The Smoking High vs. The Edible High

            There’s a huge, sometimes scary, difference between eating an edible and smoking marijuana. There’s a certain nostalgia that comes with the art of smoking. It’s the act of passing your favorite pipe, or smoking with your favorite people, that makes the smoking high a little more fun. It’s not as much fun for your lungs but with the rise of vape pens that doesn’t have to be an issue anymore.  Still, a lot of people get tired of coughing and would rather go the healthier route of eating an edible. But is eating an edible the healthier choice? It depends.

            Cannabis-infused edibles may not harm your lungs but they are also not something to take lightly. In 2014, there were several reported deaths in Colorado from overconsumption of edibles. If you’re eating something you bought at the dispensary then the dosing is probably accurate, but when baking your own edibles at home, its really difficult to know how many milligrams of THC are in each serving.

            In February 2015, a law went into effect in Colorado for recreational stores that limits edibles to 100mg or less. Each one has specifically marked 10mg servings so customers don’t bite off more cannabis than they canna-handle.

            If you’re looking for a regular high 10mg servings will do great, in fact for some 5mg does the trick, but for medical patients the reason for getting high is much different and so must be the dosing. Medical marijuana edibles can go as high as 300mg in one brownie. In the hands of a patient a dose that high could help with a lot of pain, but in the wrong hands these edibles could hurt instead of help.

            When smoking the actual bud, you know how high you are getting with each hit because it’s almost instant. Edibles can take several hours to kick in and if you’re impatient you’ll likely eat too much. The best advice for edibles is this, “You can always eat more, but you can never eat less.” Start small, and wait up to two hours before you decide to eat more.

            Smoking marijuana won’t kill you you’ll pass out before you are physically able to smoke enough to die. That’s one perk that doesn’t come with edibles. Both smoking and consuming should be done responsibly and everyone has a preference, but when it comes to safety, the bong just might be the best choice.