We’ve all been there; we eat a THC edible, wait an hour, and nothing’s happening — we take another. It’s approximately three seconds later, and we’re so high, we’re convinced an alien has inhabited our bodies and we’re somehow also a baby who can only speak French. (By “we all”, I mean me. I’ve been there. Stop judging, Jeffrey).
While many people experience cannabis through smoking, some people might not be able to smoke, don’t like it, or simply prefer the experience of eating pot in the form of a nice tasty THC edible. No problem! Thankfully, there are so many wonderful ways to consume cannabis. Here’s a deep dive with none other than The Herbal Chef himself, Christopher Sayegh.
Edible cannabis also tends to produce a longer-lasting high. The high can last anywhere from a couple of hours and up to twelve hours, though that is pretty rare. If you’re new to eating pot, it’s important to understand the proper dosage and start slow.
We decided to ask our own Chris Sayegh, Cannabis Expert, Founder, and CEO of The Herbal Chef, to answer a few common questions regarding eating cannabis edibles.
You know, we just wouldn’t want you to end up eating an entire cannabis cake and speaking French like a baby, or whatever.
CHRIS SAYEGH:
The most common ways to eat pot and the easiest ways have a lot of crossover. But the most common form of ingestion has changed over the centuries depending on the culture and era. In today’s world, it can be as delightful as a baked good in the form of a brownie.
In fact, I think the brownie has pretty much become synonymous with pot at this point. I would encourage people to find a very mild olive oil and infuse that, then use it as a finishing ingredient on some savory dishes depending upon their tolerance level. Maybe a dressing for a salad, or something a bit more health conscious than baked goods. Not to say that it’s bad to have dessert, but we can expand our horizons a bit, ya know? We’ve come a long way from two hot knives, and firecrackers (only the real ones will know).
CHRIS:
This is something that is a process. You are going to have to try a regulated product (in a regulated market) and try just 5mg of THC at first and see how you feel. After 2 hours, you can successfully gauge how that made you feel.
If you think you need more, try increasing it the next time by 2.5mg THC and see how that 7.5mg THC treats you. Basically, you can start this process and when you achieve a really nice high, you have found your sweet spot. Remember the dosage so you can use it as reference.
CHRIS:
You should wait at least 1.5 hours. Trust me. You can always have more, but you can’t have less. If you take some and don’t wait long enough, you can end up having a bad time.
CHRIS:
This is a tough one. If you freak out, you can do a couple things right away to help mitigate and then, you really have to try to go to your happy place.
So, immediately after you feel that ‘oh fuck what did I do?’ moment, you should take a full spectrum CBD tincture under the tongue. Take at least 50mg. This will help counteract the psychoactivity that will surely ensue. From there, drink some water if you can, and wait it out. There are a few things anecdotally that have been known to ease the mind from THC, but don’t have too much to back it up. If you have pets this would be time to cuddle them to calm your nerves, just try not to scare them.There’s not much else that one can do.
CHRIS:
Environment always matters. When you are taking a large dose of edibles, it is nice to either be in the comfort of your own home, or out in nature. And always be around good people. 🙂 Lighter doses are really fun in almost any active environment.
CHRIS:
If you are just starting out trying to find your tolerance, I would recommend buying a regulated edible. If you already know your tolerance, I would buy my upcoming baking cookbook “Sugar High” to help you with the dosing for your home.