Each year that the legal cannabis market advances come new, innovative cannabis products to try. Consider this your how-to guide when it comes to exploring the various marijuana consumption methods, plus how to determine the right one for you.
Inhalation
Firstly, inhalation is typically the most common method of consuming cannabis. Whether it’s through an elaborate glass piece — or a simply rolled joint — inhaling cannabis allows all the cannabinoids ingested to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs.
There are two common ways to inhale cannabis:
Smoking
To smoke cannabis, you simply light up the cannabis flower and inhale the smoke. This can be done with the following smoke accessories and pieces:
Pipes
Small and easy to use, cannabis can be added to the bowl part of the pipe and lit up, inhaling in the smoke through the pipe’s mouthpiece.
Larger-styled pipes such as bongs or bubblers work similarly, but the use of water in the pipe helps to create a longer, smoother smoke.
Joints & Blunts
Rolling up a joint or blunt is the ideal alternative to smoking a pipe or bong. Joints and blunts are a great traditional way to smoke cannabis and there are many different variants of both that you can try
Joints are created by rolling ground up cannabis into a rolling paper, like a cannabis cigarette. Different types of rolling papers include traditional, hemp, rice, flavored, and transparent papers.
Traditional papers are made from wood pulp, while hemp and rice papers are more natural and eco-friendly. Flavored papers add taste to cannabis, while transparent papers preserve the natural taste of the flower while you get a unique looking joint.
The choice of rolling paper depends on personal preference and what you’re looking for in terms of flavor, health, and convenience.
Blunt wraps add flavor, but require hollowing out the tobacco that is included. Tobacco, hemp, and palm leaf are popular options for blunt wraps.
Tobacco wraps offer a distinct flavor, hemp wraps are organic and healthier, while palm leaf wraps have a natural sweetness and no chemicals or additives. The choice of wrap depends on personal preference.
Vaping
Especially considering the last few years for the legal market, cannabis vapes have become a wildly popular method of cannabis consumption for their easy accessibility and discreet use.
Vaping includes using a heating device to either ignite cannabis flower or concentrate into vapor to inhale.
Vaporizers
There are plenty of high-tech vaporizer devices on the market that can heat up flower, concentrates, or even both!
To use a vaporizer, add the cannabis to the heating chamber, adjust your temperature, and take a deep inhale.
Vaporizers offer a healthier alternative to smoking, as they do not produce smoke and have temperature control options to ensure the most efficient use of cannabis.
Cannabis Vape Cartridges
Vape cartridges and pens are designed to vaporize cannabis concentrates such as distillate oil, live rosin, or live resin.
These products often look like a typical vape pen (think, e-cigarettes), and come with technology that automatically heats the device and oil to vaporize.
Cannabis vapes come in various styles and forms – from disposable vape pens to refillable cartridges for oil.
Dabbing
Lastly, dabbing is a form of vaping that allows you to consume and inhale cannabis concentrates.
Using a dab rig or electronic dab device, you can apply the desired dose of concentrate onto the heated nail, turning it into vapor for consumption.
Oral
Is smoking not your thing? No problem! There are two major ways to consume cannabis orally, with no inhalation or accessories required:
Edibles
There’s a plethora of cannabis-infused beverages, gummies, mints, and baked goods in the legal cannabis market. The legal cannabis market offers a wide variety of cannabis-infused products, including beverages, gummies, mints, and baked goods just to name a few.
These options make it easy to find a cannabis-infused product that suits your needs and preferences. No matter how you prefer to consume cannabis, chances are there is an infused version of it available in the market.
Considering all the options, edibles continue to be one of the more simple and straightforward methods of consumption.
Since cannabis edibles are ingested and digested throughout the body, the onset, duration, and effects may often differ compared to other methods of consumption, such as inhalation. With edibles, the onset can be delayed as the cannabinoids must first pass through the digestive system before entering the bloodstream.
The effects also tend to be longer lasting and more potent, as the liver converts the psychoactive THC into a more potent form. However, it’s also important to note that the onset and duration of effects can also vary depending on the dose, the individual’s metabolism, and the type of product consumed.
Fast-acting nano-infused edibles are a newer type of cannabis edible that uses a process called nano-emulsion to break down the THC and other cannabinoids into small particles. This allows for faster onset and more efficient absorption of the cannabinoids into the bloodstream, resulting in a faster and more intense onset of effects.
The process of nano-emulsion also allows for more accurate dosing, as the small particles are more easily absorbed by the body. These types of edibles are ideal for individuals who want the effects of edibles but with a faster onset time.
Tinctures
Cannabis tinctures are becoming a reliable source for their wellness efficacy and effects. By steeping cannabis in alcohol, tinctures can be consumed orally and sublingually.
Tinctures are absorbed through the blood vessels under the tongue and through the digestive tract. This dual absorption creates a potentially rapid onset, as well as effects that can be longer lasting.
Topical
Topicals: cannabis products with an efficient delivery method that is often heavily used for chronic pain, inflammation, or muscle spasms.
Topicals can come in the form of salves, balms, lotions, soaps, bath salts, and moisturizers, to name a few. These topical cannabis products allow you to absorb the cannabinoids through the skin and are used to target localized areas of pain or discomfort.
Additionally, since this form of cannabis isn’t inhaled or ingested, you won’t experience any psychoactive effects when applying cannabis topicals. Instead, you’re provided with fast, natural relief.
How To Choose the Right Consumption Method For You at Rolling Releaf
It’s important to remember that cannabis is not a one size fits all. Luckily, the various consumption methods available allow consumers to determine and choose what works for them.
When it comes to picking the right consumption methods, it will all depend on your personal intention for consuming, your preferences, and your desired experience.
At Rolling Releaf, we’re dedicated to offering a wide range of high-quality cannabis products that can be consumed in various ways. This allows each consumer to customize their cannabis experience and find the method that best suits their needs and preferences. Whether you prefer inhalation, oral, or topical methods, we have cannabis flower, concentrates, edibles, and topicals that will meet your cannabis and wellness needs.
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