The Science of Edibles

Today Cannabis comes in a multitude of products. Walk into a dispensary, look up and read the menu. If you have never visited a dispensary, it can be overwhelming at best. Cannabis comes in many forms, flowers, topicals, oils, personal products, edibles, beverages, pizza and so much more. How do you decide on what you want to purchase and why? A little knowledge goes a long way. If you purchase edibles in the dispensary and your friend purchases flower, your experiences could be quite different.

The smoke from cannabis flows through the lungs and into the bloodstream until it reaches the brain's cell receptors. The effects are felt within several minutes or a short while later. It is important to note that not all cannabis strains act the same way. Edibles, on the other hand, are ingested through the stomach, which takes time to break down and then passes into the bloodstream and flows to the brain's cell receptors. This is generally when effects can be felt. In edibles, it can take up to an hour to feel the effects and it depends on the individual. It also depends on the type of cannabis edible you buy.

All edibles are not equal, it is all about the process. Have you ever picked up a bag of gummies and read the small print? If you are focused on CBD, full-spectrum and broad-spectrum are the better choices. When the ICE HASH process is used for making edibles, the process preserves the terpenes and cannabinoids and the benefits are passed on to the user. Ice Hash is generally cultivar specific. Wedding Cake is a popular cultivar today if you used the ICE Hash method for the process you maintain all the great benefits of the plant. If buying a product that says, Isolate or distillate, it means the process extrapolated out the CBD isolate and or the THC distillate, and no other plant derivatives are used. In addition, many edibles are not cultivar specific or pass on the terpene cannabinoid benefits to the medicinal user.

It’s about the processing of the cannabis plant and it really makes a difference if looking for medicinal benefits of cannabis. Cannabis is full of cannabinoids and terpenes that can play a beneficial role in the human body system.

EDIBLES INTERACT WITH THE HUMAN BODY DIFFERENTLY THAN INHALING

A good portion of the products on the market do not have terpene properties or the benefits of the cannabinoids available to the consumer. The terpenes and cannabinoids have been stripped out or degraded in the process of achieving an isolate and or a distillate. Large manufacturers of edibles generally use solvents, butane, alcohol, or CO2. Once isolated the Isolate or Distillate is in crystal form. Manufactures break down the crystals to a powder that is easily ingested into the body system through the edible. The reason the terpenes and cannabinoids degrade is the heat process used. The high heat breaks down the cannabinoids and terpenes. The process is not natural, but it does have a place in the market. The extraction process can be different depending on the manufacturer. The CBD crystal contains less than 3% THC. A distillate (THC).

One important factor to remember is to ingest edibles slowly. Start with a lower dose than written on the package. Especially if edibles have not been used before. Due to the slow ramp-up of the edibles, it is not uncommon to hear that the user had ingested more than the package states. This is where problems come in and education is crucial in the use of edibles and other forms of cannabis. Enjoy your brownies, gummies, seltzer waters, and more. Just be aware of what you are putting into your body.