Curious About When Your Edibles Kick In? Here’s The Science Of Tolerance & The Effects Of THC
Get a better understanding of how long it will take until you feel the effects of your edible. Cannabis edibles are a powerful way to benefit from the medicinal effects of marijuana without the harmful health effects of smoking.
Do you want to know when your edibles will kick in? How are they meant to feel? Are you struggling to find the correct dosage?
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Are you feeling adventurous?
There are many ways to enjoy cannabis now: eat it, drink it, or even inhale it as vapor. In addition to offering a wide variety of benefits, edibles can also be used for almost any occasion.
Variety is the spice of life.
There are many types to choose from simple brownies and cookies, sophisticated smoothies and ice cream, savory snacks like chips or popcorn, and sweet treats like cakes or candies. You’ll never know what you like until you try!
Taste the difference with slow release times
Edibles work differently than smoking cannabis because it takes longer for the effects to kick in. Rather than an instant high that lasts for about 2 hours, you may notice the impact gradually building up over 6-8 hours. This means you can enjoy it without experiencing unwanted side effects such as anxiety or paranoia.
The Dosage: Start Low, Go Slow
Determining an edible dosage is important because it can affect how you feel. Many factors determine your correct dosage, including weight, tolerance, and metabolism. Our interactive guide provides tips on calculating your ideal dose and what you can expect from taking an edible.
Glad I ate before I smoked.
It’s common for people who smoke marijuana to eat a meal before smoking. This slows absorption into the bloodstream, which can help with not feeling too high too soon. Even more so with edibles, determining the dosage that works for you can be challenging.
Why should I eat rather than smoke weed?
There are many benefits to eating cannabis instead of smoking it. For one thing, you will avoid all the harmful carcinogens and other chemicals present when combusting marijuana. Cannabis edibles also last longer and provide more predictable effects than smoking weed.
How does your body absorb edibles?
Your stomach turns food into a liquid called chyme, which empties into your small intestine through your pyloric valve. The chyme then moves along your small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed, transported to your liver, and then released as bile back into your intestine for digestion. After you digest cannabis edibles, it takes about 30 minutes for them to enter your bloodstream.
What Are The Benefits Of Eating Marijuana Instead Of Smoking It?
Eating marijuana instead of smoking is a helpful way to reduce the harmful effects of smoking. Smoking has many adverse health effects, including lung cancer and COPD. It also destroys your lungs and can cause bronchitis, emphysema, and other respiratory problems.
The benefits of eating marijuana instead of smoking it are:
- You will feel more relaxed.
- You can get high without smoke or harmful toxins entering your body.
- It is more discreet than smoking pot in public.
- The effects are much stronger when eaten than when smoked. Therefore, this might be a better option if you’re looking for a more intense experience.
How Does Your Body Absorb Cannabis Edibles?
THC is absorbed through the stomach lining and metabolized in the liver. It takes about 30 minutes to feel the effects of THC, but the results can last up to six hours.
How quickly it is absorbed depends on the edible, and how the body processes it depends on the person.
When cannabis edibles enter the body, the first thing that happens is stomach acids, and enzymes metabolize them. By doing this, THC and CBD molecules are broken down into more digestible substances, which enterocytes absorb in the small intestine. The cells then transport these substances to other cells in your liver before being distributed throughout your entire body.
Your body absorbs the THC in cannabis in various ways. You can break this down into three main pathways: enteric, pulmonary, and intravenous (not generally used or recommended for cannabis).
Enteric: The THC is absorbed through your mouth and travels to the stomach, where it is digested and transferred to the liver via the hepatic portal vein. This process takes about 45 minutes but can take longer, depending on how much food you have eaten that day.
Pulmonary: The THC enters your lungs and gets absorbed into the bloodstream before traveling to the liver via the pulmonary artery. This process takes about 15 minutes on average but can take longer if you have been smoking cannabis for some time or have been exposed to second-hand smoke.
What Is Tolerance, And How Does It Affect The Feeling Of Cannabis When I Eat A Marijuana Edible?
Tolerance is becoming accustomed to a substance, meaning it takes more of that substance to produce the desired effect. You can develop tolerance to any psychoactive substance, including alcohol and cannabis.
As someone’s tolerance develops, they need more of the drug to feel the same effects. The drug becomes less effective as time passes, and your body has become accustomed to it. If you are trying a brand-new edible for the first time, you may want to take two doses.
The feeling of cannabis when someone consumes an edible can depend on their tolerance level and how much they take in. For example, if you have a high tolerance and eat a small amount, you might not feel anything because your body has adjusted to the THC. However, if you have low tolerance and eat a low-dose edible, you might feel some effects because your body isn’t used to it yet.
You can measure the tolerance to THC in milligrams. The more cannabis you consume, the more THC it takes to feel the effects.
Several factors impact a person’s tolerance to THC;
- Body weight
- Frequency of use
- Quality of cannabis
- Length of use (time)
- The amount consumed per session
How To Predict When Your Cannabis Edibles Will Kick In And What To Expect
When you eat or drink cannabis, it takes about 30 minutes for the THC to start working. Depending on your consumption quantity, the effects will last about 4 to 8 hours.
The effects of cannabis vary depending on the dosage, which can be measured in milligrams (mg)—the lower the dose, the less intense the results. A person who has never consumed cannabis before should start with a low dose of 5mg or less and wait at least two hours before consuming more.
Three main phases happen after ingesting cannabis edibles: onset, peak, and come down.
The onset phase is when you feel the first effects of eating cannabis edibles; it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours before you experience anything.
The peak phase is when most people would say they are feeling high on marijuana. This usually lasts about two hours and then comes down for about an hour or so as your body metabolizes THC.
If you are unsure how much is too much, start with a low dose and wait at least 2 hours before consuming more.
Predicting when your cannabis edibles will kick in is difficult because THC levels can vary from one edible to another. So it’s imperative to know how your body reacts to different doses of THC, what you’ve eaten that day and how much alcohol you’ve consumed. Consuming cannabis when drinking alcohol is not recommended, as it may harm your system.
Since it takes time for the THC to absorb into your system, it’s prudent not to eat more than an edible every four hours. This will help keep the effects of the edibles from building up and letting you get too high.
The length of time that the edible will take for it to kick in varies depending on many factors, such as:
- The type of edible that is consumed & cannabinoids structure
- How much was consumed, no matter whether you are a new user or not
- Your metabolism
It is difficult to predict when your edibles will kick in because it depends on how much THC you consume and how quickly your body processes it. You may have a different experience than someone else who consumed the same amount of THC but has a higher tolerance for cannabis.
The effects of THC will depend on the amount and type of cannabis edibles you consume. The amount of THC in your cannabis edibles is measured in milligrams, with 10mg being a moderate dose.
If you are a beginner to cannabis consumption, it is wise to start with a low dose (5 – 10mg) and wait 1-2 hours before consuming more.
Do Cannabis Edibles Kick In Less On A Full Stomach?
A lot of people have the misconception that cannabis edibles work less on a full stomach. This is not true. Cannabis edibles work just as well on a full stomach as on an empty one.
The belief that cannabis edibles work less on a full stomach comes from the fact that THC takes longer to digest when consumed with food in your system. However, this digestion delay does not mean you will get less of the high from cannabis edibles.
Scientific Papers – When Do Edibles Kick In?
Tasty THC: Promises and Challenges of Cannabis Edibles – PMC
Chemistry, Metabolism, and Toxicology of Cannabis: Clinical Implications – PMC
Human Cannabinoid Pharmacokinetics – PMC
Therapeutic Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids