Now, more than ever, MMJ card holders have so many choices when it comes to how they can consume their medical marijuana. While there are some MMJ purists who stick to smoking or vaporizers, medical marijuana card holders are by no means restricted to these more traditional consumption methods.
Once you have your MMJ card, the world is your oyster as to how you can consume your cannabis. Want to brew it up in a tea? Go for it! Feel like topicals might be more your style? Slather up!
From the weird to the wonderful and everything in between, here are our picks for 5 unusual ways to consume medical marijuana.
Tea
People have been experimenting with tea for thousands of years, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that more and more people are starting to drink medical marijuana-infused tea. Tea – like medical marijuana – is naturally reparative and soothing, so the combination of these two super ‘foods’ is a match made in MMJ heaven.
On its own, tea is full of hard-working antioxidants, theanine and phytochemicals, making it a great body booster in and of itself. As well as that, drinking a warm cup of calming tea has been proven to improve concentration, lower stress levels and even tackle bouts of depression.
Making medical marijuana-infused tea is seriously easy and can be done using the normal method – check out our how-to guide here – or using tinctures – more on those next!
Tinctures
Tinctures are a great way to effectively administer medical marijuana – and they’re fun to use!
Back in the day, tinctures used to be one of the most popular ways to consume medical marijuana. Nowadays, popularity has dropped off in favor of other methods, but that doesn’t make using tinctures any less effective.
So what exactly is a tincture? Put simply, a tincture is a concentrated form of MMJ that is made by mixing it with an alcohol solution. This concentrated solution is a great way to consume as you can easily regulate dosage. A tincture is stored in a glass or plastic bottle with a dropper implement within the lid. Tinctures are delightfully discreet when it comes to consuming in public thanks to this design – they just look like a regular ‘ol eye dropper.
A tincture is used by dropping the alcohol solution into your food or drink or under your tongue. Those who don’t want to consume orally can apply it directly to their skin. From here the MMJ solution is absorbed directly into the bloodstream.
Tinctures are extremely efficient in delivering MMJ goodness, as they contain all 80 of the essential cannabinoids in the medical marijuana plant. Tinctures are also perfect for children with MMJ cards, as they can be administered easily and users don’t experience the psychoactive effects that can come with other methods of consumption.
Topicals
Like tinctures, topicals are another great way to consume medical marijuana without experiencing the psychoactive effects of the plants. As topicals are applied directly to the skin, they don’t come with a head high that can lead to bouts of anxiety or paranoia.
Topicals come in tons of different varieties, most of which you’ll be able to find at your local dispensary. Popular kinds of topicals include balms, creams and lotions.
While topicals may not be great for treating ailments like anxiety or depression, they are really effective at treating chronic pain and inflammation when applied to the ailing area. Topicals also act as an antibacterial agent – meaning they’re great for speeding up the healing process of cuts and scratches.
Suppositories
Suppositories are one of the most effective ways to reap the benefits of medical marijuana.
While consuming medical marijuana via a suppository may not be one of the most popular methods of consumption, you better believe it’s one of the most effective ones! When you ingest MMJ orally, you lose between 5-10% of the plant’s effectiveness as it’s digested by the gastrointestinal tract.
By consuming medical marijuana in suppository form, you’re bypassing the gastrointestinal tract entirely, meaning nothing is being wastefully digested and you benefit from every ounce of goodness in your MMJ.
The active components of the medical marijuana plant – e.g. the CBD, THC and cannabinoids – are absorbed directly into the bloodstream in a much higher concentration than they would be if they were ingested orally. MMJ suppositories take about an hour to take effect and the effects last up to an impressive 10 hours.
If you’re using your MMJ card to treat any gastrointestinal ailments, using suppositories is highly recommended, as they won’t upset your illness by passing through your digestive tract.
Patches
Patches – or transdermal patches – are adhesive patches laced with medical marijuana that are affixed to the skin. Similar to nicotine patches, medical marijuana patches release small amounts of MMJ onto the skin – and into the bloodstream – throughout the day of wear.
In contrast to topicals or tinctures, patches penetrate all 7 layers of epidermal skin delivering systematic – instead of localized – relief. The handy thing about using MMJ patches is that after you put one on in the morning, you don’t have to remember to keep dosing throughout the day – great for forgetful MMJ card carriers! Patches are non-psychoactive and can be personalized to suit your own dosing preferences.
Choosing the right method of consumption for you is a journey that takes time. It’s important to remember that there is no one umbrella method that suits every MMJ card holder – you’ll have to do a bit of trial and error before you figure out what’s right for you. But when you’ll do, you’ll be on cloud nine.