How Do Marijuana Edibles Affect You?

November 1, 2016

Edibles are a topic of controversy in the ever-changing cannabis industry. They can be difficult to regulate, and they can produce a wide variety of different effects for each person consuming them. Some people love the high, and some swear edibles off the first time they try them. It isn’t like smoking herb since you can usually tell quickly when you’ve had enough via smoking.

Eating is a different story. There are a lot of edible effects that you should keep an eye out for if you’ve never tried them. I personally like nothing better than a big pot brownie and a glass of milk before bed. The edible helps me fall asleep. Some people, however, do not. Here’s how edibles can affect you:

Table of Contents

THC Absorption

One of the most interesting and important edible effects is how the THC is absorbed and gets you high. Edibles can hit you like a train compared to smoking, because of the process in which you absorb the cannabinoids. When you ingest THC through the process of digestion, the THC is metabolized by the liver, where it changes into a different type of THC.

It effectively crosses the blood-brain barrier causing a much more intense and long-lasting high that you might be used to. Since the THC goes through your liver and stomach before getting to your brain, it can be a high that creeps up on you, but it lasts so much longer as the THC is digested into your bloodstream, and to your brain for a much longer amount of time.

THC Regulation

The problem with edibles is that it’s almost impossible to be sure that 100% of the time, your edible is exactly 100mg of THC. Since no two batches of edibles are the same, it’s super important to keep in mind that just because that candy bar doesn’t feel like it got you high enough, it’s not wise to eat more than the recommended dose.

You really don’t want to eat too many edibles. You’ll feel very paranoid, drooly, and messed up. Anyone who’s done it will warn you not to overdo it.

THC Dosing

If you’re making your own edibles, you can never know exactly how they’ll affect you. Maybe the last batch of cannabutter you made was weak, but the batch you made last night is more potent than you can handle. Don’t think of this as a fault on your part. Even edible companies here in Colorado have a hard time with this. It’s also smart to take note that you must dose yourself.

10mg of THC is a standard edible that usually produces mild effects, but they make candy bars that are up to 300mg, which is going to mess you up if you eat it all at once. Split it into pieces and save some for later! Obviously, THC won’t kill you, but you won’t enjoy the high if you don’t dose yourself responsibly.

THC Edible Effects

There are a lot of highs associated with eating edibles. The one rule is to start small. Everyone’s body, while largely still running the same human processes, runs a little differently. You won’t know how an edible is going to affect you until you try some of them. There are several effects that consumers report though, and we’ll go in depth about them.

Another thing to keep in mind is that patience is a virtue. You won’t feel an edible immediately, and that is not an excuse to eat six more brownies. Little bites and some time will help you to better gauge how much of an edible you can handle.

Types of Edible High

Cerebral:

After the THC metabolizes and gets to your brain, depending on how much you ate, you may have a pretty cerebral high. These can be mild, or extreme. It knocks some people out for a few hours or makes you feel a little bit outside yourself. I personally don’t like when I get the cerebral effect, but a lot of people do.

It makes me feel quiet and heavy, but ultra-creative. Depending on how much you ate, you can sleep and still feel this effect in the morning. There are also a lot of reports of a hallucinogenic effect when you’ve ingested too much.

Body:

The body highs are my favorite, but they’re very intense. Sometimes you just feel a little tingly and relaxed, and other times you can feel couch locked and very very sleepy. Since edibles have a long-lasting effect, the body high can last 3-5 hours, but I have experienced a body high that lasted 8 hours. I was still feeling it when I woke up the next morning. This can be good or bad depending on how the experience feels and whether or not you have somewhere to be the next morning.

Bad Times:

Eating more than you should will lead to 7-10 hours of a couch-locked feeling, queasiness, paranoia, and hallucinations, which is why being way overly cautious and learning your limits is more important than getting an insane high. Always consume edibles responsibly and in a safe place.

How Do Edibles Affect You?

You can never know until you try. Keep an open mind, but always be smart about it. Start with a little, and be patient if you want to enjoy the effects of edibles.