Jon Stojan
Image credit: Pixabay
Over the past decade, cannabis products have begun to gain worldwide acceptance and legalization for the first time in history. Where cannabis was once considered a serious drug that could net an individual decades of prison time for even possessing, it is now something that someone can acquire medically in most states and recreationally in many others.
As the legal production of cannabis-related goods becomes more common and the products themselves become more widely available to new and experienced users alike, many are experimenting with new ways of consuming cannabis. The most common ways of consuming cannabis are to either smoke the cannabis, inhale it through the fumes, or eat edibles. Generally, edibles have been seen as safer than smoking, but is this true?
Differences in Smoking and Edible Consumption
It’s essential to understand the differences and associated risks between smoking and directly ingesting cannabis. Smoking involves inhaling the smoke from a burning cannabis plant.
While it provides almost immediate effects, making it incredibly simple to mitigate and control the dosage of its intake, it comes with the traditional smoking risk of inhaling other harmful substances, including carcinogens.
Marijuana smoke has often tested to be dangerous in very similar ways to the inhalation of nicotine can be. It is known to cause cancer, congenital disabilities, and other reproductive harm, according to the state of California. The legally produced version in California must bear this fact on product labels.
Edibles and Their Risks
On the other hand, an edible is an unrelated food product that is infused with cannabis. CBD gummies are a popular form of edible, with their discrete size and convenient form making them an ideal choice for many cannabis users. In this way, users can essentially bypass the actual taking phase of the cannabis and instead eat a gummy and reap the benefits of consumption. But even with that, edibles do come with their unique risks.
While inhaling smoke affects the lungs, consuming edibles can have delayed effects on your liver. The delay can last from 30 minutes to two hours. Despite these delayed effects, the effects of cannabis generally last much longer than smoking, anywhere from six to eight hours. This prolonged duration of the high can be beneficial for those with protracted pain or anxiety. Still, it is also something that must be appropriately taken into account when it comes to an impairment risk.
As a result, one must carefully consider how much they are ingesting when it comes to edibles. Since there is a delay to their effect, many users lose patience and take another edible, exacerbating the impacts once the delays are over. Unanticipated events during the effective period are also a risk since users will not be as capable under the effects of cannabis.
Other dangers explicitly associated with gummies include the potential for accidental ingestion and overdose. Due to the very discreet appearance and ease of taking, which makes them so sought after by many, it is essential to keep a close eye on the edibles and how many one consumes in a given period.
Edibles Appear Safer in Terms of Health Risks
Ultimately, edibles eliminate harmful respiratory problems but have their own storage and dosage concerns that need to be addressed by any user. As with smoking, it is essential to consume responsibly, but edibles are generally safer than smoking when it comes to health concerns.