The baseball postseason. The first football Sunday (go Birds!). The big game every February. If it’s a major sports event, it’s a great occasion for hosting a game-day watch party, especially one elevated with cannabis. Learn exactly how easy it is to throw an infused game day party with these tips and recipes.
1. Stock Up on THC Drinks
On one hand, THC drinks are exactly what you think they are: beverages infused with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound that occurs most abundantly in cannabis and is most associated with its effects. On the other hand, THC drinks might not be exactly what comes to mind when you think of “drinks” in a game-day context. They have no alcohol whatsoever. That’s a good thing: more people than ever are going alcohol-free.
We love High Tide’s fast-acting THC seltzers, with a potent (as in, not beginner-friendly) 10 mg THC per can. They come in game day-appropriate flavors ranging from Island Punch to Lemon Lime Splash, giving your watch-party guests a path to chill yet uplifted vibes.
Can You Make Your Own THC Drinks?
Yep! You can totally make your own infused drinks using cannabis tinctures or THC mixers, beverage enhancers, powders, or syrups. Here’s our recipe for THC blueberry lemonade, a summer-ready favorite with 5 mg of THC per serving.
Ingredients:
- 6 oz fresh lemonade
- Ice
- A splash of blueberry syrup
- Lemon slice for garnish
- One 5 mg THC serving of your beverage enhancer or tincture (and if you want a smaller dose, go ahead and add less THC)
This recipe makes one drink. We recommend making individual servings per person, instead of multiplying to make larger batches, for greatest control over the THC content.
Instructions:
Shake the lemonade and syrup in a shaker or sealed mason jar. Add your beverage enhancer, then shake again. Pour your drink out over ice (or shake with ice), add the garnish, and serve!
2. Prepare Infused Snacks and Meals
No watch party is complete without the snacks. Wings, dip, what-have-you — pick the star of the snack table and bring it to a new level with cannabis.
This could mean, say, mixing a tincture into a dip, but infused food is always better with homemade cannabutter or canna-oil. You can use this cooking fat to more evenly distribute THC into ranch dip for your buffalo wings or drizzling over an individual plate of infused nachos.
And once the munchies hit? Forget about it — your non-infused snacks won’t stand a chance.
How to Make Cannabutter or Canna-Oil
Making your own THC-infused fat is easier than you might think! Here’s how to do it.
- Make sure you have butter or cooking oil on hand.
- Buy cannabis flower to decarboxylate (“decarb”) so that its THC is activated and thus ready for infusion into food. To decarb your flower, grind it and bake it in an oven at roughly 250°F for 20 or so minutes. After baking, let your ground flower cool to room temperature. You can also use a device like the Magical Butter or the Levo to make this process even simpler.
- Follow High Times’ instructions for calculating your edibles’ dose so that each serving contains a manageable amount of THC. This step is super important! You want your party to be feel-good, not overwhelming.
- If you’re making canna-oil, combine equal parts oil and decarbed flower in a small or medium saucepan. Steep over medium heat for roughly 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, steep off heat for 30 minutes and strain the oil with a cheesecloth that’ll capture all the ground flower. Your oil should be completely free of flower.
- If you’re making canna-butter, combine a cup of water and a cup of butter in a medium saucepan until the butter fully melts. Then, stir in the decarbed flower and let it simmer (never boil) on low heat for two to three hours, stirring occasionally. Take the mixture off the heat. Once cool enough to handle but not yet solid, strain it with cheesecloth and store it in the fridge, where the water and butter should separate.
Once your homemade cannabutter or canna-oil is ready, cook your homemade game-day recipes using an appropriate amount of cannabutter or canna-oil to infuse your food with just enough THC.
3. Buy Plenty of Pre-rolls (or Flower) and Make Space for Smoke Breaks
Infused game-day recipes and beverages don’t have to be your only blitz toward blissful vibes. You can also buy multi-packs of pre-rolls to share with the whole room or a full ounce of cannabis flower to keep the party going. Get your local dispensary’s help choosing cultivars associated with game-day friendly effects: energizing, uplifted, buzzy, chill but not outright sedating. And if you’re stocking up on flower, make sure you have smoking accessories too so everyone can partake. (And hey, if your guests bring their own cannabis vapes, even better!)
