Edibles? How, What, Where

Lindon

3 years ago

How To

Cannabis 101

Edibles are getting more popular over the recent years with the ease of access in many dispensaries and delivery services and their very nature, making it fun to eat a cookie or a candy while getting high. However, suppose you decide to go out and buy them in a licensed cannabis retailer. In that case, the choice may be hard to make as the variety available is vast with so many different potencies and types of strains infused.

Here is a guide of what edibles technically are, how to buy them online and recommended dosages for first-time users and more experienced stoners.

How Are Edibles Made?

Edibles are everyday food items infused with THC/CBD. Some are made by adding tinctures into a recipe or a product such as drinks. Some are made by adding concentrates and making sure to have a fat agent ensuring the THC molecules properly bind to the fat molecules. Some may be done with concentrates in powder form and add it to sugar coating on candies.

For cookies, brownies and cakes, you can grind up a large quantity of cannabis, decarboxylate it in the oven and add it to the many different cooking agents used in your recipe.

When ingesting edibles, they first go through your stomach and start to get broken down and assimilated by your body. The THC molecules are further broken down into 11-Hydroxy metabolites once they reach your liver. This chemical is said to be up to five times more psychoactive than THC in its raw form. This chemical transformation is a significant factor as to why edibles can hit much harder than a joint.

Different Forms of Edibles

There are tons of different products out on the market, all classified as cannabis edibles. Some may find it a bit confusing and have a hard time choosing the right potency for their needs and may be wondering if a 20mg cookie is the same as a 20mg drink.

Although the results will vary significantly according to the user’s tolerance, metabolism, and personal endocannabinoid system, we can provide some insight into how edibles will generally affect someone. Below, you will find the different types of edibles available and the various levels of potency descriptions.

Cannabis-infused edibles come in many different forms, such as:

Candies like gummy bears, lozenges, hard candies, mints, caramels or toffees.
Chocolates are one of the best ways to mask the distinct cannabis flavour. They usually come in bar form or truffles with a soft chocolate paste inside.
Cookies or brownies are arguably one of the most popular ways to produce cannabis-infused edibles. Easy to load with sweetening agents and chocolate flavour to properly mask the cannabis taste and give a tasty end-product.
Baked goods such as cakes, muffins, granola bars, butter tarts, etc. They are very versatile in flavours and textures, giving a foodie experience to your edibles.

Dissolvable THC/CBD Powder
Relatively new to the cannabis market but will soon become a staple in the edibles industry, thanks to its very versatile nature.

The dissolvable powders are a fully water-soluble solution derived from C02 concentrate. Cannabinoids are traditionally fat-soluble and hydrophobic, meaning it hates water.

Almost every edible made needs to have fats or oily substances to help solubility and flavour-masking reasons. This severely limits the applications of THC/CBD for businesses wishing to create more health-oriented products or simply produce a great tasting edible without having to resort to large amounts of sugars or chocolate to mask the cannabis distinct taste in the edibles.

Dissolvable powders, being fully water-soluble, are great substitutes in making tasty and sugar-free ingestible cannabis products. Odourless and flavourless, dissolvable powders can be simply added to plain water to transform your regular tap water into a glass of THC infusion.

Different potencies available for edibles

The edibles industry presents a vast selection of different potencies for each type of edibles. Certain kinds of edibles can be restricted in the amount of THC they can contain partly because of the taste. Businesses are coming up with new ways to infuse THC/CBD and use specific flavouring agents to mask some of the cannabis taste and create a tasty product.

The potency of the edible someone should purchase will depend on many factors and should be carefully thought of before deciding to eat that 100mg cookies your friend recommended you, saying it wasn’t that strong.

Your general tolerance for THC and your metabolism will play a big role in how strong an edible will be enough to send you to the moon. Although everyone’s experience will be different, a good rule of thumb to follow would be to start with a very low dose (1mg-3mg).

Considered to many as a microdose level, 1mg to 3mg may be plenty to make them feel the effects of cannabis for inexperienced users.

Ingesting edibles can take from 45 minutes to 3 hours to fully feel the desired effects, so do not make the mistake of eating another one after 30 minutes, claiming you are not feeling anything.

Work your way up to 4mg to 6mg per dose and see how you feel. For the occasional smokers, this dose should be enough to make you feel high. Most inexperienced users and beginners should not need to go any higher than 10mg-15mg for a complete 4 hours of being pretty high.

The daily smokers of this world will be able to dabble into the 20mg-30mg realm. But beware of overconfidence; it may lead you down the path of a rough night with cold sweats and anxiety if you start ingesting 50mg+ edibles without proper training.

100mg-200mg units are usually reserved for heavy daily smokers and users who’s been playing with concentrates regularly. They can be enjoyable for the right person with enough built-in tolerance but can be a complete nightmare to novice users. You’ve been warned!

Where Can I Buy Edibles Online?

So now you know a bit more about edibles, you can start browsing our directory here to find the best deals available in your area.

We’ve put together a list of the best and most reputable sellers on Leafythings to purchase edible based on your region with the businesses with a * listed as favourites:

Toronto

Winnipeg

Edmonton/Calgary

Vancouver