When legislation for cannabis changed many consumers immediately thought about how they would be able to buy weed legally and with a guarantee on the weight purchased. Quality would surely be better than from a street dealer and dispensaries would have set hours so you knew you could purchase at a convenient time. This was seen as an improvement on hanging about outside or making multiple phone calls to track some cannabis down.
What many people may not have expected was just how many products would be made available by the new legislation. Dispensaries and online businesses don’t just sell weed for smoking there is CBD oil, salves, tinctures, lotions, and edibles.
It is these edibles that are becoming very popular in the legal weed business. Why would weed edibles blow up and become so popular when cannabis itself is now legal to buy in many states?
What are weed edibles?
Back in the day before legislation changed one popular way to ingest cannabis was by making hash brownies. No doubt these are still very popular but with the advent of dispensaries and legal online shops, there is much more variety than just brownies. Weed edibles are a way to ingest THC and or CBD without inhaling smoke. These edibles come in many forms and weed gummies are one highly popular form. Check out cheebas.com for more gummies and coo products.
Why are cannabis edibles so popular?
There are a few reasons that may explain the popularity of weed edibles but one might be the sheer volume of options. Take a look at this shortlist of just some of the options available today:
- Gummies
- Ice cream
- Coffee
- Popsicles
- Punch
- Cereal
- Beef jerky
- Condiments (vinegar etc)
That is just a fraction of the edibles available on the market now. You can even get Stoned Pizza with 40mg of THC a slice. In the past, you might have had to go to Southeast Asia to pick up a happy pizza but now you can get it from your local dispensary. Though, if you eat the pizza to get high what do you eat once you get the munchies?
There are other reasons why edibles are becoming increasingly popular. One of these is the possible health risks of smoking. Although research on inhaling marijuana and its risk is still going on there are some health professionals that believe inhaling can damage the lungs. Therefore, consuming cannabis through edibles may be a preferred option.
Advantages of using edibles to ingest cannabis
There are a lot of advantages to using edibles over smoking cannabis. The first is that you don’t need to inhale and for anyone that has never smoked but wants to use cannabis for health reasons this is a big plus.
Here are some other reasons why edibles have the upper hand on smoking for many people:
No smoke or odor
Not only do you not have to inhale but there is no odor or clouds of smoke.
Convenience
Instead of rolling a joint all, you have to do is pop a gummy in your mouth. You can do this anywhere that it is legal to, unlike smoking which is prohibited in many places.
Can order them online
Just like weed, edibles can be bought over the internet although ordering weed ice cream probably isn’t a great idea. The Joint Cannabis shared the fact that ordering online is not only convenient, but it prevents you from having to visit a store and potentially expose yourself to the virus.
Wide choice
There is literally something for everyone. If you don’t want to consume sweets with lots of sugar in then you can buy balsamic vinegar or potato chips.
You don’t have to get high
Of course, edibles with THC will still get you there but there are loads of edibles that only contain CBD.
Edibles are also believed to help with a wide range of health problems both physically and mentally.
Health benefits of edibles
Although CBD oil is generally talked about when discussing health issues, there could be health benefits for CBD edibles too. Many believe that edibles containing CBD can help with relaxation, improved sleep, calmness, anxiety disorders, and pain.
It is believed that cannabis edibles can help with pain relief, relieve seizures and help with many conditions including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, eating disorders, and Crohn’s disease among others.
Are there any negative aspects of consuming edibles?
The first thing you may think of when someone mentions edibles is that you would have to be hungry in the first place but luckily this form of cannabis comes in so many ways that you wouldn’t need to consume very much. The problem comes with knowing how to dose and consume edibles properly. There is a delay in the effects of cannabis being felt with edibles than from smoking.
Another negative is that CBD tastes quite bitter so many edibles contain a lot of sugar to mask this taste. If you don’t want to consume sweets there are other options but it could feel like eating for the sake of it. Generally though the benefits outway the negatives. The main problem being there is an added risk of marijuana overdose if a consumer is not patient enough for the effects to kick in and they consume too many of those tasty THC treats.
The effect of the Covid pandemic on weed edibles
It may seem strange that the coronavirus pandemic would help weed edibles become popular but it would appear there is a link. As the virus hit and lockdowns were announced, non-essential businesses were directed to close. Many states across the US designated cannabis dispensaries as essential businesses. In March of 2024, many of these businesses saw large spikes in their sales including 50% jumps in orders from first-time purchasers.
Of these orders, there was an increase in cannabis edible sales and a drop in vape sales. There could be a few causes for why this happened.
As many orders were coming from first-time buyers it may be that people were looking to try cannabis for the first time but they didn’t like the idea of smoking. Therefore edibles look a safer or better option.
Secondly, the pandemic caused a lot of worry about respiratory problems with the virus so people wanted to relax without inhaling anything. Because the actual doses are controlled it means that first-time consumers can understand exactly what they are ingesting. A person who would never consider buying cannabis on the street can safely buy it or edibles in a dispensary and it would appear that ingesting instead of inhaling is the choice of many.
Thirdly, there was a lot of talk about the vaping disease and lung damage so consumers were far more aware of the health risks associated with THC and vaping. As vape sales dropped, edibles started to rise and over the last two years they have taken a bigger slice of the overall sales in dispensaries.
Summary
Not only do a lot of cannabis edibles actually taste good but they are an ideal form of stress relief and can possibly help with other health problems. They are easy to consume and convenient. As they don’t need to be smoked they can be taken anywhere although you may not be able to consume them in public depending on your local laws. Although not all the health benefits are proven there are thousands of people who swear that they get relief from a range of symptoms by using weed edibles.