A caveat here is that not everyone at your party will want to smoke or even be exposed to cannabis smoke or vapor. Setting up a smoking section solves this problem, and your home is among the places where you can smoke weed in NJ (renters, check your lease to make sure smoking is OK). You can also smoke on your backyard or patio but not your front yard or sidewalk. Designate a room away from all the action (or the area behind your house) where folks can take smoke breaks to ensure everyone feels accommodated and included. And if everyone watching the game loves rolling one, then every room is the smoking room.
Other Tips for the Best Infused Game Day Party
With THC drinks and foods and built-in smoke breaks, you’ve carved out the basic structure for your game-day party. There’s still a bit more to do so that everyone enjoys the show.
Clearly Label Infused Items and Separate Them from Others
Place a sticky note or index card in front of every item you’re serving to indicate what it is and whether it contains THC (and the serving size and its THC content). Keep everything THC-infused on a separate table so folks joining you for a classic, non-elevated party can have it their way.
Don’t Skimp on Non-Infused Options
Remember: a good host serves every audience. If you’re cooking a dip (or any other savory unctuous game day delight) with cannabutter, make a second batch with non-infused butter. We don’t want folks accidentally helping themselves to a second infused serving, and those who don’t consume should be able to enjoy your creations. If you’ve stirred a beverage enhancer into a punch bowl, make the same punch bowl again without any THC.
Provide a Range of Dose Options
No two partakers are exactly alike. Some might love the 10 mg THC per High Tide can, whereas others might want a 2.5 mg THC microdose. Follow the previously mentioned High Times instructions for baking a dessert with this low amount of THC per serving, and you’ll cater to everyone while delighting their taste buds and so much more.
Understand Onset Time and Effects Duration
Where flower and pre-rolls impart effects pretty quickly (usually within 15 minutes), edibles take 30 minutes to two hours. THC drinks land somewhere in the middle for most folks. This variation in onset time means that guests enjoying your infused homemade party snacks might not feel the effects until well into the game. Consider starting your party an hour or two before first pitch or kickoff, so folks have time to settle into their chosen vibe.
There’s also the question of how long effects last after they kick in. For edibles, the effects duration may span four to eight hours or longer, whereas with flower and vapes, you’re usually in for a one-to-three-hour ride. THC drinks’ effects may last for about the same amount of time or a touch longer. Encourage folks to consume carefully and consider the journey ahead. Designated drivers or ride-sharing apps are always a smart idea.
Agree on Designated Drivers Before the Party
There’s no such thing as “I can drive high, it’s not that bad, I’m not drinking” — anyone who has consumed cannabis should absolutely not drive until their effects fully fade. That’s why there should be designated drivers among your guests. Getting home safely (and ensuring safety for pedestrians and other drivers) matters just as much as getting super into the game.
Invite Only Folks 21 Years of Age or Older
No one under the age of 21 can shop at a licensed New Jersey recreational dispensary, and that includes accessing your weed outside the store. Anyone under 21 shouldn’t be near your infused foods.
Replace Alcohol with Water
Instead of coupling your infused selection with beer, wine, or spirits, pair it with good ol’ water (or seltzer, or soda, or juice… whatever mood strikes you). THC can be dehydrating for some folks (called “cottonmouth”), and having plenty of hydrating bevvies on hand keeps everyone comfortable on their own pace.
Consider “Set and Setting”
This common cannabis term means “mindset and environment,” two factors you can ensure are positive for your party crew. In a relaxing space — think comfy seating, moderate lighting, the comfort of being surrounded by loved ones — one’s cannabis experience is far more likely to be enjoyable.
The experience is also more likely to go well when folks are mentally relaxed, so never pressure anyone into partaking. Only folks who are ready and eager to boost their game-day moment should light up or enjoy your edibles or drinks. Even if the game you’re watching is full of action, keep the room roughly the opposite (minus when you all shout in joy at a crazy touchdown) so partakers can have the best time.
Stock Up for Your Game-Day Viewing Party at Midnight Greens
Whether you’re transforming cannabis flower into homemade edibles or buying THC drinks and gummies for your game-day watch party, it’s all in play at Midnight Greens. Step into our licensed recreational dispensary in Turnersville — just off the AC Expressway to shop cannabis — at your own pace without any judgment. We’re open seven days a week to connect sports lovers (and everyone else) with cannabis’s elevating potential — come score points with us!
