Key takeaways.
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What are the ways you can consume cannabis?
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What are the pros and cons of each method?
There are obvious disadvantages to smoking, but it's said to have the most rapid effects. Edibles take the longest to take effect but are said to be more psychedelic and long lasting. Dabbed cannabis is said to be the strongest — so be wary! Tinctures are fast acting and can be used by virtually anybody. Cannabis used on the skin doesn't produce any psychoactive effects but can act in localized areas.
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Can cannabis be drunk?
Yes! Cannabis can be consumed as a beverage. It can be dissolved into water and other beverages using a technology called nano-technology which allows cannabinoids to be water soluble.
Looking for our CBD dosage calculator? Click here.
Gone are the days when cannabis belonged exclusively at the end of a pipe or wrapped up in a rolling paper. Some people lament over these days — when cannabis was simple and didn’t need any fancy devices.
But we don’t.
Technology has made way for so many different cannabis consumption methods and this has undoubtedly made cannabis more available to more people. The cannabis industry wears a badge of pride (and rightly so) for the quantum leaps in technology it has made. Extraction techniques are more sophisticated than they’ve ever been, and as a result, we get to enjoy the finest extracts, edibles, tinctures and even cannabis beverages.
Thanks to legalization, consuming cannabis is like the never-ending gobstopper from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There is a never-ending array of flavours and colours — in all matter of foods, beverages, tinctures…
The list goes on forever.
At the same time, we all know too many choices can be confusing sometimes. Walking into a dispensary can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you want before you get there. That’s why we created this guide.
By the time you finish reading this, you'll have a better idea of all the different ways you can consume cannabis, and which consumption methods might be the best for you.
Smoking cannabis: Flowers.
The first, and most traditional way to consume cannabis was via inhalation. Cannabis flowers (a.k.a. buds, nugs, or herb) are ground up into smaller pieces and then either packed into a pipe or bong, or rolled into a joint.
Cannabis flowers aren’t the only part of the plant that can be smoked.
Hash, which is made out of the resinous trichomes, can also be smoked. But we’ll talk more about that in the next section.
Smoking is associated with the “social ritual” of cannabis use. “Puff, puff, pass” is the universal motto of the smoking circle, which is many cannabis users’ favourite way of consuming cannabis.
Despite the many novel ways we have to use cannabis, smoking is still the most popular method. This might be because it’s the traditional way, or it could have something to do with the social stoner circle that we love so very much.
Pros & Cons of Smoking Cannabis
| Pros | Cons |
| Effects take hold within seconds, and last only a couple of hours Joints can be shared between people Full taste and flavour is preserved | Least healthy route of administration A lot of therapeutic compounds are lost in the process of combustion |
Smoking cannabis: Hash
Hash is also consumed via inhalation or smoking, but the experience is different from using cannabis flowers. Hash is made out of the resinous trichomes that coat cannabis flowers. Traditionally, it was made by rubbing the buds between the palms. After a lot of rubbing, resin begins to form on the palms of the hands, which can be scraped off. Essentially, that resin is hash.
These days, there’s much more efficient technology for creating hash. One of the most popular methods is bubble hash. This is made by agitating cannabis flowers in micron bags. Agitation causes the trichomes to fall off. They are sifted through the microns and collected.
So why would someone choose hash over flowers?
Well — the effects are really different. Hash is essentially a concentrate of cannabinoids and terpenoids. When you smoke cannabis flower, there is a lot of inert plant material that is consumed, but that isn’t the case with hash. Hash is more concentrated, and therefore users don’t need to consume as much.
And how is hash used?
Hash users will typically use one of two smoking methods: the hash can be broken up into pieces and rolled up with a smoking mix or tobacco much like a joint. Otherwise, small pieces of hash can be burned in a hash pipe.
Pros & Cons of Smoking Hash
| Pros | Cons |
| More powerful than smoking buds Richer flavour if the hash is prepared correctly | Needs to be smoked, which is the least healthy way to consume cannabis Less available than cannabis flowers depending on where you are in the world |
Oral cannabis: Edibles, candies, gummies, and tables.
Although cannabis edibles have been a thing for a long time, they seem to have gained more popularity after legalization. And even since the start of legalization, edibles have come a long way.
When cannabis legalization first became widespread, cookies and brownies were just about the only edibles available in dispensaries. Now, cannabis consumers can enjoy chocolates, candies, gummies, lollipops, paleo bars —
Heck. You name it. There’s a cannabis-edible-version of it.
The edible high is very different from the smoking high. When you inhale cannabinoids, they enter the bloodstream straight away and are metabolised by the body in a matter of hours. When you consume edibles, cannabinoids must first bypass the digestive organs like the stomach and liver. Only after they have been digested do cannabinoids take effect.
