Do you prefer an orange or orange juice? Sometimes the choice is obvious and easy. Each option has its purpose and each person has their preference. Does the same go for all cannabis food products regardless of form and function?
Let’s explore the wide world of cannabis beverages and see if weed drinks really are better than edibles. In today’s market there is enough variety and choice that anyone can find something to suit their tastes. But do the effects vary? And if so, how? We’ll discuss which options are best and why we think weed drinks are a superior means of consuming cannabis.
Let’s go back to that earlier question: An orange or orange juice? When you read the ingredients of genuine orange juice it will without a doubt contain orange. To really understand weed drinks we need to know about tinctures. Because if we break down most of the cannabis drinks that are on the market they often have one ingredient in common: tinctures.
Weed drinks have recently boomed in popularity and are a fairly recent entrant into the cannabis market. Tinctures on the other hand have been around for thousands of years.
The Original Weed Drink: Cannabis Tinctures
A tincture is a concentrate of cannabis that contains compounds found in cannabis called “cannabinoids.” THC and CBD are both cannabinoids. Tinctures are generally dominant in CBD or THC, or a combination of both.
Concentrates have been around for many years and can be applied internally to achieve results. They’re alcohol-extracted cannabis products that are taken orally. This means they are quickly absorbed into the body either sublingually or through the mouth. Once applied the user will rapidly, feel the effects which then lasts for an extended duration.
Commonly liquid tinctures are used by medical cannabis users or health conscious people who don’t want to smoke the product. When you buy your own tincture the possibilities are exciting and endless. Some people have found that it can be the perfect addition in all sorts of cannabis food products. It seldom adds much flavor and can yield big effects in a discreet manner.
Consumed by itself, tincture is ingested in the same manner as weed drinks. It’s fairly easy to control the dosage but edibles can take an hour or more to kick in since they absorb through the stomach. Buy a tincture like Mota THC Sativa and add it to your favorite drink or simply place drops under your tongue.
The Rise of the Weed Beverages!
As one of the most used drugs in the world it was only a matter of time that marijuana would join the beverage market. Two of the other top used drugs, caffeine and alcohol, are always consumed in drinkable form. So why wouldn’t this become a natural progression for cannabis too?
As public opinion and worldwide stigma shifts in favor of medicinal and recreational marijuana use so too does the availability of different options. The beverage industry is a major economic player. Economists speculate that in 5 years the cannabis beverage industry, which includes both infused drink and teas, could be worth $2.8 billion. This estimate accounts for drinks only and doesn’t take into account other cannabis food products.
Purportedly Millennials and Gen Zers are drinking less alcohol than previous generations. Millenials are also the largest consumers of marijuana. In general, these generations seem more focused on health and wellness.
Large mainstream manufacturers like Budweiser have been hit hardest by this generational slump in alcohol sales. Alternative options like alcohol-free beer and spirits have become common options along with cannabis drinks.
With that said, it’s not surprising that Anheuser-Busch InBev, who owns Budweiser, and a slew of other global beer brands joined the uptrend. In 2018 Anheuser-Busch InBev started a partnership with a Canadian marijuana company to experiment with producing cannabis infused, non-alcoholic beverages. For the world’s largest brewer to jump on the cannabis bandwagon speaks volumes of where the future of weed beverages is headed.
What Are Weed Beverages?
Weed beverages are healthier alternatives to alcohol that still enable you to socialize and relax. They have psychoactive properties which you cannot find in alcohol. The exception to this would be an alcohol such as absinthe which contains the psychoactive ingredient wormwood.
The umbrella of weed beverages includes anything you can imagine which contains cannabis or cannabinoids and is drinkable. A couple years ago these beverages were more fringe. People didn’t want cannabis drinks because the stereotype was that they were unpalatable. Today the taste and options have improved.
You can now find: tea, energy drinks, sodas, carbonated water, juices, coffees, shots, cocktails, aperitifs and more. Any type of beverage you can imagine you can most likely find a cannabis infused version. If it doesn’t yet exist then it will and in the meantime you can concoct your own using a tincture.
Similar to most cannabis and cannabinoid products on the market you can find varying versions. Drinks may have only CBD or THC. Others may have a combination of both. The ability to isolate the different cannabinoids and their properties allows drinks to have different intended effects. This also allows for easier dosage control.
How Does Drinking Weed Feel Different?
Drinking a cannabis beverage feels different to smoking or inhalables. It is similar to edibles but can be more mellow, easier to control the dosage and have a far faster onset. These attributes have a lot to do with how the body absorbs the chemical properties of the cannabis as a fluid through the oral cavity, sublingually and ultimately the stomach.
Drinks are quickly becoming the new fashionable way to consume cannabis. People buy weed drinks for health, hydration, the psychoactive effects, lower caloric value than edibles and without the hangover effects that come with alcohol.
How to Choose Between Drinks and Edibles?
Choosing between edibles, drink and smokables really comes down to preference. What sort of taste, feeling and desired effects are you looking for? If you want to drink something and have the fastest results then a weed drink is the answer. One of the best things about choosing from the dizzying array of options is that you often already have a dedicated affinity for a certain type of beverage. This really carries over
