5 Non-Smoking Ways To Consume Marijuana

Many people consider marijuana to be a healthier alternative to other vices, like alcohol or cigarettes. You can’t overdose on marijuana, like you can with alcohol. Marijuana is not as addictive as nicotine. But there are concerns with the most popular method of consuming marijuana: smoking.

Rolling up a joint is similar to rolling up a cigarette, even though the contents inside your papers is different. When the flame of your lighter hits the end of your joint or cigarette, the internal materials combust. Combustion breaks down your rolling paper, tobacco, marijuana, and other substances into potentially dangerous chemicals. Inhaling smoke from marijuana or cigarettes may increase your risk of developing lung cancer or oral cancer.

Fortunately, there are safer alternatives to smoking marijuana. If you still want to get high or enjoy the benefits of your favorite green plant, check out these options: -Vaping -Edibles -THC Drinks -Oil -Dabbing

Vaping

Vaporizers were first introduced as an alternative to smoking cigarettes. By putting nicotine in an “e-juice” that is vaporized, you can still get a satisfying hit without inhaling combustible materials. Quickly, marijuana users discovered that they too could inhale THC using vaporizers.

There are plenty of vaporizers on the market to meet every cannabis user’s preferences. Want to vape dry bud? There are vaporizers that are compatible with the marijuana growing in your garden. Want something disposable rather than rechargeable? You have options. Shop through our selection of vaporizer cartridges and pens and you can get a vape delivered right to your door.

Edibles

You don’t have to inhale marijuana - you can just chew it! Edibles are a classic and fun way to get high. Although pot brownies dominated the edible game for decades, you can choose any treat, from cookies to gummies to chili pops!

We must warn you, edibles hit differently than smoking. The body breaks down edibles in the liver before it hits the brain, producing a high concentration of the more potent 11-hydroxy-THC. This will produce an intense “body high” that can last for hours. Edibles are not the most casual way to consume marijuana, but they are powerful.

If you buy edibles, be sure to read the directions. Don’t take more than one dose at a time, and wait up to 90 minutes before having another. It’ll “hit” later than you might expect, but you’ll know when it happens.

Want to Make Your Own Edibles?

You can also make your own edibles at home. All you need is bud or cannabutter that can be mixed into your favorite baked good.

THC Drinks

Not hungry? Try drinking your marijuana with THC-infused teas. While CBD-infused water dominates the market, you can also find THC drinks. This includes tea, water, and even THC beer.

You can also make your own THC tea if you have some bud lying around that you don’t want to smoke. All you have to do is decarb your bud, grind it up, and mix it into some loose leaf tea. Let it steep like you would a regular cup of tea, and voila! You’ve got a nice cuppa that you can enjoy before bed.

Like THC edibles, give yourself some time before making another cup. It may take longer for a THC drink to hit your brain than it would for a joint. Getting too high and paranoid before bed defeats the purpose of a THC tea.

Oil

There’s also an easier way to put THC in your drink: just drop it in!

Although you can vape or bake dry bud, many marijuana brands convert their marijuana into concentrates before putting it into products. Concentrates, like THC oil or tinctures, are simply concentrated versions of marijuana. They contain mainly THC (the ingredient that gets you high) to pack a punch.

If you want a more versatile concentrate, go straight to the source and get some THC oil.

THC oil comes in droppers of THC infused with carrier oils, like MCT or coconut oil. It can be dropped under the tongue, mixed into a beverage, or even added to a joint for an extra kick. While most brands offer the purest form of THC in their products, others add terpenes and essential oil to give you other benefits. If you’re looking for something discrete, strong, and easy to consume, consider trying an oil or concentrate.

(Dogs and cats are extremely sensitive to THC, but may benefit from CBD. If your pet has joint pain or separation anxiety, browse through our selection of dog- and cat-friendly CBD oils.)

Dabbing

Oil is far from the only concentrated form of marijuana. Budder, shatter, and wax are all created when THC is extracted or isolated from the cannabis plant. These concentrates are typically used to dab.

Dabbing isn’t just a dance craze. It’s a way to get high without using a flame to burn cannabis. In order to dab, you’ll need to get a dab rig. It looks like a bong, but works in a different way. After you set up your dab rig, you need to heat a dab nail and apply it to the concentrate of your choice. This creates a vaporized form of THC that you can inhale without combustion. (It’s similar to vaping, but with a much prettier and larger set-up. You can read more about how dabs work in our blog post.)

If you’re new to consuming marijuana, you might want to hold off on dabbing. Concentrates contain much more THC than the bud that you’re smoking. One dab isn’t the same as one hit of a bong or a joint. Leave dabs to more experienced cannabis lovers.

Experiment With Other Methods, But Do Your Research

When you buy dry herb, you know exactly what you’re consuming. It’s natural. You can pluck it right out of your garden. But this isn’t always the case with edibles, concentrates, or other forms of marijuana. Do your research before you buy and consume. Only buy from trusted retailers and take things slow when trying out a new product.