Welcome to Ask The Leaf, where the Palm Springs Area’s foremost Cannabis Expert, Chansce Pittard, answers your questions. This post is sponsored by The Leaf, Palm Desert’s newest dispensary – opening on March 1 on El Paseo. Let The Leaf’s cannabis consultants curate the perfect cannabis experience for your lifestyle! Have a question for a future Ask the Leaf article? Send it to The Leaf.
Longtime smoker here. I don’t have a lot of experience with edibles, but I keep seeing them and I really want to try, but a few of my friends have told me crazy stories about them. What’s the difference between smoking flower versus say eating a brownie? And, should I take the “edible plunge,” what would be the best way to go about it?
– Isaac, Palm Desert
Hey Isaac, one of the questions I have been asked the most during my time in the industry is: are the effects from inhaling cannabis comparable to the effects from eating an edible? The short answer is…not even close.
We have come to understand that when we consume cannabis, certain components in the plant interact with our body, that then provides a variety of effects. There are cannabis products that can provide a very energetic and euphoric experience, that can help you on a sluggish day or with depression. While there are other cannabis products that are helpful for sleep or calming down an anxious day. We also have figured out that inhaling cannabis has a very different effect than ingesting cannabis, but both can be used to help amplify your life.
Inhaling cannabis will provide a faster acting effect in our body that doesn’t last as long, whereas ingesting cannabis will have a slower onset time, but a much longer experience. Either method can be effective at helping you get more out of your day, but we at The Leaf always recommend saving a day that you don’t have plans to try out the effects. The last thing you want is to try out a new product on a busy day and find out that this product would be better to help you relax or sleep. Here are some tools to help you decide what cannabis product is best for you:
- Inhaling cannabis will provide effects within the first 5-10 minutes and you can expect effects to last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- Inhaling is helpful when you need something fast acting, whether it be a quick puff to give you energy before a party or to help you relax before getting a good night’s rest.
- Ingesting cannabis edibles will provide effects after about 45 minutes – 2 hours and can have lasting effects up to 6 hours. Ingesting edibles can help relieve pain throughout the day, or provide a euphoric fun experience that lasts the entire afternoon.
- When trying any new cannabis product, start slow!
- Inhaling: take 1-2 puffs and wait 15 minutes before inhaling any more cannabis.
- Ingesting: start with 5mg-10mg of THC – always look for the THC milligram count on your edible package and find the right dose for you. Wait at least an hour before trying another small dose.
- Always remember that CBD can help reverse the effects of THC – so keep a CBD vape pen or edible handy in case you feel uncomfortable. The reverse effects won’t be immediate, but you can count on CBD to help calm any unwanted effects.
- Having a tolerance to inhaling cannabis does not give you a tolerance to consuming edibles. If you are a seasoned cannabis smoker, it does not mean you will have the same tolerance to an edible.
- Size does not matter! If you are a larger person, it does not mean you need a higher dosage to give desired effect.
If you would like to learn more about how cannabis works in our body, please come by The Leaf to have your questions answered by our professional and highly trained Cannabis Consultants. We are ready to help you get more out of your day and kick anxiety on your own terms!
Have a question for a future Ask the Leaf article? Send it to The Leaf.
