The “best” method of consuming cannabis really depends on your preferences and how you prioritize convenience, price, strength, health, etc. In this article, we tackle the ins and outs of 14 ways to consume marijuana in order to help you determine which method is best for you.
The Sensation of Inhalation (Smoking)
Smoking is the fastest way to deliver THC to the consumer, since the cannabinoids enter the body through the lungs and are then passed along directly into the user’s bloodstream, causing an instant effect. Smoking is also the most damaging to the lungs, since you are smoking the plant material and perhaps additional papers. Like fast food, it’s quick and gets the job done, though it may hinder your afternoon jog. One benefit the smoking options below provide is that it’s easy to monitor the dosage size, making it less likely to over consume and get “too high.”
Joints: Some users (especially in Europe where cigarette smoking is more prevalent) like to load their joints with a hybrid of tobacco and cannabis for an extra head high. Either way, one hit of a joint and you feel it instantly.
Blunts: Blunts are similar to a joint, but rolled with cigar papers instead. Blunts are thicker and hold more weed, making them often more powerful. A lot of cannabis users prefer this method simply because it’s been popular for many years and they enjoy the “old school” act of smoking. Not to mention, many famous celebrities endorse this style. For example, Snoop Lion and Wiz Khalifa publicly endorse this style when they talk about “smoking blunts” and “rolling Js”.
Pipes and Bowls: These are an even quicker and easier way to consume marijuana. Just light up, inhale, and you’re good to go. They are just as effective as joints and blunts, though it may not taste as good since there’s no paper included. Bowls usually need to be lit once for each hit, which can be great if you want to save some of the bowl for later use, but very inconvenient if you’re outside on a windy day.
Safety Precaution: In times of desperation, you may look to the remaining resin in your bowl as the last chance to get high. This is not recommended, because resin has a low THC to ash, carbon, and tar ratio. Smoking resin also heats up your bowl very quickly, making it easy to get burned in the process.
Bongs: Probably the king of marijuana paraphernalia, bongs come in all shapes and sizes and can often be quite aesthetic. Bongs often make great decoration pieces as well. A popular bong form is a gravity bong, which is a creative bong that uses gravity to force the smoke in a chamber. Making them takes a little work, but it’s a fun way to consume cannabis and it will get its users extremely stoned.
Bubblers: Bubblers are basically miniature bongs, usually small enough to fit in your pocket. Like bongs, bubblers allow time for the smoke to cool down, making it easier for the user to take bigger hits, which equals bigger effects.
Dabs: Also known as BHO (Butan Hash Oil), dabs are extremely potent hash oil smoked with a rig, much like a bong bowl, except with a blowtorch. Dabbing is essentially a flash-vaporization method, but it is much more intense. It looks quite dangerous, though it’s actually healthier than inhaling smoke, since this vapor is free of plant material. However, this potent option is certainly not for beginners. Dabbing has been nicknamed the “crack” of pot, so use at your own risk.
Vaporizers
Vaporizing is quite similar to smoking, but it heats the marijuana rather than burn it. Thus, in contrast to smoking, vaporization eliminates the potential pain in the lungs and throat that comes from the exposure to heat and burned organic matter. However, there is no scientific evidence proving that smoking marijuana has more detrimental health results as compared to vaporizing. We can only conclude that vaporizing is less harmful. Vaporizers (also known as vapes) come in all shapes and sizes. The godfather of them is the volcano, which has been around since before marijuana was legal in the United States’ decriminalized states. Though, due to its high price and large size, smaller vapes have recently become popular. There are now handheld and portable vapes that fit easily in your pocket-- it doesn’t get much more convenient than that!
Vaporizers can also be used with oils. When vaping oils, a lot of these forms of marijuana contain up to 80% THC (compared to 5-25% flowers). As its THC percentage indicates, this has a much stronger effect on the body. Vapes are widely known as the “healthiest” form of consumption, but just because it is “less unhealthy” does not make it “healthy”. If you’re looking for ways to improve your lung capacity, we suggest regular exercise.
No Inhaling? No Problem! If you’re not a fan of smoking or vaping, you’re lucky to live in a period where you’ve got dozens of options. Name a food and there’s probably a cannabis recipe for it. But, food isn’t the only oral way you can enjoy THC anymore. No matter the method, when cannabis is consumed orally, the ingestion is slower and the effects tend to be strong. On average, users who consume marijuana orally tend to feel the effects at a minimum of 30 minutes later. Sometimes the effects are not felt until over an hour later. The peak effects from oral consumption usually come around the two-hour mark, and the effects can last up to six hours and even for longer depending on the user.
The effects from oral consumption are stronger due to the fact that when cannabis is digested, the cannabinoids undergo a chemical transformation that makes them stronger. Not to mention, it is much harder to track the dosage in edibles. Dispensaries are regulated, but if someone hands you a brownie at a concert, you have no way of knowing how much cannabis it contains and how high the THC content is. It takes anywhere from 30-120 minutes to feel the full effects, making it easy for inexperienced users to consume too much only to suffer the consequences an hour or two later.
Oral consumption is ideal for people consuming medicinal marijuana for long lasting chronic pain, since you do not have to consume it as often. For recreational purposes, you may enjoy it on a long bus ride where you don’t need to move for a long period of time, because if you do over consume, the most popular side effect is falling asleep.
Let’s discuss some oral consumption options:
Weed Snacks: From brownies and cookies to cakes and candy, you’ve got plenty of options. Does your dispensary not have the food you desire? Do a quick Internet search and there’s probably a weed recipe for it.
Capsules: Just like any other drug or medication, weed can be taken in the form of a capsule or pill. This is a good strategy if you are trying to avoid smoking, but users must take caution, as capsules tend to be potent and very concentrated. Make sure you know how strong your dosage it.
Tinctures: Believe it or not, you can consume cannabis simply by letting it dissolve on your tongue. Known as one of the most underrated ways to consume marijuana, tinctures are a liquid concentration. If you want to avoid smoking and don’t want to wait for the effects of the edibles to kick in, then tinctures are your new best friend. Just place a few drops on your tongue and you will enjoy the effects anywhere between five and fifteen minutes later (unlike an edible that requires more time). Just like smoking, the effects its users will feel will vary based on the strain of marijuana.Because tinctures are an alcoholic extract, they are odorless. This makes them extremely convenient for use in any situation, whether you’re at a public movie theater or waiting in a long line at the best burger joint in town.
Sprays: THC sprays are basically tinctures inside a spray bottle. You’ll be on your way to a nice high with usually just one or two sprays.
Drinks: It’s not a simple process, but you can brew weed tea and even weed beer! Yes, marijuana coffee and cannabis wine are also options. Drinking cannabis isn’t as popular as eating it, but it essentially has the same effects.
Topicals: Rub it and reap…the benefits! Not looking for a head high? You’ve still got options. Opt for lotions that have been infused with cannabis. Like any other lotion, it is applied directly to the skin, normally to relieve pain, soreness, or inflammation in a given area. This method has no psychoactive effects, so if you’re looking to leave your mind unaffected, then topicals are a great option.
So, there you have it, fourteen way to fulfill your cannabis needs. Now, it’s up to you to get out there and try them out in order to figure out what works best for you.
About Anthony Franciosi
Colorado "Pot-repreneur" Anthony Franciosi is the founder of The Honest Marijuana Company, which utilizes all-natural cultivation methods to produce only the finest organic and eco-conscious cannabis products. Originally created as a way to holistically relieve pain from sports injuries, The Honest Marijuana Company produces a more earth friendly cannabis than the other hydroponically-grown strains available today. For more information, visit their website at www.honestmarijuana.com
