Edibles are one of the easiest and most convenient ways to get the therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana. If you are just getting started with medical cannabis and have your Virginia medical marijuana card in hand, you may have some questions. What are edibles exactly, and how can you integrate them into your daily life? The following post will walk you through all the basics and hopefully open you up to enjoying one of the best medical marijuana products out there!
What Are Edibles?
The best place to start is with the “what”— what exactly are edibles? Well, they are exactly what they sound like— something you eat.
Edibles can come in a variety of forms. In Virginia, they are most often sold as gummies. Think of the gummy candy chews you might have eaten as a child (or still eat!) and you would get pretty close to the consistency of these edibles. They can also come in the form of cookies or other baked goods.
Why Go With Edibles?
The next question you might want to consider is the “why.” Why should you choose edibles for your medical marijuana? Many people prefer edibles because they don’t want to have anything to do with smoking flower. They might not like the risk of lung damage, for one, or they might not like some of the complexities and tools involved in consuming medical marijuana in that manner.
Edibles are incredibly easy to use, transport, and store. They also don’t require any additional accessories or preparation, unlike other forms of consumption.
The Therapeutic Effect of Edibles
Since edibles are broken down by your digestive tract, they are actually one of the impactful and effective ways to harness the medicinal benefits of marijuana.
When you consume cannabis via inhalation, the beneficial compounds in the product must first transfer to the bloodstream from the lungs, then make their way into fatty tissues where they can then bind to receptor sites on cells.
Consuming medical marijuana through an edible initiates a different absorption process in the body. After it enters the digestive tract, it gets metabolized in the liver, where enzymes break down the cannabinoids in the product. This process turns the cannabinoids into smaller compounds that can then be absorbed by the brain and central nervous system more efficiently. In this way, you can feel the direct effects of an edible much sooner. The effect can last much longer than with smoking, as well.
Selecting an Edible
Your first and best step in selecting an edible as your way of consuming medical marijuana is to work in consultation with a certified medical marijuana doctor. This individual can not only help you get the recommendation you need to get your medical marijuana card, they can also review your symptoms and guide you through the process.
You can also look at reviews from other medical marijuana patients on Virginia’s dispensary websites. These reviews can provide essential insights into how a particular product impacts the system, including its potency and effects.
Slow is Best!
Perhaps the best advice with medical marijuana is to start slowly with smaller amounts to get your edible dosage right. Just as you might scale up with a pharmaceutical, you will want to begin with smaller doses of edibles. Give your body time to register the effects and check in with yourself to see how well your edible is working for you, and adjust your dose accordingly.
Just as with alcohol, your individual metabolic rate will affect how your body absorbs your edible product. If you haven’t eaten that day or slept well, consider these factors when taking your edibles. In no time at all, you will be enjoying the myriad benefits of medical marijuana in one of the easiest ways possible!
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