Beverages

MARIJUANA EDIBLES 101: Cannabis Beverages Canada 

An Introduction to Cannabis Beverages

Cannabis infused beverages have been around for awhile, but it wasn’t since cannabis legalization in Canada that these beverages have been as readily available to the general public. Weed beverages such as THC teas have become a mainstay in many cannabis users’ lives due to the many therapeutic benefits.  

Composition of Cannabis Drinks

Weed beverages often contain cannabidiol (CBD). These drinks have no psychoactive effects on you and are more likely to be beneficial in various ways. Some other types of cannabis drinks contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). These are very likely to get you high, unlike their non-psychoactive counterpart. The third category of cannabis drinks comprises THC and CBD. This type of drink balances out the effects of both THC and CBD. 

These days, cannabis drink producers are including everything they can within the confines of reason and Canadian regulations. So, if you’re drinking cannabis soda, for example, you can expect to find a few soda ingredients there.

Apart from these basics, cannabis drinks also contain terpenes. They help to provide the flavorful taste and the aromatic essence of the drink. Terpenes are as crucial as virtually any other ingredient on the list. When you extract full-spectrum CBD from cannabis seeds and use it, you’ll get a bitter taste. However, this can be counteracted by the terpenes in the drinks. 

How are cannabis drinks made?

When you’re thinking about weed beverages, you might be tempted to believe that you merely need to throw some weed into a glass of water. Afterwards, you wait for a while so it can dissolve like sugar in coffee and voila! Your marijuana drink is served.

Unfortunately, if you think that way, you would be entirely wrong. The reason is that weed doesn’t dissolve in liquid by itself. It isn’t water-soluble. So, you need to apply special measures to ensure that your THC syrup or marijuana beverage comes out just right.

Here are the three significant steps involved in making cannabis drinks:

1. Extraction of CO2

In the simplest terms possible, CO2 extraction is a process that professionals use to make cannabis extracts for CBD products. In this process, manufacturers will compress carbon dioxide until it turns to liquid. Then, they will combine it with raw cannabis materials. 

This combination will be under a lot of heat and pressure to keep the drink-making process in motion. However, eventually, manufacturers will release the CO2 in a gaseous state. At the end of the process, the only thing left is highly concentrated cannabis extracts.

2. Short path distillation

After the cannabis extract has been created, manufacturers will need to refine it properly. Short path distillation will use heat control and precise vacuums to turn the cannabis extract into the most refined form of itself. Once refined, it is also known as cannabis distillate. It can now be added to your drinks, edibles, and anything else in between in its refined state.

3. Emulsification

Like we said earlier, cannabis isn’t exactly water-soluble. This means that it wouldn’t dissolve in water simply because you put it in. If you were to try, you would find the THC and CBD compounds of the weed floating up to the top. This doesn’t make for a perfect drink.

So, manufacturers use emulsification. This process involves attaching the cannabis to a blending agent. Doing this properly will make it more water-soluble. That way, your weed can dissolve in water to make a good drink. 

Keep in mind that these processes are meant to be handled by professionals. More often than not, you’ll need to get a license to make these drinks, mainly if you’ll be selling them to the public. So, even if you feel inspired, it is best to leave the work to the professionals.

How do Cannabis Drinks Work in Your Body?

The process is quite simple and similar to most other cannabis edibles. It begins with oral consumption. After getting into your stomach, your liver begins to metabolize it so that you can feel its effects.

One thing you should know about the liver is that it metabolizes differently for everyone. So, what might take a few minutes for you might take a while longer for someone else. Regardless, you can expect to be done with the metabolic process in about two hours tops. Then, you’ll start to feel the effects. 

If you took THC-concentrated cannabis drinks, you might start to get a little high. If you took CBD-concentrated cannabis drinks, you might not know immediately the effects begin. But, they’re sure to kick in when they’re meant to.

Effects of Cannabis Beverages

• Benefits of Weed Beverages: Cannabis infused drinks commonly cause a mixture of these effects: Increases in happiness, relaxation, euphoria, sedation, hunger, energy, creativity.
• Medical Uses of Weed Beverages: Medical marijuana patients typically use THC teas to relieve symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, aches, pains, inflammation, spasms, eating disorders, insomnia, and nausea. 
• Negative Effects of Weed Beverages: Common side effects include dry mouth, red eyes, and lethargy. Less common side effects include dizziness, paranoia, anxiety, headaches, hallucinations and nausea. Unpleasant effects rarely occur and are usually due to taking doses that are much higher than recommended.   

