People tend to have some really strong feelings about edibles. They either love them or they hate them. Edibles are completely different from smoking pot, and if you approach edibles with the same mindset as smoking a joint, you’re going to have a rough time.
There is a time and place for edibles. Not every cannabis user has a constitution for edibles, and everyone’s body works differently. The experience of smoking weed is just about the same for everyone, but the experience of using edibles can vary from person to person.
It’s a process that takes some time and patience to dial in, but if you’re willing to figure out how to make edibles work for you, the experience can be a good one.
How do edibles work?
Edibles deliver THC to your brain’s CB1 receptors the long way. You eat your edible, and your body processes it just like any other food. It breaks down the nutrients, sugars, proteins, and carbohydrates in your edible. Your THC goes along with it.
As the breakdown happens, the THC reaches your liver to be filtered. Your liver is the organ that detoxes your body. It evaluates everything that passes through and releases it to your bloodstream once it’s been fully processed.
When edibles move through your digestive system, the processing of THC is slow and constant. It takes a while for the THC to be fully processed, and you’ll be high for the full duration of that process.
How does smoking weed work?
When you smoke weed, the THC gets to your receptors almost immediately. You’re denying your digestive system the chance to work with the THC before it reaches your bloodstream. It isn’t filtered, and it hits your brain quickly. You’ll start to feel the effects within a minute of your first hit. This rapid onset makes it easy for you to tell how the weed is making you feel and how much weed you can tolerate.
This rapid utilization also makes the high shorter. The THC gets where it’s going in a very short period of time, and it wears off predictably. Most people find that their high is completely gone anywhere from two to four hours from the time they finish smoking.
Edibles feel and work much differently than smoking
Smoking weed is a break. Eating an edible is a commitment. Edibles are far less predictable. Weed you smoke gets where it’s going very quickly and runs its course. Edibles keep you in a constant supply of THC for anywhere from 4 to 12 hours, depending on your metabolism and the amount of edibles you ingested.
This doesn’t count the time it takes for them to kick in, which can be anywhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours. Once your edibles start to kick in, you’re locked in. You’re going to be as high as you’re going to be. You can’t stop the process of your body breaking down and utilizing the THC like you can with weed. There’s no option to wait a minute or two and see how you feel.
Edibles are a lot like being on a rollercoaster. As soon as the ride starts, you’re on it until it’s over. The most significant difference is that, rather than lasting a minute or two, this rollercoaster lasts for the better part of your waking day. If this scares you, edibles may not be quite the right fit for you. If you’re extremely intrigued, there are a few things you should know before you give edibles a try. You want to set yourself up for a positive experience.
Preventing a bad high from edibles
Anything can give you a bad high if you ingest too much THC. You can have a bad high from smoking a large amount of really potent sativa. You can have a bad high from taking two puffs off a 94% THC distillate vape. You can also have a bad high from edibles.
Understanding the differences between edibles and weed can set you up for a better time. You’ll be able to make better choices and avoid rookie mistakes that lead people to a bad high.
Is your liver in good shape?
Edibles are processed by your liver, much like alcohol. If drinking doesn’t agree with you, or if you’re a lightweight, you probably aren’t going to do very well with edibles. Even if you have a very high tolerance when smoking weed, it won’t matter. When you eat your THC, the game completely changes.
Reading and understanding THC dosages
Even if you regularly smoke strains with upwards of 25% THC, you should keep your first edible dose very low. Most people don’t fully conceptualize the finer nuances of their unique metabolism. When you take a multivitamin, how long is it before the vitamin C hits? You, like everyone else, have no clue.
Your edibles are going to tell you a lot about the speed of your digestive system and how long it takes your body to process the things you put into it. Your first edibles should always be a learning experience. Stick with 2.5mg or less THC for your first experimental dose. Most of the time, that’s half a single piece of a gummy. It’s not a lot, and it doesn’t need to be.
Being mindful of appropriate portion sizes
Intuitively, a small pouch of sour candy is a serving. You grab it from the gas station and you eat the whole thing on a road trip or while you’re watching a movie. Even though the nutrition facts state differently, everyone has a tendency to ignore them. Edibles are also subject to the same phenomenon.
In some cases, the appropriate dose of an edible for you will be half a piece of something. Do not eat the whole bag of gummies or the whole chocolate bar. You’ll be uncomfortably high for a very long time.
After you’ve eaten the appropriate serving, put the rest of your edibles away. Get something that won’t make you high to set on the coffee table and munch away at that.
Don’t double-dip
Most people are used to how quickly weed kicks in when they smoke. If you take an edible and wait an hour and it seems like nothing is happening, it’s really confusing. You might feel like you didn’t take enough or that your edibles don’t work.
Whatever you do, don’t eat more. It’s not unusual for edibles to take as long as two hours to begin to work. You have to be patient.
Wait it out and see what the effects feel like. If you don’t feel as high as you’d like to be about four hours after you take your edible, remember that for next time. Slightly increase your dose the next day or the next weekend. This slow process will allow you to determine exactly what you can handle. It’s better to have a couple of subpar highs than it is to have one really bad high.
Having a backup plan
You don’t know how edibles are going to hit you until they hit you. By then, there’s nothing you can do about it. Make sure you have a clear schedule for the day and a quiet, comfortable place you can go to if you feel too high.
The closest thing to an antidote is slightly imperfect, but it may work in the pinch. Try a high concentration of broad-spectrum CBD oil. If you can take 1,500mg of CBD without any THC, you’re going to send the CBD to fight off the THC in your body. CBD makes it harder for THC to bind to your CBD receptors. If you’re still releasing THC into your bloodstream, a sublingual CBD tincture in a high dose can lessen the severity of its effects.
The takeaway
Edibles are never the same for two people. It’s always going to be a unique experience. Before you try edibles for the first time, prepare yourself for a high unlike any high you’ve ever experienced before. It doesn’t matter how much THC you smoke. Eating it is an entirely new world.
Once you learn how to navigate this new kind of high, it can be really fun. It’s more fun for people who enjoy riding a constant high. If you’re the type of person who likes quick-acting sativas that fade away when you’re out of creativity or inspiration, edibles aren’t for you. If you like the couch-lock feeling of a great indica, you’ll probably love edibles.
Whether you want to give edibles a shot or you’d like to stick to your normal weed, Emjay is here for you. We can deliver edibles or weed to your door in about half an hour. If you’re taking an edible, you’re going to be relying a lot on delivery today. You’re definitely not going to be able to drive anywhere.
