When it comes to cannabis, there’s more than one way to smoke a joint.
And smoking a joint is just one of the many ways medical cannabis can be taken!
All jokes aside, the average medical cannabis user has more products at their disposal now than perhaps ever before. There are literally dozens of helpful delivery methods out there — and in this article, we’ll be taking a look at 5 of the most popular ones. If you’ve fallen into paralysis by analysis, wondering what type of cannabis product to buy…we’re here to help.
- Hash
- Capsules
- Edibles
- Topicals
- Tinctures
- High-CBD
- High-THC
- CBD+THC Blends
Each one of these 5 cannabis products has strengths and weaknesses. By taking some time to learn about each of them, you’ll be empowered to decide which option is right for you and your personal health goals. Here are the details.
Hash
Hash is one of the oldest ways to take cannabis in the world. It’s a simple, low-tech type of cannabis concentrate that’s made by gathering up large amounts of resin from the plant’s buds. Those who’ve ever harvested or trimmed cannabis know how easy it is for the resin to accumulate. If one wants to make hash, all they have to do is press this resin into a puck!
Originally called hashish, hash was incredibly popular throughout the Middle East. It even shows up in historical literature — 1001 Arabian Nights has a whole story about the stuff. Later on, in the 1850s, hash appears again in author Fitz Hugh Ludlow’s The Hashish Eater; Ludlow credits it with boosting his creativity to otherwise unreachable levels.
True to the name of Ludlow’s novel, eating hash is one of the most popular ways to take it. Hash is also frequently smoked in a pipe or bong when sprinkled atop dry herb. And there’s one more option for all the DIY’ers out there: hash can be converted to more powerful extracts (like rosin) with a rosin press. Just make sure to find your favourite strain first!
Capsules
Medical marijuana capsules may not be quite as exotic as things like hashish…but they’re far more quantized. In other words, taking cannabis via capsule allows for precise dosing and predictable experience. Capsules may be one of the very best cannabis products for those who require consistency.
Because cannabis capsules are brought through the digestive tract, they take longer to kick in than many other products. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing! People with IBS and other gut health issues may find that capsules offer a targeted delivery of cannabinoids into the areas needed most. One study confirmed that many patients who try cannabis “report successful management of abdominal pain, joint pain, cramping, diarrhea, poor appetite, weight loss, and nausea.”
Edibles
Edibles are another type of ingestible cannabis product — and they might be the most fun one of all. Edibles tend to kick in slowly before progressing towards a near-psychedelic high. Want to chill yourself out while simultaneously expanding your consciousness? There’s probably no better way.
The way cannabis edibles are metabolized within the human body explains this effect. When one eats cannabis, they don’t get just THC; their body also makes metabolites like THC-COOH, and these substances have their own effects. Further, the fat content of edibles may increase cannabis’s absorption and make the whole experience more powerful.
All in all, edibles are a favourite cannabis product of those who need sustained relief throughout the day.
Topicals
Let’s face it: sometimes a more direct approach to pain relief is needed…something that exceeds what hash or edibles can provide. That’s where cannabis topicals come in.
As you might expect, topicals are cannabis-infused cream, salves, or balms meant to be applied topically.
Some topicals feature absorption-boosting ingredients that allow them to function more like transdermals, though virtually all topicals are able to reduce pain by targeting cannabinoid receptors in the skin. Topical cannabis may even bind to the TRPV receptors our bodies use to sense heat and pain — further reducing inflammation in the process.
There are practical benefits to topicals, too. Because they don’t reach the bloodstream, they won’t get you high. And yet topicals kick in faster than nearly anything else. Many people enjoy using them in conjunction with other cannabis products. Someone who needs powerful pain relief, for example, might take a cannabis tincture every day and a cannabis topical as needed.
Tinctures
Last but not least, we have cannabis tinctures. This product is one of the most proven delivery methods of all! Tinctures surpass both the precision of capsules and the onset time of edibles en route to providing powerful effects. It’s no wonder they’re so popular.
There are two parts to most cannabis tinctures: an active cannabis extract and a carrier. Traditionally the carrier was alcohol like ethanol, but today most tinctures use an oil (hempseed and MCT oils are popular) as their carrier. This carrier oil serves to make the tincture’s strength just right.
There are near-endless varieties of cannabis tinctures, so it should be easy to find one that suits your health needs. Let’s take a look at three major categories…
High-CBD
High CBD tinctures are a favourite product of those who want to get health benefits without any associated high. Research shows that CBD may activate the endocannabinoid system, leading to subtle-but-strong improvements in inflammation and oxidative stress. CBD may also improve sleep without causing any ‘couch lock’ or drowsiness.
High-THC
High THC tinctures, on the other hand, deliver both physical and mental benefits. But they can be too strong for some people — particularly those new to medical cannabis. And that brings us to the third option…
CBD + THC Blends
Some tinctures opt for the holistic route and feature relatively even blends of both THC and CBD. CBD tends to balance out THC’s psychoactivity at the molecular level, so while CBD+THC tinctures are still psychotropic, they tend to be much milder than THC-only stuff. These blended tinctures are favourites of those with pain, sleep problems, autoimmune diseases, and more. They’re also used for general wellness.
Blended tinctures get closer to nature’s original design than most cannabis products. Why’s that? Because the original cannabis plant didn’t contain just CBD or THC. It likely produced a balanced blend of them both.