This means two things:
- It takes longer to feel the effects of edibles
- When the effects do take hold, they are potent and long-lasting
Edibles also allow consumers to find their perfect dose of cannabinoids. Modern edibles come with indications as to the exact cannabinoid content of each edible. For example, a chocolate bar might have 10 breakable pieces, each one containing 10 mg of THC. You can have much more control over your dose with edibles compared to smoking.
At the same time, if you mess up the dose and accidentally take too much, you won’t know about it until a couple of hours later when effects start to take hold. And by then, there’ll be no going back.
Edibles also offer medicinal consumers a direct administration route for their stomach and intestines. When cannabis is consumed in edible form, cannabinoids are delivered directly to the gastrointestinal tract, which is beneficial for those using cannabis to treat digestive complaints.
Pros & Cons of Cannabis Edibles
| Pros | Cons |
| Healthier than the smoking route of consumption They are delicious! Longer lasting effects | Easy to accidentally take too much More expensive than other forms of cannabis consumption |
Cannabis concentrates: Shatter, budder, rosin, & hash oil.
If legalization did anything for the world of cannabis, it completely and utterly opened the floodgates for the many different kinds of extracts we could make with cannabis. Extracts are gaining so much popularity across Canada and the USA, probably because they are the strongest form of cannabis on the market.
Cannabis extracts like shatter and budder can reach cannabinoid levels over 90%.
What?!
Yes. We are talking about some really pure cannabis consumables.
Because the world of extracts is truly enormous, we’re going to walk you through each kind individually, how it’s used, and what devices you need to use it!
Shatter, Budder, and Hash Oil
Shatter, budder and hash oil are essentially the same thing but with slightly different textures. A shatter extract looks like broken glass, is semi-transparent and snaps easily. Budder, on the other hand, has a more buttery-like texture, is opaque, and is more sticky than shattery. And as you might have guessed, hash oil has a more oily texture.
Shatter and budder are created by pumping a solvent under high pressure through the herbal material. All of the aromatic compounds (terpenes) and cannabinoids are swept off the plant material, essentially extracting the parts that humans like to use the most.
Each manufacturer uses a different solvent and different technique depending on the kind of shatter or budder they are making, and what their processing facilities allow. There has been a lot of controversy over the years about the kind of solvents that are safe to use and those that aren’t safe to use.
Using shatter and budder is somewhat complicated compared to edibles and smoking.
Here’s what you need to know.
Firstly, shatter and budder are consumed in something called a “dabbing rig”. It looks a lot like a bong, but there’s no combustion taking place. The bowl, instead of being made out of metal, is made out of quartz or a very heat resistant glass. The bowl is heated using a blow torch until it is red hot. Then, using a needle or a “dabbing pen”, the extract is rubbed into the hot bowl. As it evaporates, you then start inhaling from the top of the dabbing rig.
That’s a lot of “devices” you need to own.
One of the things that holds a lot of people back from dabbing is the amount of equipment you have to have before you start. The dabbing rig is one thing, but you also need a dabbing pen and a blow torch. Once you have these things, dabbing is pretty simple, and for a lot of people, it’s a small price to pay for the explosion of cannabinoids that you can get.
Pros & Cons of Shatter, Budder, and Hash Oil
| Pros | Cons |
| The strongest form of cannabis Potent aromas and flavours An unbeatable high | Controversy around the use of solvents to create these extracts Requires specialised equipment to consume |
Rosin
Rosin, though it looks similar to budder and shatter, is made using a different process. It’s one of the only solventless extraction techniques to hit the cannabis market. In fact, it’s so easy to make rosin that you can do it at home with a piece of parchment and a hair straightener.
Buds are sandwiched between two pieces of parchment paper, and then pressed between two hot plates. Heat causes the trichomes to melt off the flower and absorb into the parchment. When the heat is removed and the parchment cooles, the rosin can be scraped off.
Rosin is just as potent and powerful as budder or shatter, and even though the extraction is so simple, it’s still done on a commercial scale.
You’ll still need a dabbing rig to consume rosin — unless you want to sprinkle it on top of your joint!
Pros & Cons of Rosin
| Pros | Cons |
| No solvent required to make rosin Potent aromas and flavours Stronger than smoking cannabis buds | There’s virtually no cons to using rosin |
Vaporizing cannabis: Vape oil, vape juice, & live resin.
Vaporizing, or vaping, is the newest way to consume cannabis. Vaping technology has really upped its game in the last few years. Until about 5 years ago, all cannabis vapourization took place using something called a “Volcano”. It’s a certain device that vaporizes cannabis instead of burning it, after which the vapours can be inhaled.
Now, there are much smaller devices that can be handheld, transported, and don’t require cannabis flowers to vape. An extract can be vaped, meaning much less needs to be inhaled. And of course, it’s stronger than vaping cannabis buds.
In general, vaping is considered easier for the lungs to tolerate than smoke. Nothing is combusted in the process of vaping, so literally all that’s being inhaled is vapour. And because the lungs are the target, the effects take hold immediately — like smoking.
