To Bake a Batch of Brownies – But with Weed. (What is an Edible?)
Cannabis (marijuana) edibles are infused food and beverage products with cannabis! Pretty straight forward, huh? And they can be deeeelicious! Most edibles are made with either one of two cannabinoids: CBD and THC. (Check out our previous post, Cannabinoid FAQ’s, for the scope on your favorite toke before ya get to baking!)
Cannabis edibles are generally made via infused oil/butter, or imbued directly with some form of liquid extract. We’re going to go more into detail of that process later on, but it’s something you can actually do from home! (Read our post: Eat Your High P2: We’ve Got You Totally Infused) for a beginner’s guide to making your own infused oil/butters! This step by step process ensures you’ve got a good baseline for decarbing cannabis, the various ways in which you can, “steep” the bud in order to retain maximum potency, and the proper filtration methods needed to refine and store your final concoction!
It’s gunna be fire – let’s get into the kitchen!
Before Ya Bake, Be Mindful! ( Understanding How Edibles can Affect You)
Before we even break down this process, we need to talk about the potential effects you can feel after consuming edibles. This isn’t the typical “high” you can get from smoke/inhalants, edibles can be FAR more potent and even produce hallucinogenic euphoria! It’s important to exercise caution during consumption: these babies take TIME to take full effect – and a lot of people don’t allow the proper time necessary to metabolize before popping in another. (Please refrain, folks! It’s like adding salt to your fries – a little goes a long way, and you can add but never subtract any away!)
A lot of factors play into how long it’s going to take an edible to be processed by your liver and for YOU, the consumer, to feel its effects. Sometimes it can take 30 minutes or as much as 2-3 hours. Your weight, your metabolism, and your tolerance for cannabis all impact your body’s response to it!
The amount of each cannabinoid infused into the edible – like THC or CBD – drastically influences both its potency and effect, so be cautious of your buyer! Make sure you know what’s going into the product you’re purchasing.
Start : We Goin’ Low
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there on dosage and edibles! We’re going to break it down into a handy chart for the newbies, (experienced users can benefit from this, too!) so that you can properly gauge the MG, and be sure to wait between doses for it to take full effect!
We always recommend starting between 1-5 MG doses every 24 hours until you get a good grasp on its effects. If up to 5 MG’s doesn’t do it for you, gradually increase to 10 MG’s, and so on! Below is a nifty chart that breaks down microdosing cannabis, the typical effects one can expect as they increase their dosage.
Microdosing Cannabis:
- 1-2.5 MG: provides mild relief from chronic pain, stress, or anxiety. Great for first time users or micro-dosers!
- 2.5-15 MG: provides stronger relief from chronic pain, stress, or anxiety. Mild euphoria can also be expected. At this dose, it can cause mild cognitive/sensory alterations. This is ideal for patients with chronic conditions, insomnia, or severe anxiety.
- 15-30 MG: Strong euphoric feelings can be expected. Newbies might feel some negative effects, like hypertension or paranoia. Great range for seasoned consumers, medical marijuana patients, or those suffering from insomnia.
- 30-50 MG: Increased euphoric feelings; quite likely to impair both cognition and coordination. This crosses into the range of patients with a high tolerance to THC.
- 50-100 MG: There is a high likelihood of impaired condition and coordination. Even experienced users might feel negative side-effects such as: rapid heart rate, nausea, and pain. Recommended for seasoned consumers and patients with cancer, inflammatory illnesses, or other chronic illnesses.
We’ve Built Our Baseline: What’s Next?
Now that you’ve got a general idea of what a cannabis edible is, how it can potentially affect you, and a good scope of what KIND of effects to expect per MG dose… I guess we’re ready to start cookin’! Pt 2 of this blog series entitled: Eat Your High P2: We’ve Got You Totally Infused structuralizes the infusion making process and provides a step-by-step guide on how to imbue oil or butter with cannabis from your own home!
