Medical Cannabis Consultants for New Mexico
One subject many prospective medical cannabis patients have questions about is ways to take cannabis. Smoking is not for everyone and as medical consultants we want to help people find the best method to get the medicine into their bodies.
The most common forms of medical cannabis consumption are:
- Smoking—this can be done with joints (hand-rolled marijuana cigarettes), blunts (hollowed-out small cigars filled with marijuana), with small hand-held pipes, or via water pipes (or “bongs”). A quick delivery method, and probably the most common way to use marijuana, smoking can nevertheless have some negative side effects like coughing and lung or throat irritation.
- Vaporizing—the use of vaporizers is becoming more popular. These devices heat the cannabis to a temperature hot enough to release the cannabinoid compounds but below the level necessary for combustion. The inhaled vapor delivers rapid effects much like smoking with none of the potential side effects of smoking
- Eating—marijuana can also be ingested orally, usually by baking it into something like cookies or brownies, or sautéing the plant in butter which is then used in the baked goods. Slower to take effect, this method can last longer than inhaled marijuana, but is also sometimes more difficult to control your dose due to its slower action.
- Oils, tinctures, and tonics—The active compounds in marijuana can also be distilled into various liquid forms which can be swallowed, added to food, or in some cases applied directly to the skin. Tinctures of cannabis were very common in the 19th century, although today this is probably the least used method of ingestion.
- Drinking—marijuana can also be distilled into a tea; the effects are similar to other methods of oral ingestion.
Users may experience different results from different forms of use. What is very effective for one patient might be much less effective for another, and vice versa. As medical cannabis consultants, we will be happy to talk to you about different ingestion methods and answer your questions or concerns about each of them.
Please call Albuquerque Integrative Medicine at 505-570-5447 for any questions you may have about medical cannabis and the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program. We are dedicated to assisting qualified patients gain access to this valuable program.