Since widespread legalization, marijuana has taken the country by storm and if you’re not munching on a cannabis candy, what are you doing? If you’re a beginner when it comes to eating cannabis, it’s reasonable to want a little more information before you scoff an entire brownie.
Marijuana edibles have shot up in popularity as they come with plenty of benefits. From pain relief to relaxation, eating cannabis is the go-to choice for many people. Eating, rather than smoking, is preferable for lots of users as well from a health perspective.
Would you like to try marijuana edibles in a safe, managed way? Do you want to see what all the fuss is about, but be sure you won’t take too much? Understanding how edibles work and what benefits they provide will help you make the right choice for the first time. Keep reading to discover how to start eating edibles and what dose you’ll need.
What Are Marijuana Edibles?
Marijuana edibles are food and drink products that are infused with cannabis. They often take the form of sweets, chocolates, and drinks. Depending on your state, you might need a medical marijuana card to buy them.
Edibles contain either CBD, THC, or a mixture of both. When you try edibles, you must know what you’re eating, as these compounds have drastically different effects!
CBD Edibles
CBD, or cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive compound derived from cannabis and is legal in more places than marijuana itself. CBD edibles are popular as they don’t affect your ability to go about your daily tasks. Instead, they can provide feelings of calm and relaxation, especially beneficial for anxiety sufferers. There’s still a lot that the medical community doesn’t know about CBD, but it is used to treat a small number of medical conditions. As CBD doesn’t make you feel that typical “high,” it’s a great way to get started in edibles.
THC Edibles
Edibles containing THC do have the power to make you “high,” and you should treat them wisely and respect their potency. These edibles can make you feel very spaced out and severely affect your ability to complete your routine tasks, so, like alcohol, only consume them in a safe environment.
CBD and THC Mixtures
Always check the labels carefully to see that you’re buying the product you want. It’s best to get your marijuana edibles from an approved dispensary when you first try them as the packaging will be clearly labeled.
Many CBD edibles will also contain THC to some degree so you can enjoy the best of both worlds. CBD with THC referred to as “full-spectrum CBD,” and CBD with the THC removed is usually called “broad-spectrum CBD.”
Why Choose Edibles?
We all know smoking is bad for us, and as cannabis can have such beneficial effects, why ruin it with inhaling a toxic substance?
Edibles are an excellent choice for beginners as they come in almost every food and flavor imaginable. Love cake? You can get marijuana muffins. Partial to chocolate? You can get delicious marijuana chocolates. It’s not just about the taste; though, there are more reasons to choose edibles.
Benefits of Edibles
Edibles contain controlled amounts of THC or CBD, and that makes it easy to know the exact dose you’ll be getting. Ingesting controlled amounts of cannabis can be especially beneficial to newcomers to eating cannabis, as you won’t want to take too much. The effects also last much longer than most other forms of cannabis consumption, and if you’re eating it for its anti-anxiety properties, this is hugely beneficial. Edibles are safer than smoking for obvious reasons.
While vaping is also safer than smoking, there’s still a lot of research needed to find out whether it damages the lungs or not. With edibles, you’re not inhaling anything.
Downsides
The marijuana compounds in edibles get absorbed into your bloodstream via the digestive system. Because of how your body digests edibles, it can take significantly longer to feel the effects than it would if you were inhaling it. As absorption takes a different amount of time for each person, it’s harder to plan the time you’ll be high. Many newcomers to edibles eat far too much. As it takes a long time to feel the effects, it’s common to think it’s not working and decide to eat more. Wait about an hour to two hours after you ingest an edible to gauge how you are feeling before deciding to up your dose.
How to Pick the Right Dose
When you’re eating edibles for the first time, always pick a low dose and be patient. CBD without THC is an excellent choice to try as it contains no psychoactive properties, so dosage is less critical. It’s hard to generalize dosage too, as it depends on your metabolism, the product itself, and other factors. As a rule, though, a beginner should consume no more than 10mg of THC. If you’ve never consumed marijuana before, or not for a while, start with 2.5mg or 5mg. It’s much better to start with a low dosage than to take too much and feel uncomfortable.
How Dosing Works
Edibles will have the total milligrams of THC in the packet listed on the packaging. The same should typically apply to CBD edibles.
If you have a bag of candy at 100mg THC, that’s the total amount of THC in the packet, not in each candy. While it’s tempting to eat more than one serving of an edible (because they are so delicious!), remember that your dose will double, so be wary.
Experiment With Friends
Even at a low dose, it’s a good idea to try edibles first with friends. It’s easy to take too much, which can lead to paranoia, discomfort, and drowsiness. With friends by your side, you can ask for help if you need it.
Try Eating Cannabis and Get Even More Benefits
Eating cannabis gives you more freedom than smoking it. You can better control your dose, choose delicious treats, and opt for non-THC products if you want to feel calm and relaxed. As a beginner, the most important thing to remember is to start low and be patient. It’s always better to not get quite the effect you were hoping for than to spend a whole day feeling like a zombie. PrestoDoctor is a convenient way of getting your medical marijuana card so that you can try some edibles – sign up with us today.
