Liquid Marijuana Drink: The Classic Cocktail Recipe (Plus a Real Cannabis Version)

The Liquid Marijuana drink is a bright blue-green tropical cocktail named entirely for its color — the classic version contains no cannabis at all. It’s a rum-and-curaçao party drink that tastes like a boozy blue Hawaiian, and it comes together in a shaker in about two minutes.

Below is the standard recipe, the shot version people ask for most, and a separate, properly dosed way to make one that actually has THC in it — because on a cannabis site, the searches for a genuinely infused “weed drink” deserve a real answer too.

What Is a Liquid Marijuana Drink?

A Liquid Marijuana is a sweet, fruity cocktail that gets its glowing green color from blue curaçao mixed with apple pucker, layered over rum and a splash of tropical juices. The name is pure novelty: the drink looks like it should be something illicit, so bartenders leaned into the joke.

There is no marijuana, THC, CBD, or hemp in the traditional recipe — just spirits, liqueurs, and mixers.

That distinction matters because the search term pulls in two very different people. Most are looking for the cocktail; a smaller group genuinely wants a cannabis-infused drink and lands on the same name by accident.

This guide serves both, and keeps them clearly separate — because one involves psychoactive dosing and the other does not.

Liquid Marijuana Cocktail Recipe

This is the classic, non-cannabis version — the one you’d order at a beach bar. The measurements reflect the ratios common across published versions of the drink, scaled for a single tall glass.

Adjust the juice and sour mix to taste; the drink is forgiving.

The finished drink should read bright green, not blue. If it looks more teal than green, add a little more apple pucker.

The yellow tint from the pineapple juice and the green from the apple liqueur are what shift the blue curaçao toward that signature “marijuana” color.

Liquid Marijuana Shot Variation

To make it as a shot — one of the most-searched versions — skip the juices and pour equal parts of the four boozy ingredients into a shot glass: coconut rum, light rum, blue curaçao, and apple pucker.

Some bartenders add a small splash of pineapple juice to soften it. It’s stronger and more concentrated than the tall drink — a quick, sweet hit of that same green color.

How to Make a Real Cannabis-Infused Version

If you actually want a “liquid marijuana” that lives up to its name, you don’t infuse the alcoholic cocktail above — you build a THC drink from a pre-measured infused ingredient.

This is where a cannabis drink is completely different from a regular cocktail: the potency has to be controlled deliberately, not poured by feel.

Do You Need to Decarboxylate?

If you’re starting from raw cannabis flower to make your own syrup or tincture, yes. Raw cannabis contains THCA, which isn’t intoxicating until heat converts it to THC through decarboxylation.

A common home approach is to spread ground flower on a lined tray and heat it at roughly 220–245°F (about 105–115°C) for 30–40 minutes before infusing.

If you’re using a finished product — a store-bought tincture or water-soluble drops — the decarb step is already done and you can skip it entirely.

Dosing and Onset: Start Low

THC drinks are easy to over-consume because they taste like a regular beverage. Treat the infused component as its own ingredient with a fixed dose rather than something to free-pour.

A conservative starting point for most people is 2.5 mg of THC per serving, with 5 mg for those with more tolerance.

Onset depends on the format: water-soluble, nanoemulsified products can begin working in roughly 15–30 minutes, while oil-based tinctures can take 60–90 minutes or longer, like a standard edible.

Because of that delay, wait at least 90 minutes before deciding whether to have more — this is the most common way people overdo homemade cannabis drinks.

To estimate the dose in a batch when infusing from flower, run the numbers through an edibles dosing calculator first. Our guide to cannabis mocktails covers formats and flavor pairings in more depth.

None of this is medical advice, and cannabis affects everyone differently. Only make and consume THC drinks where cannabis is legal for you, and keep them clearly labeled and away from children, pets, and anyone who didn’t opt in.

One Rule: Don’t Combine THC and Alcohol

The obvious temptation is to spike the alcoholic Liquid Marijuana cocktail with THC and get both effects at once. Don’t.

Drinking alcohol alongside THC can raise blood-THC levels and intensify impairment in unpredictable ways, and the combination increases the odds of nausea and that spinning, “greening out” feeling.

If you want a genuinely infused drink, build it as a mocktail: use the same tropical juices and blue-green color, skip the rum and pucker, and dose it with your infused syrup or drops instead. You keep the look and the flavor without stacking two intoxicants.

Serving and Storage

The classic cocktail is best made fresh and served cold, but you can mix the boozy base ahead and add juices and ice at serving time. A batched pitcher holds in the fridge for a day, and the color stays vivid.

For the infused mocktail version, an infused simple syrup keeps in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to about three months. That lets you make it once and dose individual drinks as you go.

Label anything infused clearly with its date and the milligrams of THC per serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a Liquid Marijuana drink actually contain marijuana? No. The classic cocktail is named for its bright green color, not its contents — there’s no cannabis, THC, or CBD in it. It’s made from rum, blue curaçao, apple pucker, and tropical juices. For a version that really contains THC, see the infused mocktail method above.

What’s in a Liquid Marijuana drink? Coconut rum, light or spiced rum, blue curaçao, apple (sour apple) pucker, pineapple juice, and sweet and sour mix, shaken with ice and garnished with a cherry. The blue curaçao and apple pucker together create the signature green color.

How do you make a Liquid Marijuana shot? Combine equal parts coconut rum, light rum, blue curaçao, and apple pucker in a shot glass, with an optional splash of pineapple juice. It’s the same flavor as the tall drink, just concentrated and without most of the mixer.

What’s the difference between a Liquid Marijuana and a Blue Hawaiian? Both are blue-tinged tropical rum drinks, but a Blue Hawaiian is built on blue curaçao and cream of coconut and stays blue. A Liquid Marijuana adds apple pucker (or melon liqueur), which shifts the color to green and makes it tarter and more apple-forward.

How many carbs and calories are in one? It’s a sweet, liqueur-heavy cocktail, so it lands on the higher end — roughly 300–340 calories per tall serving. Most of the sugar comes from the liqueurs, pineapple juice, and sweet and sour mix. A sugar-free sour mix and unsweetened juice lower both.

Can I make an actual THC version safely? Yes, as a mocktail. Build the drink without alcohol and dose it with a measured infused syrup, tincture, or water-soluble drops — starting around 2.5 mg THC and waiting at least 90 minutes before having more. Don’t combine THC with the alcoholic cocktail, and only do this where cannabis is legal for you.

Can I make it for a crowd? Yes. Multiply every ingredient by the number of servings and combine in a pitcher or punch bowl, adding ice just before serving. For an infused batch, dose per glass rather than dumping THC into the shared bowl, so no one gets more than they expect.

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