We’ve covered several methods of consuming cannabis in past blog posts: Pipes and Bongs, Blunts, Joints, Vaporizers, and even improvised smoking devices like gravity bongs and fruit pipes. Here’s my thoughts on smoking vaping and a few more we haven’t covered yet. I’m more partial to smoking but there are tons of other options out there for consumption that we’ve yet to cover.
Smoking: This is the most traditional and well-known method of consuming cannabis. It involves the ritual of inhaling the smoke produced by burning dried cannabis flowers. It can be done through a joint, blunt, pipe, bong, or a lot of other things if you put your mind to it. This is my favorite method of consumption. I enjoy the feel, smell, taste, and ritual of smoking cannabis. I typically smoke blunts and a bong. Blunts because I love the relaxing slow burn and ability to add more or less flower depending on the experience I’m going for. The bong for me is more for when I’m looking for a quick hit. I’m limited to how much I can add to the bowl, so the experience tends to be the same due to the amount of cannabis I’m able to add, which isn’t a bad thing. I’m able to accurately meter out how much cannabis I’m consuming to reliably achieve a desired effect each time. If you want to learn how to roll a blunt or a joint take a look at some of our other blog posts.
Vaporizing: Flower vaporizers heat cannabis at lower temperatures than smoking, producing a vapor that can be inhaled. Vaporizing is considered to be a healthier alternative to smoking because it avoids the combustion process, which can release harmful toxins. I personally love to vaporize cannabis even though I don’t do it that often. I mainly use them when I’m someplace where I’m not able to smoke, or when I really want to experience a unique terpene profile. Check out our post about flower vaporizers, learn more about them, and which ones are my favorite.
Dabbing: Dabbing involves the use of concentrated cannabis extracts, such as our Live Resin Sugar that we just dropped. It also has its own ritual of being heated on a hot surface, called a nail or a banger, and then inhaled. I enjoy it because it produces an intense and immediate high due to the high concentration of cannabinoids and terpenes. Live concentrates are my favorite because I love experiencing the full spectrum terpene profiles of the live plant. I’d easily trade THC percentage for flavor. If I’m not smoking, I’m dabbing both live rosin and live resin. The photo is of our Crumpets Live Resin Sugar. We’ll go deeper into dabbing and cannabis concentrates in future posts, so stay tuned.
Edibles: Edibles are food and drink products infused with decarboxylated cannabis concentrates and cannabis infused oils / fats. They come in various forms such as brownies, cookies, gummies, chocolates, and beverages. When consumed, the cannabinoids are metabolized by the liver, producing a slower onset and longer-lasting effects compared to smoking, vaporizing, or dabbing. I personally use them in conjunction with smoking cannabis. Edibles produce a heavy high for me. They have a strong therapeutic effect that takes away my chronic pain and relieves other ailments. They’re perfect for nighttime if you have trouble sleeping or experience pain during the night. I tend to lean towards high dose edibles that aren’t candy. I don’t really eat sweets that much so I’m looking for something quick, small, and easy to digest without a lot of fat and sugar (I’m picky). I typically just make my own. The photo is some coconut oil that I infused with our Live Cured Flower and hash. I’ll go into edibles further in a future post and talk about making them with our concentrates and Live Cured Flower.
Tinctures: Cannabis tinctures are liquid extracts made by soaking cannabis flowers or concentrates in alcohol or oil. They are usually taken orally by placing a few drops under the tongue or adding them to food and beverages. Tinctures offer precise dosing and faster onset of effects compared to edibles. Tinctures are great for frequent dosing. If I need a constant heavier therapeutic effect of cannabis over the course of several days, I’ll use a tincture. I enjoy full spectrum, oil-based tinctures because I enjoy the flavor and effects of the whole cannabis plant. I’ve experimented with making my own using our concentrates and Live Cured Flower. The photo is a dropper bottle of our decarboxylated concentrate suspended in MCT oil.
Topicals: Cannabis-infused topicals include creams, lotions, balms, and oils that are applied directly to the skin. They are primarily used for localized relief, such as reducing pain or inflammation, without producing psychoactive effects. Topicals combined with smoking cannabis can produce fantastic therapeutic effects. I’ve personally used topicals for years to relieve chronic pain. I’ve even made my own using shea butter, coco butter, and either our concentrates or Live Cured Flower after decarboxylation.
Sublingual products: These include cannabis-infused sprays, tablets, and dissolvable strips that are placed under the tongue for absorption. Cannabinoids are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream through the thin tissues in the mouth, resulting in fast-acting effects. Which is great for someone looking for a discreet way of low dosing during the day. I haven’t personally experimented that much with sublinguals except for tablets. One of the things that I enjoyed about them was that I could gain the effects of cannabis without having to eat anything. The downside is that there are very few full spectrum sublinguals on the market and they are typically made with just isolated cannabis compounds, which I find boring.
Cannabis capsules: Like traditional medication capsules, cannabis capsules contain measured doses of decarboxylated cannabis concentrate or cannabis powder. They are swallowed and metabolized in the digestive system, providing a predictable and controlled experience. We used to make rosin infused coconut oil-based capsules back during Prop 215. We would give them out as free samples during the sesh’s we’d attend. They were a convenient metered dose of full spectrum decarboxylated live rosin suspended in coconut oil. The good old days haha…
I have most of these methods readily available, but I always prefer smoking cannabis. A nice blunt and a bong bowl is exactly what I need after a long day. I perform the same ritual every time I consume cannabis in these ways and its incredibly satisfying. I do find that using multiple methods of consumption help me achieve the therapeutic benefits I’m seeking from cannabis. Experiment with which ones work best for you and don’t be afraid to produce your own edibles, tinctures, and topicals using our Live Cured Flower and concentrates.
Stay stoned and stay safe!
