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Why do edibles take longer to kick in than smoking?

When cannabis is smoked or vaporized, that inhaled smoke or vapor goes into the lungs and then the bloodstream, and the consumer will feel the effects of weed within minutes.

When eating edibles, weed has to be digested and metabolized in your stomach and liver before you feel effects. This takes a bit longer than smoking or vaping, and leads to a more potent experience.

Because this process takes much longer, we recommend people “start low and go slow” when consuming edibles—take a low dose of edibles and wait until the effects kick in, at least 45-60 minutes, or even longer.

If you want more effects after that time period, then take more edibles. If you are new to cannabis or have a low tolerance, start with 2.5 mg of edibles or even less.

If you want stronger effects after an hour, try another 2.5 mg or less. If you take more edibles before waiting for the initial dose’s effects to kick in, both doses will kick in later and you could potentially feel too high

How does weed get you high?

It’s more challenging than you may think to explain how smoking weed leads to the feeling of being high. For a plant that humans have been consuming for thousands of years, you’d think we’d have it pinpointed by now.

Over the years, science has been able to quantify and chart the process of getting high; however, some of those steps still hold mysteries. We know about the main compounds in the plant, but not quite all of them. We know how those compounds interact with our bodies, but not entirely. And the whole process can vary wildly depending on how much weed you consume, the environment you’re in, or your mood when you smoke.

Research into the multiple benefits of the plant and how the human body interacts with it has grown leaps and bounds in the past decade since states started legalizing the plant. But federal illegality still hinders weed research on a broad scale, leaving many questions about the process of getting high unanswered.