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How Do You Consume Medical Cannabis (Marijuana)?

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There is not one specific way to intake the benefits of medical marijuana. Depending on your medical needs, budget, and your physical abilities, you may prefer one method over another.

 

Let’s take a look at some ways you can consume medical marijuana.

 

• Smoke it: Smoking marijuana provides some of the most instant relief when it comes to extracting the medical benefits from the plant. There are several ways to smoke marijuana, including through a smaller handheld pipe or device, a water bong (a pipe with a long neck), or a joint (where you use rolling papers). Smoking is typically the cheapest option, too, considering you only need to acquire a single smoking device or inexpensive rolling papers.

• Consume it: Medical marijuana can be infused into foods and drinks to help ease the process of consumption. Essentially, the THC just needs to be extracted from the marijuana, then mixed in with whatever food or drink you want (commonly brownies, smoothies, cookies, etc.). Consuming marijuana usually takes longer to take effect, and even a small increase in dosage can have massive effects on how you feel once they kick in, so be careful with self-dosing. The edible and drinks business is becoming an increasingly popular option. Forbes reports that more $180 million worth of marijuana-infused foods and drinks were sold in California alone in 2016.

• Vaporize it: Similar to smoking, vaporizing marijuana into a mist provides more instant results. For this method, you put a small amount of cannabis inside a machine called a “vaporizer,” which turns the heated cannabis into a vapor that isn’t as hot as smoke but still hot enough to extract the medical benefits. The devices used for vaporizing are usually far more expensive than ones for smoking, but the vapor is usually far less harsh on your lungs.

• Rub it on your skin: Topical treatments like lotions and creams can help relieve maladies like muscle soreness and arthritis. Because they’re applied through the skin, topicals don’t give you the “high” often associated with cannabis. They also allow you to target one specific area of pain rather than inducing a full body effect for one localized area of pain.

• Use droplets: Using droplets or sprays can help you control the dosage you’re taking. You place the treatment underneath your tongue, letting the saliva and tissues absorb the THC. While not as immediate as smoking or vaporizing, using sprays is more cost effective, especially if you need smaller doses.

• Taken in pill form: It’s one of the least popular options, but there are suppositories and other cannabinoid medicines that are FDA-approved and help ease symptoms like nausea and vomiting.

Whatever method you choose to intake medical marijuana, it’s important you consult a medical professional about how much, when, and how often to use it.