There are numerous ways in which you can use marijuana and cannabis. The most regular uses of cannabis are smoking or vaping. But more and more cannabis products are also being eaten. These are called edibles.

We’ll explain why people are increasingly choosing edibles, and what their effects are.

What are edibles?

Edibles are food items that incorporate hemp or cannabis products. They are edible cannabis products that you can buy in a coffee shop. You can also make them at home.

Eating cannabis products changes the structure of the THC during digestion. This makes the THC considerably stronger.

You can imagine when eating cannabis products, it is, therefore, more important to know how much THC is in the edible. Ingesting too much THC can cause a negative experience, such as a bad trip.

This can be somewhat challenging. How much THC should be in the edible, what is the right dosage of edibles, and how do you measure it?

In the case of edibles, the amount of THC is considered instead of the amount of weed, as THC is the active ingredient. It is generally advised to start with no more than 10 mg of THC the first time you ingest an edible, and to slightly increase this each time as desired. Oftentimes the amount of THC is indicated on the packaging. When you make the cannabis edible yourself you need to weigh this accurately.

Yummy cannabis edibles

THC or CBD edibles

Although there are several food items containing cannabinoids, a difference can also be noticed when you consider the type of weed. For example, there are both THC and CBD edibles.

THC is the substance that, when ingested, creates the well-known “high” in cannabis. THC edibles will therefore also give you a ‘high’. This is not the case with CBD edibles.

CBD edibles are often used for medical purposes, or to help someone relax. This is called medicinal cannabis. They contain a negligible dose of THC, so you don’t experience a ‘high’ as a result. However, you do experience the desired effects of CBD, such as being able to sleep better and feeling relaxed.

What types of edibles are there?

Now cannabis can be added to almost any type of food. Spacecake, cannabis incorporated into a brownie, is the most famous example of this. After the development of space cake, edibles have now grown into a huge range of products and there are many types of cannabis edibles now available.

You can choose from different cookies and sweets, drinks like lemonade and coffee, and products like pasta sauce.

How does an edible differ from smoking or vaping?

Edible cannabis is often seen as an alternative to smoking. There are several important differences regarding weed and its effects when comparing eating and smoking it.

First, smoking cannabis often involves the use of dried weed. For edibles, no dried weed is used. This would not benefit the taste of the product. Edibles mainly use cannabis concentrate. This is usually processed in fat such as oil or butter.

In addition, cannabis edibles are many times more potent than smoking weed. This is due to the transformation THC undergoes within the digestive tract.

What effect does ingesting edibles have?

The effects of cannabis depend greatly on the method of ingestion. With edibles, the cannabis passes through the digestive tract rather than through your lungs. THC is converted to 11-hydroxy-THC in the liver after the digestive tract. This substance creates psychoactive effects when it re-enters the bloodstream and reaches the brain. This creates a much more powerful high than the high of regular THC.

In addition, the high starts later, but it also lasts for a longer period of time. For example, it is quite normal if you only start to feel a high 2 hours after eating the edibles. Also, it is not uncommon to still feel strong effects 10 hours after ingesting cannabis.

The benefits of edibles

Now that you know a thing or two about cannabis edibles, you may be wondering why someone would choose edibles? There are several benefits that are causing people to choose edibles more often:

  • No negative effect on the lungs
  • Powerful high
  • Effects last longer compared to the effects of smoking weed
  • More discreet, no smell of weed
  • Easier to dose

How to make edibles?

Did you know that in Amsterdam it is only allowed to sell space cake as an edible? So, making your own edible is not such a bad idea. And it is not as difficult as it may sound.

You can easily make them by preparing a regular recipe with THC-infused oil or cannabis butter. You can buy these products ready-made, or you can choose to make them yourself. For example, find a recipe for making cannabis butter here.

Visit The Border for more information

Would you like to know which edible can offer you the desired effect? Then speak to one of the staff members at The Border. Coffeeshop The Border in Amsterdam is open daily. Check our current opening hours here.