them and make the most of their essential oils:

Weed stem tea

Lots of people like cannabis tea, but a lot of them have never thought of making tea with the stems. Fair warning: weed stem tea is about the easiest thing you'll ever make, and you can dress it up so it's super tasty, full-bodied and nourishing.

Ideally, use stems from the most potent strain you can, since, as you probably know, stems have a much lower THC content than cannabis flower. Once your tea is ready, give it a twist with some extra flavors like honey, lemon, raw sugar or a bag of your favorite tea.

Cannabutter or cannabis oil

Don't want to smoke the stems? Then eat them, especially if you make edibles regularly. When you start decarboxylation, the heating step that activates the THC in your cannabis, take the chance to toss some stems into the mix.

Don't expect this to add much potency to your edibles, but it will give them a nice cannabis flavor. It's also a solid backup when you're low on flower but really need some edibles.

Cannabis topicals

Just like with edibles, you can infuse your leftover broken stems into a homemade cannabis topical recipe. It's a good option for people who use cannabis for skin issues, chronic pain and the like.

A cannabis topical is very similar to a cannabis-infused coconut oil: you just add a little beeswax and a few drops of the essential oils of your choice. As with edibles, all you have to do is add your stems during decarboxylation.

Kief

If you're a seasoned smoker, you already know the wonders of kief.

Kief is the crystals on cannabis, also known as resin trichomes, that build up when you grind your flower. The great thing about kief is how handy it is, especially when you're running low on flower.

It's easy to scrape the bottom of your grinder and end up with a nice pile of kief. You can also collect it from your stems. Just break the stems into pieces as small as you can and seal them in a plastic bag.

Keep the bag in the freezer, add more stems as they pile up, and shake the bag hard every time. With every shake, those frozen crystals break off the stems. Slowly but surely, your kief will pile up just like it does in your grinder, ready to use!

Hemp paper

It may not be common knowledge, but hemp paper has quite a history. It was hugely popular until the 1930s, when anything to do with cannabis became more and more stigmatized in the US and the rest of the world. Strictly speaking, hemp paper comes from hemp, but if you don't have any, you can use weed stems to make paper pretty easily.

Use a blender to combine equal amounts of weed stems and regular paper. Add enough water so it all blends easily. Once the mix is as smooth as you can get it, pour it into a papermaking vat.

Once you've spread the mix evenly over the screen, gently shake the surface until the pulp is evenly distributed. Let it dry and drain for about 24 to 36 hours, then carefully peel off the paper and hang it up to dry completely.

Hemp wick

Some smokers know that lighting up with a lighter means breathing butane fumes, which isn't great for your health. Hemp wick is a solid, less harmful alternative, and you can easily make your own from weed stems.

To do it, strip the stems with scissors or a blade until you have long, stringy fibers. Then twist them tightly together until they start to form a cord, folding and twisting hard. Once you've twisted it as far as it'll go, dip the cord in a bit of beeswax and let it dry.