Whether you’re a recreational user or someone who uses medical marijuana to manage a chronic condition, you have plenty of options on how to consume and enjoy the therapeutic effects of this miraculous green herb. But with today’s trend of doing things in the most health-conscious way possible, this begs the question: just what is the healthiest way of using medical marijuana? Which method allows you to enjoy the most out of cannabis without suffering any detrimental effects or impact to your own well-being?
To figure it out, let’s list the most common and popular ways that marijuana is usually consumed, and their respective pros and cons to one’s health.
1. Vaping. Vaping or vaporizing is one of the most current and trendiest ways to enjoy marijuana. This involves an electronic handheld or tabletop device that, once activated, applies a specific amount of heat to the marijuana loaded into it, whether it be raw marijuana itself, hash oil, or a combination of the two. The heat is set high enough to vaporize the plant oils in the loaded marijuana without burning it. The end result is a thick but easily-inhalable vapor that the user can quickly breathe in to experience marijuana’s beneficial effects.
Pros: Vaping is a healthier substitute to smoking, as the marijuana isn’t burned. This means that it’s virtually smokeless, and thus much healthier on the lungs. It’s also a way to really get into a THC kick very quickly. Puffing on a marijuana-loaded vaping device should have you feeling the effects in one to three minutes, with the high lasting from one to three hours.
Cons: Just because it’s a healthier substitute to smoking doesn’t mean it’s completely healthy, as you still are inhaling a foreign substance into your lungs. There’s also the fact that some vape-ready marijuana or hash-oil available commercially may be mixed with synthetic chemicals to taste better, and there’s no study yet on how these could affect your health in the long term. Plus, certain vaping devices can get a bit expensive, which can be an issue for some consumers.
2. Dabbing. Dabbing is also a relatively new way to enjoy marijuana. It involves flash-vaporizing a condensed amount of concentrated, super-potent cannabis (around 60-90% THC, marijuana’s psychoactive component) with an intense heat source, like a blowtorch. The ensuing vapor is then quickly breathed in. The effect, like in vaping, hits the user very quick, and lasts for up to three hours.
Pros: Dabbing’s main draw is how fast it can be done, and how fast the effect hits, so it’s great for those moments where you don’t want to spend too much time on prep or the act itself to get some results. Plus, with the intense heat of the blowtorch, the vapor you get from dabbing is purer than what you’d get from other methods.
Cons: This is not for the newly-initiated, nor the casual smoker. This method is for marijuana users who know their limits and are not afraid to push it. Many dabbers have reported passing out in the middle of a dab session, so you do need to be in an area that’s safe and full of people you trust to enjoy the marijuana. And let’s not forget the fact that you do need to have an actual blowtorch for dabbing.
3.Edibles. This is probably the tastiest method of all 3, and one that doesn’t involve any marijuana product going up in smoke. Edibles is the catch-all term for any food made or cooked with marijuana-infused butter or oil. The end result? You feel marijuana’s effects as your stomach digests the edible inside of you. It’s a slow and tasty ride.
Pros: Using a smokeless method means that the consumer is less likely to be exposed to harmful toxins, tar, or carcinogens that can damage the lungs. This makes eating edibles the healthiest way to enjoy cannabis. It also means that you get to enjoy marijuana differently each time, depending on your culinary preferences and ability. You also get to experience the effects of marijuana for quite a while. The effects of edibles can last up to eight hours, which makes it a perfect consumption method if you’re using the herb to manage chronic pain.
Cons: This is probably the slowest method to consume marijuana, assuming that you’re making everything from scratch. It takes thirty to ninety minutes for the first dose to kick in, which may tempt newcomers to eat more servings to hurry the effect along.
And that’s it, the 3 common ways to enjoy marijuana, each with their own pros and cons and how healthy they are. As we can see, cannabis edibles is the way to go in terms of minimally impacting your health, especially if you cook health-conscious dishes with cannabis-infused oil or butter. You can also skip the added work necessary by buying high-end cooking oil that’s already pre-infused, which is available at CrEATe.