3 Ways to Choose Your Medical Cannabis Consumption Method

How To Choose the Best Consumption Method for You

How do we make an educated decision on what is best for us when it comes to our consumption of cannabis, especially when it comes to medicinal use? There are many factors to consider when making these decisions, and trial-and-error is inevitable. However, here are a few questions to ask yourself to help you make your choice between the many cannabis products available.

How Fast Do You Need Relief?

The first question to ask yourself is this: do you need quick, immediate relief or can you plan far enough ahead to be able to wait for it to kick in? Smoking or vaping cannabis flower or oil enters the bloodstream almost instantaneously through the pulmonary system when introduced to the soft tissue of the lungs. Full effects can be felt typically within 5-10 minutes. Sublinguals, or tinctures, enter the bloodstream through the tiny blood vessels underneath the tongue and have the same rapid onset as smoking, albeit a bit healthier with the absence of carcinogens. If you know that you’ll need relief for the better part of the day or night and can remember to dose yourself before it’s too late, edibles provide a viable option for a longer lasting duration.

How Long Do You Want It To Last?

That said, the next consideration to keep in mind is how long do you want the effects of cannabis to last in your body and mind? Edibles can last anywhere from 6-12 hours, depending on the dose and your body’s composition. Tinctures and sublinguals are second, with a typical 4-6 hours of effects. There are some great transdermal products on the market that provide a small, metered dose every 15 minutes, up to 12 hours. Smoking or vaping effects may last as little as one hour, and approximately as long as three hours. Are you managing pain for an entire night’s sleep, or are you combating stress for just an hour while you unwind? Know that with edibles, you are committed to a long-lasting effect and there’s really no “turning it off.”

Internal Pain or External Pain?

Lastly, decide if you need internal or external relief for your symptoms. If you are struggling with joint pain but do not wish to be impaired or “high”, a topical can be a great way to combat and ease pain without the psychoactive effects of ingesting cannabis into the entire bloodstream, as these products will typically not cross over the blood-brain barrier and remain localized. It is also easy enough to re-dose yourself if the pain starts to come back, without overdoing it. If you know that you’ll need full body relief and are prepared for psychoactive effects, go ahead and try a method of consumption such as edibles, sublinguals, or smoking/vaping.

Be considerate and knowledgeable about what is best for you in particular, and know that you can always mix and match different consumption methods as you see fit. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and try a few methods out before investing too much into one product. Your budtender at your local medical cannabis dispensary in Denver should always be able to help you make an educated decision on what may work for you in your circumstances.

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