How to Make THC Edibles Kick in Faster | Education

Its always fun to pop an edible and spend the afternoon with a solid body high, and its even more enjoyable when youre eating homemade edibles. Unfortunately, when dosing homemade edibles, it can be difficult to tell how long youll have to wait before feeling the high kick in. Fortunately, there are a few tricks for how to make edibles hit quicker.

How Edibles Work

An edible is any food product that has been infused with cannabis. Like smoking, edibles will get you high. Unlike smoking, edibles take longer to kick in and often provide a very different type of high. Edibles are made by cooking (or baking) your food with cannabis, often infused in butter or oils like olive or coconut. When ingested, the chemicals within cannabis (THC, CBD, etc.) are broken down by saliva and stomach acids to then be diffused throughout your body via the bloodstream. When eaten, cannabis is broken down in a way that makes it much more solvent and therefore gets absorbed into the bloodstream more effectively. When eaten, THC is converted from delta-9 THC to 11-hydroxy THC in the liver, which creates a heavier psychoactive, intense body high.

How Long Does It Take for Edibles to Kick In?

Because the cannabis is slowly broken down while being digested and then distributed throughout your body after being absorbed into your blood, it takes much longer for edibles to kick in than most any other consumption method. So, when you ask, how long does it take for edibles to kick in, what youre asking is, how long does it take for edibles to metabolize within your body. It takes longer for THC to be metabolized when eaten, but they are more completely absorbed. You will likely feel the effects of smoking within minutes, but edibles can take up to 90-minutes before you feel anything. Like we will discuss below, however, there are ways you can get edibles to hit quicker.

How Long Do Edible Highs Last?

The same reason it takes longer to feel the high from eating edibles is also the same reason the high lasts much longer. Depending on how much you take, once it hits you, an edible high can last a few hours up to 4-6 hours. Edibles hit hard and will slowly wear off over time, allowing for different types of highs along the way. Of course, the more you eat, the more intense and longer-lasting your high will be.

How To Make Edibles Hit Quicker

Edibles affect people differently, so how long for edibles to kick in is different for everyone. However, there are several ways you can likely decrease the amount of time you have to wait between eating your edible and feeling the high.

Workout

Like anything else, THC has to be metabolized before it can be distributed throughout your body. That means how fast your body metabolizes THC can change the rate at which you are affected by edibles. Anything that gets your heart rate up (walking, swimming, running, weight training) stimulates your metabolism to help you burn the calories you need to fuel your body. A higher metabolism will cause your body to break down nutrients quicker (and will work on THC in the same way). The effects of a higher metabolism are most intense right after working out; so for the best results, if you take edibles right after your workout they should hit much quicker.

Eat On An Empty Stomach

Do you get high faster on an empty stomach? If youre eating edibles, you might. With less in your stomach competing for acids to break it down, eating edibles on an empty stomach will result in a more concentrated, quicker absorption process. Please note, however, that getting high on an empty stomach will also increase the intensity and may result in anxious or uneasy feelings. In addition, since everyones body metabolizes cannabis differently, this method doesnt work for everyone and is not necessarily advised.

Infused Drinks

When in liquid form, the cannabinoids are already more solvent and pass through the digestive tract quicker than a traditional edible. Not only do infused drinks hit faster, but they are also delicious and refreshing. You can find cannabis-infused drinks at your local dispensary or you can create your own infusion, from teas and coffee to sodas and tonics.

Tinctures

One of the reasons it takes so long for edibles to hit is because the THC is infused with lipids (i.e., cannabutter or canna-oil). These fats take longer to break down and hit the bloodstream. As opposed to a traditional edible, tinctures are an ingestible form of cannabis that goes almost directly into your bloodstream. Sublingual tinctures (taken under the tongue) releases the THC directly into your bloodstream for effects within 5-10 minutes. While they last quicker, tinctures usually do not last as long as traditional edibles and result in a slightly different high.

Fast-Acting Edibles

If you want a quick edible high, you can always buy fast-acting edibles. Products like Wanas fast-acting gummies are made to be more solvent and therefore metabolize quicker. These products usually hit within 20 minutes of consumption and last between 2 and 4 hours. So, while this isnt something you can do to increase the rate at which homemade edibles hit, it is an easy solution for a quicker high.

Do you have any specials tips or tricks for getting edibles to hit quicker? Share with the community and comment below!