Authors Notes: This post is an updated version of a post I wrote in 2016, originally published on The Mairjuana Times. While this blog post has much of the same information, it’s been expanded on and updated for relevancy and out of necessity and is as up-to-date as possible as of April of 2024.
Just Want the Info? Go to the Section You Need!
· But I trailed off.. Let’s get back to why cannabis is such a great medicine!
· What is the Best Method for Medicating with Cannabis?
· Multiple Options for Method of Delivery
· What percentage of people choose smoking vs vaping vs edibles?
· Smoking (Joints, Blunts, Bowls, and Bongs)
· Smoking VS Vaping
· Smoking or Vaping Dabs VS Flower
· Edibles (Gummies, Chocolates, and Homemade Favorites)
· Oils, Tinctures, Topicals and More
∘ Cannabis Oils
∘ Cannabis Tinctures
∘ Cannabis Topicals
∘ Other Alternatives to Smoking Medical Marijuana
· What Makes Edibles and Oils so Different?
· Why Choose Vapor Over Smoke?
· Choosing the Best Way to Medicate with Cannabis
In researching keywords for this article, I found that searching “methods of medicating with cannabis” comes back with ads for substance abuse help… I’ll touch on this later in another post another time, but I believe patients need answers and that this is a shame this still happens in a time when medical marijuana has become more widely accepted than ever.
If you or someone you know found this post while searching for answers on how medical cannabis works and which ways to use cannabis for which conditions, then I hope I’ve been able to answer some of your questions. Please, feel free to @me in the comments or email me directly with your questions and I’ll do what I can to help you find the answers you need!
By no means am I a doctor, but I’m a great researcher and I love to help people. Plus, if you need the information, chances are you aren’t the only one. Chances are, your question will become one of the most needed pieces of content published by All Things Cannabis.
So please, don’t hesitate — reach out today with your questions about medical cannabis, its uses, the science behind it, or any other cannabis related questions you may have! I can’t wait to see what people are dying to know about most.
But I trailed off.. Let’s get back to why cannabis is such a great medicine!
One of the greatest things about cannabis is there are so many different ways you can consume it — and each different method of delivery will offer you a slightly different effect than the last. For centuries (if not longer) we’ve known about smoking and eating as the two main ways to consume cannabis.
But in recent years, we’ve seen wax, vaping, and oils come about… each offering a unique experience. So, when it comes to edibles vs smoking vs vaping and what form of cannabis is the best, the answer is far from simple and often comes down to what works best for you individually.
What is the Best Method for Medicating with Cannabis?
Not only is cannabis possibly the most versatile medicine on our entire planet, but there is literally a form of consumption to suit almost anyone’s needs or preferences. Which is why it’s a perfect option for the hundreds of thousands of people who use medical marijuana every year.
The number of people who have become more comfortable with cannabis thanks to an alternative to smoking is astounding. According to The Marijuana Moment, medical marijuana patient enrollment in the U.S. is up 610% since 2016, with roughly 4.1 million registered patients.
With so many options, where should a newcomer to cannabis — medicinal or adult-use — start as far as the delivery method for consumption?
Well, there are a lot of different factors to consider when making this decision, and frankly, some methods are much safer for first timers as far as not risking the chance of having a very uncomfortable few hours.
Multiple Options for Method of Delivery
The two oldest and most well-known methods of consuming cannabis are through smoking or edibles.
What percentage of people choose smoking vs vaping vs edibles?
Smoking is still the most common form of cannabis consumption among adult-use consumers — and likely a large percentage of medicinal patients as well. In 2017 roughly 1 in 7 adults consumed cannabis and 55% said they smoked it.
- 55% said they smoke exclusively
- 9% said smoked and vaped
- 8% said they exclusively consumed edibles
- 13% said they smoked, vaped, and consumed edibles
- 6% said they smoke, vaped, used edibles, and concentrates
- 3% said they did all the above, plus topicals
- 3% said they exclusively vaporize
- 1% said they only use vapes and edibles
- 1% said they only use topicals
With smoking, the effects are nearly immediate for most strains (most of us know, some strains just like to creep up on you) and they generally last for a couple of hours.
But these days your options go far beyond simply “do I roll a joint or pack a bowl?” or “can I just toss it in these brownies or am I missing a step?”
Speaking of! If you’d like to make your own cannabis infused butter or oil, and want to know you’re doing it right, then follow this link to download a free copy of my eBook The Do’s and Don’ts of Cooking with Cannabis!
When you walk into a dispensary your options open beyond anyone from the old days of prohibition probably imagined a shop would ever have to offer. Of course, you can still buy traditional flower in a variety of strains in different weights and potencies, all at different price points.
