Whether you are a frequent consumer or a total newbie to marijuana, weed can pose a ton of seemingly off the wall questions for how to use it next. We’ve heard about vaping and smoking, cooking marijuana into edibles and teas, but one question can still stick out in the minds of users. Can you eat marijuana and get high?
It’s a fair question, why would someone go through the trouble of cleaning and prepping a pipe or baking all day when you could just pop a bud into your mouth and go? The answer might get a little more complicated than that.
In short, the answer is no, not really. While it can be said that everyone’s body is different, the general consensus for marijuana consumption is that it needs to be decarboxylated first, which means heat or light may be needed.
Behind the Smoke
Regardless of the strain, marijuana gets its effects from a combination of three different compounds, which include THC, CBD, and the lesser-known CBG. All these compounds can produce calming and therapeutic effects on their own but together can provide the full marijuana experience as it’s known.
These compounds aren’t overly abundant in raw, unprocessed marijuana. Most of the time, these compounds can be found wrapped up in carboxylic acids that reduce the effect of THC, CBD, and CBG. When a user cooks or lights up the marijuana, the carboxylic acid disconnects from the compounds and makes them much more potent. This is what many call decarboxylation. While CBD and CBG don’t produce the classic high feeling, decarboxylated THC does. This is why edibles, teas, smoking, and vaping produce the results they do. The heat is the catalyst for the whole process and helps the body to metabolize the compounds in a way that leads to the high experience.
The most common way of consuming and using marijuana is to smoke it. A pipe, a bong, a hookah, or any other smoking utensil are common sights in a user’s repertoire. Now that developments have been made on the smoking front, both tobacco and marijuana vapes now exist as well. The problem with these, though they are effective and easily attainable, is that vaping and smoking can come with some serious side effects. Your lung health can be on the line with any repeated exposure to smoke or vapor. While the consequences of these behaviors might not have an immediate effect, the issues that can come along later down the line might put a damper on the whole experience. Smoking and vaping also create a pungent scent that can be difficult to mask. For those who might be less than pleased about the musk, this can be quite the issue.
A less common but still widely used means of consumption is marijuana edibles. These can come in many forms including various beverages, candies, pills, sprays, and more. A user can also take the stems and buds of a harvest, bake them in an oven until fragrant, and then mix them into butter or margarine to make an infused baking staple. This can then be used to make brownies, cookies, Rice Krispie treats, and other confections. All of these methods are just as effective as smoking without the harsh effects on the lungs but are much more difficult to gauge for a new user.
Because marijuana edibles take time to take effect, a consumer might take too much at one time and not know until after the fact. While it’s not at all common to overdose on marijuana, taking too much can have adverse effects on the mental health of the user. Being too high can make someone paranoid, anxious, and hyper-vigilant until they come back down. Users who prefer edibles should start slow, with a small amount, and then build later as needed.
No matter how you decide to use marijuana, it can have some amazing medicinal effects and some great mental health benefits as well. Being open to the experience and understanding your limits is key to a good high, and if it’s the high you’re looking for, then knowing what kind of marijuana you’ve got and how to use it is key.
Raw Weed: Are There Any Uses?
Just because eating or consuming raw weed might not provide you the high you’re looking for, that doesn’t mean it’s without its uses. Science has determined a possible link between consuming raw marijuana and a slew of medical health benefits.
As we know, smoking marijuana has led to some incredible health benefits for those with anxiety, joint pain, neurological conditions, and more. Eating marijuana, on the other hand, has been proven to aid in nausea conditions, protecting against neuroinflammatory issues, neurodegenerative conditions, and more. Marijuana has also been known to prevent the spread of tumor necrosis and boost the immune system.
Though these benefits have been linked to specific conditions, tests and research are still ongoing. With much of the US decriminalizing marijuana usage for both medicinal and recreational purposes, the opportunities are seemingly endless.
Conclusion
In the end, consuming raw weed may not give you the benefits and effects you want out of a good bud, but consuming marijuana in its raw form might just help in other ways. It definitely can’t hurt and if it’s legal in your area, testing on yourself can be extremely beneficial to isolate and treat conditions that are specific to you. Knowing your limits with substances like alcohol and marijuana can help to alleviate some of the anxiety and concern that comes along with its use. If using it for the first time, be sure it’s in the presence of someone you trust so they can bring you back to yourself in case of overindulgence. Marijuana can be an incredible herb that helps in a ton of different facets of life. Just like with anything else though, moderation is the key to success, so be sure not to overdo it!