Being a smart and safe cannabis consumer
With the legalization of cannabis in Canada, you may be considering trying cannabis for the first time, or exploring cannabis in a different way than you have previously. Wherever you are on your cannabis experience journey, it’s very important you take the time to understand the various options available to you and then ease your way into actual use of cannabis products.
Everyone’s body responds differently to cannabis, and how your body reacts comes down to a range of factors including your age, when you last ate and any medical conditions you may have. Other very important factors are the THC and/or CBD content in the cannabis you consume and whether you consume it by inhaling it through smoking or vaping, eating or drinking it in oils, edibles or beverages, or applying it topically.
THC is the component of cannabis that provides the intoxicating affects. CBD, the other major component in cannabis, does not but it can still have effects on your brain. Responses can also differ from one use to the next. Emprise’s cannabis products come in a range of blends of cannabis, each with a different ratio of THC and/or CBD. How can you tell what the ratio is in the cannabis you’re buying? Each product has a set of numbers, for example: 0/10 or 5/5. The first number, before the slash, is the amount of THC in the product, in milligrams per gram (mg/g). The second number, after the slash, is the amount of CBD in the product in mg/g. The higher the number, the higher the amount of THC or CBD in the product. Reading the labels very carefully is important for determining how much is in any single ‘portion’.
Smoking or vaping of cannabis generates a fairly quick effect, often within seconds, while it can minutes, or even hours, for THC and CBD to take effect when it is taken as oil or otherwise ingested. Similarly, how long the effects remain differs as well.
So what amount or ratio of THC and CBD is right for you? How will inhaling cannabis versus ingesting cannabis oil and other ingestibles affect you? Truly, it depends, and why it’s important to ‘start low and go slow’.
That means starting out with products with lower levels of THC, limiting your initial consumption to a small amount – a couple of puffs if smoking or vaping, or a couple of drops if using oil, for example, and then waiting to see what effects that initial consumption has on you before consuming any more.
While you’re being a smart consumer of cannabis, plan to be a safe consumer as well. Don’t drive when you’re under the influence of cannabis. It’s not only illegal to do so, but it’s unsafe as well, as things like your reaction time and decision-making processes can be affected by consuming cannabis. Avoid consuming cannabis with other substances such as alcohol.
Health Canada is a great resource for you to find out more about cannabis in Canada.