First off – let’s talk “tinctures.” Tinctures are medications dissolved in a liquid. Many cannabis users imbibe via tinctures because they’re easy to take and dose. Plus, users don’t have to worry about the smell, and they receive the benefits of cannabis without having to smoke. What’s more, there are even some benefits to using tinctures vs edibles. A tincture of cannabinoids is often used to help with everyday concerns like stress, sleep trouble, discomfort, and low appetite, among other issues. Keep reading for a deeper look into how to use cannabis tinctures.
What Is Cannabis Tincture?
Tincture is a liquid base with some kind of herb dissolved into it. Humans have used tinctures for thousands of years, and the practice runs back to the time of ancient Egypt. While some tinctures include alcohol as an ingredient, not all of them do. Instead, many use some kind of oil as a medium.
How to Use Cannabis Tinctures
A cannabis tincture comes in a small bottle with an eyedropper tool. Usually, the dropper tool comes marked with milliliter measurements. As a result, it’s incredibly easy to use. Just measure the amount of tincture of cannabinoids you want to use and drop it into your mouth.
Tinctures are incredibly versatile, and offer two main routes of administration.
First, you can swallow tincture to absorb it through your digestive tract. This makes it function like a typical edible. Or, you can apply tincture directly beneath your tongue. Your body has a high concentration of blood vessels in this area, and the skin here is extremely thin. As a result, your body can absorb the tincture of cannabinoids directly into your blood. This second method is known as sublingual dosing.
How To Get Started With a THC Tincture Dose
Many people consume 1 milliliter (a full dropper) at a time, putting the dose under their tongue for 15 to 20 seconds. Your dosage amount may vary depending on your weight and the severity of your concerns. The under-the-tongue method allows your bloodstream to directly absorb cannabinoids, and the tincture has a nearly immediate effect on your body. To maximize the effects, wait at least 15 minutes to eat or drink anything.
Over time, the alcohol in some tinctures can lead to irritation. If you do not like the taste of alcohol, try diluting the tincture of cannabis in a small amount of water or juice. Fortunately, the possible irritation and potentially unpleasant taste are generally the only downsides to cannabis tinctures.
Some people prefer to add their tinctures to meals or snacks via sauces, soups, salad dressings or sherbets. Similarly, you can add one or two droppers’ worth of tincture to a glass of water. That turns the water into tea. These methods are not as instantaneous as the under-the-tongue approach, but they work. The timeframe with orally-consumed cannabis tinctures is akin to that of regular edibles. The effects take longer to kick in, but they can last for hours.
The bottom line is that tinctures offer you choice. If you need instant relief, dose under your tongue. If you prefer for the effects to last a while and do not need immediate relief, take your dose with food or liquid.
The Benefits of Cannabis Tinctures
Tinctures offer a variety of benefits when compared to other methods of consumption.
Cannabis Tinctures Are Discreet
Cannabis tinctures are incredibly discreet. In fact, that’s one of the main benefits of tinctures. No one should suspect you are using cannabis. You can even use tinctures in public places without having to worry about drawing unwanted attention.
Whether you take your dose under your tongue or add it to soup, there’s no smell like there is with smoking, using concentrates and vaping. This is incredibly useful for those who want to be discreet.
THC Tincture is Easy to Dose
Cannabis tinctures allow you to establish your minimum effective dose. That’s the least amount of tincture you need to help with your symptoms or condition. You are able to test with one drop at a time, something that is not possible with baked goods and concentrates. By using each drop to maximum effectiveness, you save money and heighten potency. This drop-by-drop dosing also keeps your cannabis tolerance low.
As touched on above, an average person with mild pain may prefer to dose with 1 milliliter at a time. However, new users should take it easy and consider starting with half an eyedropper full for three days. This staged approach lets them evaluate how their body reacts. If discomfort occurs, they may want to lower the dosage for the next three days. On the other hand, if users feel no effect whatsoever, they could increase the amount they take.
New users should also wait at least an hour (60 minutes) between doses. Otherwise, they risk an aggregate effect that interferes with determining the minimum effective dose. Before your first dose, try a tiny drop under your tongue to see how the alcohol tastes. If it’s seriously disagreeable, consider dilution.
Tinctures Have a Quick Onset
When compared to other modes of ingestion, and particularly when comparing tinctures vs edibles, the onset time for tinctures can be relatively quick. When you put a tincture under your tongue for sublingual absorption you should begin to notice effects after about 15 minutes, though it may take upwards of 30 minutes depending on your physiology.
Cannabis Tinctures vs Edibles
If you are weight-conscious, tinctures have a clear advantage over regular edibles. You consume fewer calories than you would if eating cookies, candy or baked goods (unless you end up putting the cannabis dose in a soup or sauce you might not have consumed otherwise). The alcohol is about 7 calories per milliliter (an average dose), while a cookie may have as much as 200 calories.
Can You Smoke Tincture?
While cannabis tincture is highly versatile and you can use it multiple ways, smoking is not one of those ways. However, that actually may have a beneficial impact on your health. Smoking or vaping cannabis can worsen certain health conditions such as asthma. Plus, substances such as tar are often present in smoked cannabis and can increase the risk of lung cancer.
Cannabis Tinctures: Wrapping Up
We make it easy to search for tinctures by categories such as pain and anxiety, lucidity, blues away, and vitality. There are also inner glow tinctures to help with the signs of aging. Tinctures mean flexible, accurate and discreet dosing.
Interested in trying tinctures for yourself? At Mankind Dispensary, we stock cannabis tinctures with THC, CBD, and a mixture of both. To learn more, check out our complete selection in our online menu.
