What Are the Different Ways to Use Cannabis?

Cannabis can be consumed in many different ways, each with its own onset time, duration, and experience. Here's your complete guide to the options.

1. Inhalation Methods

Smoking:

• Joints, pipes, bongs, blunts
• Fastest onset (1-5 minutes)
• Easiest to control dose
• Potential lung irritation

Vaporizing:

• Heats cannabis without combustion
• Smoother experience than smoking
• Portable pens or desktop devices
• Generally considered less harsh

2. Oral Methods

Edibles:

• Gummies, chocolates, baked goods, drinks
• Longest-lasting effects (4-8 hours)
• Slowest onset (30 min - 2 hours)
• Easy to overconsume - be patient!

Capsules:

• Pre-measured doses
• No taste
• Similar timeline to edibles
• Convenient and discreet

Tinctures:

• Liquid drops under tongue
• Faster than edibles (15-45 min)
• Easy to adjust dose
• Can be added to food/drinks

3. Topical Methods

Creams and Balms:

• Applied to skin
• Localized effects
• No psychoactive high
• Good for targeted areas

Best Methods for Beginners

Goal	Recommended Method
Easy dose control	Vaping or tinctures
Longest effects	Edibles
No lung involvement	Edibles or tinctures
Fastest effects	Smoking or vaping
No high	CBD topicals

Key Takeaways

• Smoking/vaping offers fastest onset and easiest dose control
• Edibles last longest but take longer to kick in
• Tinctures offer a middle ground
• Topicals don't produce a high - great for localized use