As the availability of medical and recreational cannabis has increased, so has the popularity of edibles.

The selection of cannabis infused food and drink is constantly expanding with dispensaries selling everything from medicated sodas to savory snacks. You can make your own at home! Essentially any recipe that calls for oil or butter can be infused with cannabis.

In the edible preparation process, the cannabinoids are combined with lipids (fats) and decarboxylated (heated) converting them from their acid forms into their activated states. The activated oil can also be ingested in pill form.

For those looking to avoid the ‘high’ associated with THC-infused edibles, we recommend high CBD edibles or juicing raw cannabis.

The effects associated with ingested cannabis last much longer than the other consumption methods (anywhere from 4 to 8+ hours) and can be significantly more intense. This is because THC, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, is converted to the more psychoactive 11-hydroxy-THC by the liver. This compound is approximately 5 to 10 times stronger than the original THC. Smoked/vaporized cannabis does not have the same effect as it does not pass through the liver.

The downside to edibles is the delayed onset time, which can take anywhere from 20 to 90+ minutes. Onset time is directly related to digestive process – eating them on an empty stomach results in a faster processing and vice versa. The combination of delayed onset and variable potency make dosage control more challenging.