The hardest decision you expected was choosing indica, sativa, or hybrid — and maybe what potency you can handle.
But you walk in and suddenly you realize you can also buy gummies, cookies, chocolates, and other edibles and drinks.
You can get concentrates — but that gets even more complicated going into wax VS shatter or oils and tinctures.
There are also topical products meant to help with pain, skin conditions, and even enhance your sex life.
So, with such a wide variety… How does anyone who is new to cannabis figure out where to start? Well, the best advice is usually to find someone you trust who is experienced with cannabis if you’re a consumer 21+ wanting to try a new weekend or evening alternative.
If you’re looking to use cannabis medicinally, the best advice will always be to consult a certified healthcare provider who is experienced with using cannabis as medicine, ideally to treat your specific condition.
However, if you’re just looking for a general idea of how the different methods of medicating with cannabis work and how the effects of the herb vary from one consumption method to the next, this post can certainly guide you in the right direction.
Smoking (Joints, Blunts, Bowls, and Bongs)
One of the reasons smoking is preferred to edibles is the fact that the onset of the high is much more noticeable right away, allowing you to dose as needed. If two or three bong rips or puffs off a joint get you where you need to be then great — stop there and pick it up again when you come down or feel you’re ready to.
Smoking VS Vaping
With smoking it’s much easier to control your buzz in most cases, but in the digital age it’s no longer the only inhaled form of cannabis consumption. More people are turning to vaping as an alternative to smoking for a number of reasons including: health, discretion, convenience, or to have more control over their experience.
One of the biggest yet under talked about differences between smoking and vaping is actually temperature control. Different cannabinoids combust at different temperatures and for a more “customized” medicating experience. But that’s a whole different post that we’ll dive into another time!
Smoking or Vaping Dabs VS Flower
Once you look past the surface, there’s more to your options than simply smoking VS vaping. Now you must decide which product you’re going to choose since both flower and concentrates can be smoked or vaped. The biggest difference is the equipment and temperatures you’ll use and the intensity of the effects you’ll feel.
Newer consumers are recommended to start off with flower when it comes to smoking and pre-filled cartridges with pen batteries or “dab pens” before going all-in smoking concentrates from a nectar collector or bong as they can be a lot more intense and dosage is harder to control if you’re inexperienced.
Edibles (Gummies, Chocolates, and Homemade Favorites)
With edibles, the chances of “overdosing” or basically consuming too much THC, (which, may I quickly remind you, has NEVER resulted in death or even close) is much higher. The reason for this is it takes longer for edibles to work their way into your bloodstream and to your brain. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours before you feel the effects from an edible.
Since it takes so long for the onset of effects, people tend to eat too much thinking it’s not working. Then, when it kicks in, they’re in for a rather uncomfortable couple of hours. When using edibles it’s always best to eat a smaller amount and wait a while until you feel the effects. Once you’re sure that the high has set in, you can eat more if you think it’s necessary.
Want to Learn More About the Science of Cannabis Edibles? Don’t Forget to Grab Your Free Copy of My eBook The Do’s and Don’ts of Cooking with Cannabis!
Oils, Tinctures, Topicals, and More
Now, we’ve looked at the three most common methods of medicating with cannabis — so let’s take a look at a few of the less commonly used options.
Cannabis Oils
More people use cannabis oil than they realize, as many vape pens and prefilled cartridges have some form of cannabis oil rather than saucy wax in them. But when it comes to using them on their own, not many people go this route but it makes it easy to add to your own food or your preferred topicals. In most cases you’d use it the same way you’d use other essential oils, often with a carrier oil (though they may be prediluted with a carrier oil like coconut oil!).
Cannabis Tinctures
Tinctures are similar to cannabis oils but tinctures are made using an alcohol-based solvent and the final product is easy to dose and can be mixed into almost any food or drink. However, because of the alcohol used in production it can have a bitter taste and may have sweeteners added prior to distribution — be sure to look at the ingredients on any product like this!
For parents of children using medical cannabis to treat a chronic condition, tinctures are a popular option as they can be mixed into a favorite drink.
Cannabis Topicals
The world of cannabis topicals is clearly a small one when you look back and realize only 1% of consumers say they use topicals. However, for those consumers they are often an essential product and not one that should be overlooked.
The market may be small but often topicals are used to provide localized relief to muscle and joint pain, to relieve irritation from skin conditions, or even used to enhance things in the bedroom. Topicals are something that few think to try but many more could benefit from than realize it, that’s for sure.
