The medical marijuana industry in the United States is booming like never before and we have a lot of progress still to be made. However, it is important to take a step back from time to time and acknowledge all of the effort that it took to get cannabis to where it is in the United States today. Thankfully, many medical patients in the United States are able to rely on medical cannabis as an alternative to more harmful medications like opioids and other pain relievers.

In fact, 12% of all prescriptions filled in the United States are for some sort of pain treatment, and it would be really nice if some of those prescriptions could be filled with more natural, and generally risk free, medical marijuana instead. However, what if there are people that could be using medical marijuana for their health condition but do not want to actually smoke it? After all, there are people that are opposed to the stigma of smoking weed or are not able to do so due to an underlying health condition.

If this is the case, there is no need to worry! The medical marijuana industry has evolved to the point that there is something for everyone. In fact, there are medical marijuana products available for just about every patient or consumer out there. Today we are going to be talking about two specific types of marijuana treatment options – topical and oral methods.

The other great thing about cannabis is that there are just so many options for how patients can actually use it. You see, just within the oral consumption of medical marijuana, you will find all sorts of different products, ranging from edibles, tinctures, to capsules. Each product is slightly different from others, but they are all very viable options when it comes to using medical marijuana for certain health conditions (or even just for fun).

Edibles are a very common form of cannabis consumption, and usually involve crafting or baking marijuana extract into different edible products. Many times these products will come in the form of baked goods, juices, beverages, or candies. Tinctures, also known as marijuana oil, are produced by soaking a marijuana plant in an alcohol-based mixture for a certain amount of weeks, which produces a medicinal tincture ready to use by medical marijuana patients.

Tinctures are great because they do not need to be eaten or drunk. Instead, one simply uses a dropper to place the tincture underneath their tongue, which allows it to enter the bloodstream. Tinctures also help the patient to feel the effects of the marijuana very quickly when compared to other methods like edibles. Capsules are similar to edibles in that they are swallowed and then work their way through the digestive system.

When comparing these methods of cannabis consumption to using topicals, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, edibles and capsules allow the patient to feel the effects of cannabis for longer periods of time. This is super important for medical patients that are needing lasting relief from their pain or medical condition. They also allow for very precise dosing with either CBD to THC.

The patient can simply take one capsule, drop, or edible to know exactly how much THC they are consuming. However, oral methods of medical marijuana usage do have their drawbacks. It can take some time for users to actually feel the effects of the cannabis, especially when taking it in an edible or capsule form.

Additionally, the strength of ingesting marijuana is often underestimated by medical marijuana patients, meaning that you could end up with a surprisingly intense high from your edibles.