Hey, what’s the hype around ‘Space Cakes’?

Is smoking a joint better than ingesting weed brownies?

Should you try edibles, or limiting yourself to smoking weed would be a firm plan?

If these questions have rung over and over again in your mind, this read is actually for you. Let’s skip the small talk and jump right into the Edibles vs. Smoking details.

Although there are many other methods of consuming weed like brewing and vaping, ingesting Edibles and Smoking weed are still the most popular ways of weed consumption.

Psych up, the ‘differences between edibles and smoking’ tea is on its way!

Edibles – Say, marijuana-infused cookies

Edibles are food products infused with cannabis.

Remember those gummies and chocolate bars at your local dispensary with marijuana drawn on the packaging?

Yes, they are edibles!

The packaging has the THC content mentioned on it; you just pick the ones you have eyes for.

Or, you can get into some baking action and create those arty ‘Space Cakes’ – cookies, brownies, and pastries with cannabutter yourself.

Cannabutter, in a lighter vein, is the butter that your aunt puts in pot brownies.

This butter is infused with THC, a psychoactive extract of cannabis. The taste of edibles might not be exemplary, but it will curb your ‘need to get high’ cravings.

No two ways about it!

Your body absorbs THC from edibles in a particular way. Once you’re have finished your edibles, THC moves from your stomach to the liver. The liver then metabolizes the THC into 11-hydroxy-TCH, a potent version of THC.

God bless your GI tract and liver; they produce this THC metabolite in fairly large quantities!

These large quantities make their way to the brain and create an experience that keeps you hooked. While the digestive part may prolong the ‘hitting effect’ of the edibles, the payoff is INTENSE.

Good things take time!

Smoking Weed – Dope

Rolls, Pipes, and Bubblers, you already know them!

The action goes like; you crush the weed, place it in the bowl, set it on fire, and pull out the smoke.

The smoke, when it passes directly from your lungs, releases the THC into the bloodstream. Brain’s CB1 receptors welcome the THC, stimulating the ‘pleasure center’ of your brain, releasing dopamine, and creating euphoria.

Edibles vs. Smoking – Opening the debate!

Onset time – Smoking takes the lead.

This difference between edibles and smoking onset time is pretty evident from how both methods forge ahead. 

The edibles have to cover a long route before (through the digestive tract) the THC metabolite strikes your brain. Thus, the onset of the effects can be seen anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours—this effect peaks within 4 hours or less.

On the contrary, it only takes a couple of minutes to feel the tranquility surging up when you smoke a bong.

See, smoking is fast!

The reason is still the same; THC quickly releases into the blood through the lungs, paves its way to the brain, and the whole process doesn’t take more than a minute to occur. This effect, however, hits the apex in about 30 minutes.

If you are in the chase of such quick hits all the time, growing your cannabis will suit you too.

Conversely, edibles come into play when you’re expecting a hard-hit.

The Longevity of the effect – Edibles dominate.

The duration for cannabis to kick-in also differs in edible and smoking methods of weed consumption.

As edibles are more potent when it comes to inebriety, even a small amount of THC in the edibles will leave its effects for an extended span.

But the question is exactly how long?

Although the effect of Edibles come-on-stream late, they keep the sensitivities at bay for much longer. The effect prolongs up to 12 hours after initial use and can last up to 24 hours.

Make sure to preserve your edibles well to continue benefiting from them.

Smoking cannabis, on the other hand, offers a ‘comes fast, wears off fast’ approach.

The immediate hitting effect may not last you 6 hours.

Dosage Estimation – Smoking scores again.

Because you can experience the upshots of smoking cannabis at the same time as you are inhaling it, there is less chance that you overdose yourself.

That is, you can adjust the dosage, keeping in mind the level of intoxication you have reached in real-time.

But this case gets reversed with the consumption of edibles.

Edibles are consumed all at once, and the effects take 2-3 hours to appear. The chances are that you will savor yourself with another edible by that time, which can be problematic.

You cannot make an educated guess about your dosage here!

Although the packaged edibles contain no more than 10mg of THC, and it altogether shuttles only 10-20 % of the THC to the circulation, its overconsumption can get you buzzed like crazy.

So, you need to have a check on your doses at the start.

To be on the safer side, it’s sensible to start by taking low amounts of edibles.

Once you know what limit is best handled by your body and how the body processes it, you can continue challenging yourself from thereon.

Associated health risks – Edibles pose less threat.

Another difference between the two methods is the potential health risks that they pose.

Since cannabis is smoked raw, reports of wheezing and cough are common among marijuana smokers.

And suppose the weed is smoked using Gatorade and plastic bottles. In that case, heat from ignition melts the plastic, causing contaminants to leach out in your smoke, and due to which there is a high chance of developing lung cancer over time.

Edibles, on the flip side, do not pose such serious threats. If you govern the dose’s size, the most the edibles can do is that they’ll slow down your activity.

THAT’S IT!

When all is said and done

Having their own perks, both methods of consumption are distinct from each other.

None is better than the other!

Whether you ingest edibles or smoke a bong is a matter of personal preference, and it all depends on what you like and how you want.

It would be best to exploit both the options to choose the one you are comfortable with. Or you can opt to switch between the two as well.