Different Types of Weed Beverages

The most common cannabis infused beverages is by far weed tea. Cannabis water, sodas and distilled cannabis are other products available for sale in Canada. 

Besides these, cannabis can also be alcoholic. However, alcoholic cannabis is still under fairly tight restrictions across the world. An apparent reason is that combining these two potentially psychoactive elements can have serious consequences.

Best Ways to Take Cannabis Beverages

The best way to take cannabis infused beverages is responsibly and in moderation. Since these products look and taste the same as a normal beverage, it is easy to overdo it at times. It is therefore important to get doses correct and know your limits. 

Alternatives to Weed Beverages

THC infused gummies, baked goods, hard candies, chocolates and caramels are all great alternatives to cannabis teas and other beverages.

Cannabis concentrates such as budder, hash, shatter, live resin, vape cartridges and cannabis oils are other great high potency options.

For a more traditional experience, marijuana flowers are the perfect choice. 

Tips for Consuming Cannabis Drinks Responsibly

Cannabis drinks have the potential to get you high, depending on the type you get. For this reason, you need to learn how to use them properly. Here are a few tips in that regard:

1. Keep them away from children       

If you’ve taken a cannabis drink before, you’ll know that it looks nothing like cannabis. So, it would be impossible for a kid to tell what is lying on the kitchen cupboard. For this reason, you must keep your cannabis drinks away from children. We’re not talking about keeping it on your shelf, where they can’t reach it. No, keep it away from their sight completely. Children aren’t old enough to get high. It can negatively impact them.

2. Watch your dosage

Per the Canadian regulations, there’s only so much CBD you can have inside your drink at a time. Sadly, some people go ahead and have multiple bottles in a bid to get more CBD into their system. This isn’t very advisable.

If you’re going to be having a cannabis drink, remember that it doesn’t kick in immediately. This is because your liver is the one metabolizing it. So, don’t hurry to grab another drink when one doesn’t seem to be working fast enough. If you do, you might not like the outcome when you eventually get high. 

3. Never drive high

This is one of the most important things you must keep in mind when trying out cannabis drinks. You cannot afford to get on the road while intoxicated. Instead, simply get your drink in the comfort of your home where you can’t hurt anybody nor get in a car. That way, you can protect yourself and other innocent road users.

Best Place to Buy Cannabis Beverages in Canada?

The best place to buy cannabis infused drinks is at WeedSmart, Canada’s best online weed dispensary. We offer some of the best weed tea and at affordable prices. We also offer a wide range of other cannabis related products. So don’t hesitate and take advantage of our great deals and shop smart, shop WeedSmart. 

Sources:

1. Cannabis Act (S.C. 2018, c. 16). Justice Laws Website. Accessed January 27, 2021 at https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-24.5/.
2. US National Library of Medicine. Cannabidiol (CBD). Accessed January 27, 2021 at https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/natural/1439.html.
3. Natalya M. Kogan, MSc and Raphael Mechoulam, PhD. Cannabinoids in health and disease. Accessed January 27, 2021 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3202504/.
4. Osvaldo Marinotti , PhD & Miles Sarill , MSc. Differentiating Full-Spectrum Hemp Extracts from CBD Isolates: Implications for Policy, Safety and Science. Accessed January 27, 2021 at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19390211.2020.1776806.
5. Ali M. Yurasek, Elizabeth R. Aston & Jane Metrik. Co-use of Alcohol and Cannabis: A Review. Accessed January 27, 2021 at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40429-017-0149-8.
6. Government of Canada. Final Regulations:Edible Cannabis, Cannabis Extracts, Cannabis Topicals. Accessed January 27, 2021 at https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/documents/services/drugs-medication/cannabis/resources/final-regulations-edible-cannabis-extracts-topical-eng.pdf.
7. Karin Monshouwer, Saskia Van Dorsselaer, Jacqueline Verdurmen, Tom Ter Bogt, Ron De Graaf and Wilma Vollebergh. Cannabis use and mental health in secondary school children. Accessed January 27, 2021 at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/cannabis-use-and-mental-health-in-secondary-school-children/A5B21A8C643B2F58CF5C749E50C15436.