A reader recently wrote to ask: “I have a birthday coming up, and I’d like to indulge myself. I keep reading about a cannabis product called moon rocks. What are they, where can I buy them, and can I make my own?”

Happy birthday and, yes, you can buy or make moon rocks, but be prepared to spend all the singles and fives your grandma stuffed into that Peanuts birthday card, and then some. Seriously, this won’t be a cheap undertaking.

Moon rocks are simply three cannabis products that join forces to make something stronger than their individual selves—kind of like the Avengers, except without Hawkeye, because get real: a bow and arrow aren’t going to stop any aliens. C’mon.

In brief, moon rocks are made by taking the very tippy-top-shelf buds you can find, which are then soaked in hash oil, then rolled in kief (AKA those sticky crystals you see on quality bud). You may also hear moon rocks referred to as “cannabis caviar,” although that term is normally reserved for buds that have simply been soaked in hash oil but forgo the kief. Some producers are swapping out hash oil for rosin, the solvent-free concentrate that’s gaining a growing following.

The origin of moon rocks—much like the fate of our nation—is somewhat hazy. Some claim they were brought to the attention of the general public via California rap artists Kurupt and Dr. Zodiak, who tout their branded Moonrock on their website (kuruptsmoonrock.com), which also features a number of free mixtapes by the artists and their friends. This product is only available at California dispensaries, however, although similar products can be found in other states such as Colorado, where they are known to sell for as much as $1,400 per ounce (that’s around $60 a gram). Many feel the price is worth it, as the products test at more than 60 percent THC. The tradeoff is that these are about potency, not taste, and the draw on them can charitably be called “rough.” For those seeking maximum pain relief, that may be a worthwhile compromise.

Stoners from the ’70s will tell you that this supercharged weed is nothing new: The bell-bottomed ballers of that time would often roll fat joints in Zig Zags striped with hash oil, then finished with a sprinkling of crumbled hash. Then again, many will also tell you they were at Woodstock, so....

I searched Leafly and made some calls, but I didn’t see any dispensaries in Oregon carrying moon rocks or their equivalent. But that should not stop you in your quest to get really, really high for an outrageous sum.

First, get yourself some tight, well-manicured buds. You will also need some sort of liquid form of cannabis oil—hash oil, rosin, BHO, PHO, or the CO2 oil from a vape pen cartridge will work. If you’re using rosin, wax, or dabs, you will need to heat it up just enough so it liquefies. Place it in small bowl or cup, and place that into a container of hot water.

Hold your bud with a pair of tweezers. You may either dip the bud into the liquefied concentrate, or use a small pastry brush to cover the bud with the oil. You can then decide if you want to dust the bud with kief now, or let the freshly soaked bud “cure” for days (even up to a month). If you chose to let it cure, you will need to hit the bud with a second coat of oil before dusting it with kief. If you have enough kief, you can take the freshly oiled bud and submerge it completely. A silicone baking sheet is the perfect surface to work on, in order to deal with the stickiness.

Smoke your homemade moon rocks as you would any other bud, but mind the kief—you don’t want to waste a single precious grain. Forgo the grinder and use a small, sharp pair of scissors to parcel out your dose. It won’t take much—a quarter gram should be plenty—and I always use a water pipe, as the combined trio of products can be super-hardcore on the throat. Moon rocks make great gifts as well, for yourself and others.