Other Alternatives to Smoking Medical Marijuana
Now, if you want the quicker onset of smoking, but you aren’t too thrilled with the possibility of an irritated throat, you can always try the alternative of vaping. Vaping has been proven to be safer than smoking cannabis.
Smoking still leaves behind a tar-like substance in the lungs (similar to tobacco tar, but not linked to lung cancer) and vaping does not leave any tar behind. Also, the high produced when you vape rather than smoke can also be different, even if it does hit you just as quickly.
When you smoke you are also burning off a significant amount of the THC and other cannabinoids in the plant matter that get you high. But when you vape, the temperature can be controlled to release far more cannabinoids, resulting in a different high.
You also have oils, which can be consumed in a number of ways. Some people use it directly on their skin, letting the cannabinoids absorb through their skin and into the bloodstream. Some use oils to make edibles that have a slightly different effect than when you bake the flowers into the food you’re eating.
Oils can also be vaporized or smoked (bringing on similar, but more potent effects than vaping or smoking plant matter). There are also many companies that use oils to make capsules for medical patients who are not comfortable with other forms of consumption.
If you want to learn more about oils and other concentrates, you should check out another article I wrote back in the day on The Truth about Marijuana Concentrates.
What Makes Edibles and Oils so Different?
One thing that anyone who has experienced an edible or any form of hash oil knows is that these forms of cannabis are much more potent — and the reason for each is different. For edibles, the reason that the high is often more intense and longer lasting is because of the way your body processes the THC.
When you use cannabis flower to make edibles, whether it is baked goods or cannabutter smeared on a piece of warm toast, you will release a different cannabinoid than you’re used to. After eating it, THC is metabolized by your liver, which in turn releases 11-hydroxy-THC, which is a much more potent version of the cannabinoid than you get from any other form of delivery.
(Want to know more about this? Hint — it’s all in my book The Do’s and Don’ts of Cooking with Cannabis! Grab your free copy before you go!)
Baked goods and other edibles that come from dispensaries are better for first timers since you’re much more likely to have an idea of how much you’re consuming compared to homemade edibles. Retail items are required to have labels that accurately explain the dosage of the item — and many come in single doses.
The main difference between adding cannabis oil to your food or drink and buying prepared edibles or infused drinks is you can control the potency. Just ensure you understand how to read the label on your cannabis oil products so you know how much you’re adding!
Why Choose Vapor Over Smoke?
The main reason that anyone would choose vaporizing or smoking over an edible or an oil is because the chances of reaching your desired high is much more likely.
As mentioned earlier, it is much easier to dose as you go via vaping or smoking rather than choosing an edible and getting impatient. For those who are new to the cannabis scene, it may be wise to start here to ensure you have a pleasurable experience.
Another reason that people choose vaping or smoking is because of the quick onset of the effects. If you’re in pain or you’re nauseous, you don’t want to be waiting around for 30 minutes to two hours for an edible or an oil capsule to kick in, you want relief now.
The best way to obtain that is with a delivery method that will bring on the effects the quickest and these methods are by far the best for that.
Now, whether you choose to smoke or vape with flowers, concentrates, or oils is an entirely different story.
If you’re a beginner it is wise to start with flowers until you have an idea of the effects you desire. Not everyone likes to be baked out of their mind, some prefer a much mellower buzz — and until you find your sweet spot, you should be careful with oils and other concentrates as they are by far more potent.
Choosing the Best Way to Medicate with Cannabis
In the end, what it comes down to is your needs and your personal preferences. For someone who is in pain and cannot wait up to a couple hours for relief, then a vaporizer or a joint are likely the better options.
Then they are able to medicate on an as-need basis, allowing them more control. If you’re looking for relief without the buzz, then topicals or CBD based products are going to be your best option. (More on this in a future post!)
For children and patients who are not comfortable with smoking or vaping, edibles and oils are very attractive options. Oils, as mentioned, can be used in many different ways including in edibles, as a topical, and can even in capsule form.
Ages ago The Marijuana TImes I posted an article about Wana-Caps, which are a slow-release capsule form of marijuana. This was in 2015 and now Wana Brands is the nation’s most trusted source of edibles and similar medicinal cannabis options.
The absolute answer is, the way you medicate should always be discussed between you and your doctor — and you should always do what helps your body and mind the most. More importantly, always choose your dosage responsibly, especially when choosing edibles, oils, and concentrates as your delivery method.
Every one of these forms of consumption offers much-needed relief and each form will work better for some than it will for others. Trial and error is often the best way to find what works best for you — so don’t limit yourself to one option until you’ve tried at least a few.
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Also, before you go — last reminder to grab your free copy of The Do’s and Don’ts of Cooking with Cannabis!
