Edibles 101: Ingesting THC
Cannabis today is the newest wave of holistic and natural healing, at least through the eyes of most investors and businessmen. However, Cannabis and its health benefits have been used for over 4,000 years, dating back to ancient Chinese customs. Initially being used in what is known today as the Middle East, Cannabis culture has been embedded in much of the southern Asian regions. China, India, Afghanistan, and many other countries have used holistic cannabis remedies for a slew of ailments and issues. These could include, but were not limited to, absent-mindedness, chronic pain, fatigue, etc. By the early 19th century, many explorers from Western Europe had started exploring and conquering much of the Middle East and Africa, taking many of their customs and traditions back home with them. With this, Cannabis had made its way to Western Europe, and so began the Cannabis expansion to the West. Today, most of us who hear about cannabis out and about tend to think of a rolled paper cigarette of marijuana called a joint. Smoking became the common practice in the West after Cannabis prohibition in the 1930s. While people have smoked charas and other forms of cannabis hashish for centuries, most medical uses of cannabis have been through ingesting it. When I say ingesting cannabis, though I do not mean the brownies, cookies, candies, and other sweet treats we know today for ingestion, I mean herbal teas, soups, and drinks, probably more resembling a protein shake than a milkshake. The sweets idea wasn’t prevalent until the mid-20th century, when The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book was released with what has become commonly known as the first written recipe for “Haschich Fudge”. Up until prohibition in 1937, cannabis isolate was sold over the counter in America, even, typically resembling cough syrup. While there still needs to be an incredible amount of clinical research into the topic, one thing has been shown: true Cannabis and Cannabis medicine have worked and been accepted by the human population for generations.
Edible cannabis is commonly more intriguing to those interested in the medical aspect of Cannabis. Why wouldn’t they be? You’re not burning a flower and bringing that smoke to your lungs. However, ingestion is commonly said to be about ten times stronger than inhalation. This can and has led to multiple bad experiences with cannabis, as new users find themselves blasted away and more anxious than ever. The reason for this is that your body does not just ingest delta-9-THC but rather takes that compound and turns it to 11-hydroxy-THC, a compound built from your stomach acids. This compound is known to be ten times stronger than delta-9-THC, the compound connected with psychoactive effects we feel from Cannabis. Edibles are also broken down and absorbed through your liver, taking about sixty to ninety minutes to feel adverse effects. Inhalation brings the compound to your bloodstream through your lungs, feeling effects in about thirty to sixty seconds. The difference has also been noted to add to the duration of the effects; edibles can last up to twelve hours, whereas inhaling THC will, at max, only last four hours. Edibles present many great positives and perks about cannabis, especially to those interested in it in the medical sense. However, a small con with edibles is that many contain large sugar volumes to try and mask the cannabis flavor, which could be counterproductive for those seeking to aid heart ailments.
Today’s edibles typically come with a dosage stamped right on the package. Most actually have two, one for the entire package dosage and one for the single-piece dosage. Most consumers and experts have come to find out that the greatest benefit seems to come from a 5 to 20 milligram THC dosage. They say this dosage leaves most users feeling the benefits of the cannabis compounds without skipping a beat in their day-to-day. Typically, a ratio of other active cannabinoids such as CBD, CBC, and CBG can help balance out and lower psychoactive effects when using cannabis edibles, especially in the daytime. Although when using edibles, it is becoming more recommended to seek out and purchase more full-spectrum edibles or make your own at home. This is because many large cannabis companies on the market today use a distillate base. A simple comparison one could make for this would be taking a shot of rye whiskey once a day versus a glass of wine once a day. Distillate edibles will only make you feel “high,” while live resin, rosin, RSO, or homemade edibles will give you far more of the pain relief, lack of paranoia, and sense of euphoria that is often sought out. The downside of this is often the fuller spectrum products often come with a larger price tag, often using more flowers to make the extracts used for the base.
Most probably wonder why it is, besides marketing, that these products are more recommended by users, enthusiasts, and even experts. The quick answer is the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a system that makes up about 120 receptors within your nervous system. These receptors are categorized into two different receptors, CB1 and CB2. CB1 is going to be where you predominantly feel the effects: euphoria, sleep relief, and a “buzz”. The CB2 receptor is where CBD is broken down in the body: lack of paranoia, gut relief, and pain relief. When making a distillate base, extractors are going to be distilling out all THC from the plant matter, even taking off these other cannabinoids that would naturally hit your CB2 receptors. When using other forms of extraction: solventless (rosin), closed-loop BHO (resin), or heat (cannabudder), extractors are looking to pull off the greatest number of active cannabinoids instead of the greatest amount of one active cannabinoid. Without these other cannabinoids in your edibles, it will leave your high feeling very much empty and often leave you with little to no medicinal benefits.
Edibles are a great way, if not what’s commonly thought of as the best way, to use cannabis and benefit from it. Using edibles with a ratio is a great start for users new to cannabis, just looking to treat pain, especially when the other cannabinoids are pulled from cannabis plants and not hemp plants. However, we now know that the “live” and RSO-based edibles may be a bit more like your buddies’ magic brownies from your youth, rather than the common distillate options on the market today. Hopefully, readers can take away from this that while all cannabis byproducts will get you high and buzzed, certain ones may benefit users more in the long run. The ECS still has a lot more to reveal, but we do know now that it likes all cannabinoids instead of just THC. When only having one cannabinoid, the “buzz” often feels like it is lacking or just not quite the same. So, if you’re new or a seasoned veteran of cannabis, hopefully, now you can go and make informed purchases when looking into edibles.