Cannabis vape oils and vape juices are usually manufactured using cannabis isolates and distillates. These are extremely pure (over 99%) cannabinoid extracts. There is a very sophisticated chemical extraction technique behind cannabis isolates and distillates:
- First, cannabinoids are extracted using supercritical CO2 extraction. This is when high-pressure carbon dioxide is blasted through cannabis, extracting all of the cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids.
- The second step is called fractional distillation, whereby the different “fractions” are separated from the extract. This is how we arrive at pure THC isolate or distillate, or pure CBD isolate or distillate.
Once the isolate or distillate has been obtained, it is mixed into vape juice at varying concentrations, depending on the product.
Now, we mentioned live resin in this category because it is most often manufactured for the purpose of vaping. Live resin is unique compared to other extracts because of the way it is processed. Instead of extracting dried cannabis, live resin is made by freeze-drying fresh cannabis and then performing supercritical CO2 extraction.
Because the cannabis is freeze-dried, it is considered to still be “live” when it is processed. It also preserves the richness of flavour and aroma compared to other extracts.
Finally, if it’s not obvious by now, you need to have a vapourizer to use these extracts. They have a liquid consistency, and are loaded into a vape cartridge for inhalation. Although many manufacturers sell vaping extracts already preloaded into cartridges.
Pros & Cons of Vaporizing Cannabis
| Pros | Cons |
| Healthier than smoking Takes effect immediately Potent highs, aromas, and flavours | You need to buy a vaporizer to use these extracts Expensive compared to other consumption methods |
Sublingual cannabis: Oils and tinctures.
Tinctures also belong to the class of “traditional cannabis”, and cannabis-based formulas once graced the shelves of apothecaries all over the USA. Steeping cannabis in alcohol or wine was commonplace, and this is how it was most often prescribed.
With the dawn of legalization, we also saw the re-dawn of tinctures. But this time, it’s not all about steeping cannabis in alcohol. Extraction techniques have allowed us to make near-pure extracts, which are then dissolved into fatty bases like MCT oil or olive oil.
Modern cannabis tinctures almost always come in the form of an oil that is dropped under the tongue. This is called sublingual application. The cannabinoids are absorbed through the mucous membranes under the tongue and enter the bloodstream.
Tinctures take effect within 1 hour, and the effects last for up to 4 hours. They are easy to consume, don’t require any special equipment, and are extremely accessible to the vast majority. On top of this, tinctures and oils are typically healthier than edibles because they don’t contain sugar. However, for those who don’t like the taste of cannabis, this consumption method can be unpalatable.
Typically, tinctures and oils are the most common consumption methods for those using cannabis medicinally. It’s safe and doesn’t cause any damage to the lungs the way smoking does. At the same time, dosage can be frustrating, as users have to very carefully measure out each dose.
Pros & Cons of Cannabis Oils and Tinctures
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Easy to dose | Not everyone enjoys the flavour |
| The healthiest form of cannabis consumption | |
| Most bioavailable method, after smoking, vaping, and nasal sprays | |
| Recommended for everyone |
From the Pantry
We’re proud of our range of CBD oils and THC oils. We designed our formulas to be minimal, clean, and powerful, utilizing clinically proven ingredients in meaningful doses. These are some of our community favourites.
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3 CBD : 1 THC Oil | For Rapid, Potent, yet Gentle Relief from Pain and Inflammation
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Read: Does CBD Work Better with THC?
Read: CBD vs THC for Pain: Which is Better, and for What?
Read: CBD and Cannabis for Endometriosis: Everything You Need to Know
Drinking cannabis: CBD beverages.
CBD water is one of the newest things to hit the cannabis market, although cannabis beverage have been available for some time. They are usually sodas or protein shakes that contain cannabinoids. There has been some controversy about drinkable cannabinoids, as they aren’t typically water-soluble. However, nanotechnology has allowed the cannabis industry to create water-soluble cannabinoids, giving rise to CBD water.
There’s still a lot of contention about water-soluble cannabinoids. We don’t know exactly how it all affects the human body. By converting cannabinoids into nano-particles, they may be able to cross the blood-brain barrier much easier, leading to stronger effects. We know cannabis is generally safe to use, but we’ve yet to experiment with cannabinoid nano-particles!
In any case, there are many people out there enjoying cannabis-based beverages. There are even companies manufacturing hemp gin, an exciting avenue for the future of cannabis!
Consuming cannabis has never been this fun—or inclusive.
Whoa.
Cannabis isn’t all that simple, is it?
Well. It is pretty simple. It’s just that there are so many different products on the market these days, and double the amount of ways to consume it. This might be frightening for some cannabis newbies who don’t know where to start. But once you start exploring the different consumption methods, you really begin to understand the essence of cannabis. It truly is one of the most versatile plants in the world.
Whether you are using cannabis recreationally or medicinally, the different consumption methods allow you to choose what is the most appropriate for you!
How do you like to consume your cannabis? Let us know in the comments!
