However, ingesting marijuana in a food form is becoming more and more popular, and if you live in a state where cannabis is legal, cannabis edibles are always within your reach. Their popularity has grown substantially due to the distinctive effect they bring to the user and the delayed, longer-lasting marijuana experience than inhaling it normally would. Eating or drinking cannabis also provides a more intense effect than smoking it does. Also, if you don’t like smoking or are sensitive to smoke, you can still enjoy cannabis without smoking it. In this article we are going to explain why that is and provide some guidance on dosing so that you will achieve your desired outcome.
Delayed Response With Cannabis Edibles
Eating just one chocolate brownie, or just one gummy bear can often be a tall task. They are usually so delicious and it takes a lot of discipline to stop at one. However, when a brownie or a gummy bear is filled with THC, eating a lower quantity will be your best move. Because of the way marijuana interacts with the body when it goes through the stomach, its potency is much higher than it is when you inhale it.
People metabolize cannabinoids (such as THC) differently when they ingest them than when they smoke. If you eat something with cannabis, you will store it in your liver where it will bind to more endocannabinoid receptors in the human body and give you a full-body high. This is why people often say that cannabis edibles hit them stronger than smoking cannabis does. Read more about it in this Vice article, where they have fully broken down the chemical process of ingesting marijuana.
Dosing With Cannabis Edibles
So now that you know how your body metabolizes cannabinoids, and that ‘‘the kick’’ will be stronger, the quantity should definitely be lower when it comes to cannabis edibles. Thankfully, now you can pick and choose your dosage, as it’s usually written on the label or described as a ‘’standard dose’’ or ‘’one serving’’ of 10mg when you get them from a dispensary. It’s not like the old days where people would put a couple grams of cannabis in their brownie batch and bake them up. Back then you would have no idea how much is in them, they’d taste gross, and be inconsistent batch to batch.
Proper dosage is extremely important, as you don’t want to get ‘’too high’’, which can lead to anxiety, paranoia, and disable you from being a functional and normally operating human being. It’s also a bad representation on how good cannabis can be. In the event you did find yourself “too high” there are some effective ways to help you through that experience. Check out this episode of our Cannabis Therapy Potcast, “How to Come Down From a Cannabis High.”
However, if you ingest the right amount, there is no reason that your experience won’t be as enjoyable as intended. If you are inexperienced with cannabis edibles you will have to go through a bit of trial and error with the quantity, but we recommend that you start slowly, you can always eat more later, but you can’t un-eat the edible if you take too much. We can’t emphasize starting slowly enough when you’re trying out cannabis edibles.
Patience With Cannabis Edibles
Inhaling marijuana is fun because you can feel the hit instantly, as it enters into your bloodstream through your lungs. You don’t need to wait around for an hour to start to feel the high effect, so it’s easier to dose yourself and not go too overboard. When dealing with cannabis edibles, some of the fun (or fear) is that you don’t know exactly when you are going to feel the effects. Cannabis edibles are like an out of town friend that calls you to tell you he’s on his way to your house, but doesn’t tell you where he is exactly. So the only thing you can do is wait patiently.
It can take an hour or even more for the cannabis to kick in, so don’t succumb to the pressure of ingesting more if you don’t feel anything right away – because you might regret it later on. To help pass the time, check out our Cannabis Therapy Potcast, after a few episodes you should start to feel the cannabis edibles doing their work.
So, Should You Eat Just One Cannabis Edible?
Honestly, it really depends. If you’re eating a gummy bear that’s only 10 mg, and it’s your first time, then yes! If you’re a long-time cannabis consumer, and it’s a 10 mg gummy bear, then you could probably eat two and be perfectly fine. However, let’s say it’s a 100 mg chocolate bar and it’s your first time, then you should only eat part of it. Essentially, if it’s your first time consuming edibles try to start with only 10 mg and see how it affects you.
If you have a hard time controlling yourself around sweets, we recommend baking regular treats as well, so when the munchies hit you have something else to snack on instead of getting too high from eating more edibles. Be sure to label the non-infused treats and the infused treats, you don’t want to forget which is which.
In an effort to help you out with your dosing we’ve created this Cheat Sheet to compare different methods of consumption to their onset and duration. If you’ve had experiences with cannabis edibles that you’d like to share with us please do so below! Please be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’re still not sure what edibles are, check out our cannabis classroom page where we go in depth on cannabis edibles.
In the Detroit area? Join us at The Craft Cannabis Club, a private club that provides sophisticated comfort paired with specially crafted menus. “Upscale but not uptight.”
