There are many different factors that come into play when determining what kind of experience you will have with cannabis. Different strains, terpene profiles, CBD to THC ratios, and consumption methods all can have a big impact on your cannabis experience.
Out of all of these factors, one that might have the largest impact on your experience is the consumption method.
Eating edibles vs smoking flower are two of the most popular ways to consume cannabis. These consumption methods can both offer a great, if not very different, experience.
Below, we’re going to review what you need to know about eating edibles vs. smoking your cannabis.
Ingestion
Both edibles and smoking bring marijuana into your body, but it doesn’t go to the same places. When you smoke, you inhale THC into your lungs before the effects on other body parts are felt. With edibles, the THC goes into your stomach before being rerouted into your liver and other organs.
Absorption
After smoking cannabis, you’ll start feeling its effects within a few minutes. On the other hand, when you eat a cannabis edible, your body absorbs it through your digestive system, which can take quite a while. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to feel the effects of a cannabis edible.
Although it takes THC significantly longer to get to your brain when you eat an edible, the effects are usually a little stronger and have a longer half-life.
How Consumption Method Affects Your High
Edibles may be strong, but compared to smoking cannabis, they actually deliver a smaller concentration of cannabinoids to the bloodstream. Ingesting edibles introduces only 10 to 20 percent of THC and other cannabinoids to the blood plasma, whereas inhaled cannabis falls closer to 50 or 60 percent.
While the intensity and length of your high depends on a variety of factors (including quality, dosage, and potency) of your cannabis, a high from smoking weed will generally last one to two hours. A high from edibles can last from four to six hours or more.
Some people like to smoke their cannabis, while others like to eat their cannabis. Then, some people like to do both, but switch things up depending on the occasion. But however you like to use your cannabis, it’s important to be aware of how the product you’re using works. We hope this guide to the differences and benefits of eating edibles vs. smoking weed has been helpful and educational as you move forward in your cannabis journey!
If you have any questions about cannabis edibles, cannabis flower, or cannabis in general, please feel free to reach out to Flora Farm’s dispensaries in Neosho, Humansville, and Springfield MO today.