I am a huge cannabis enthusiast.
All my friends and family know this, and I am proud of it.
But when people ask me, “Do you smoke weed?” I tell them, “Actually, I prefer to ingest it.”
Smoking is rough on the lungs. The actual smoke is what kills cells in the lungs and allows them to potentially mutate when they grow back, becoming lung cancer.
As a healer, I definitely endorse cannabis as a beautiful, healing plant. But for the sake of health, I like to eat my weed instead of smoking it.
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It doesn’t matter what you smoke. The smoke itself, as beautiful and ethereal as it is, gives weed a bad stigma. It is what people can correlate to lung cancer, and then you have a defaming headline: “Weed Causes Lung Cancer.”
Reasons I’ve heard against ingesting weed:
1) “I can’t control the high, it lasts too long and gets me way too high.”
Just like anything, there is a learning curve. I’ve heard a lot of stories of people getting way too high from their first time smoking weed, too (or not high at all, but I think that’s an awareness thing).
Once you learn your dosages — how many mg can bring you to your happy place — I find it to be actually more manageable than smoking. For me, it’s more consistent and reliable, especially with so many edibles out there on the market that are carefully dosed per unit.
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An example dosage to start would be 5mg. Give it an hour, see how it feels, and then take more. Kiva Confection’s Terra Blueberry Bites are delicious and effective, available widely.
Plus, doesn’t a longer-lasting high sound more efficient? To each their own, though.
2) “The act of smoking weed is pleasurable, and it is a social thing for me.”
I totally get that. “Puff, puff pass” is such a culture. Weed circles were an amazing way to socialize and bond back when I was in college.
Plus, the oral fixation makes sense. Our culture likes to have things near our mouths. Eating is no longer purely an aspect of survival, but has now become so intertwined with pleasure. We are fortunate that we can pursue so many activities for pleasure, and it becomes ingrained and associated in our brains.
To that, I say you can re-train that synaptic connection in your brain (if you wish to make the switch). I definitely used to love smoking weed for those same reasons, but as a healer, my desire to do everything that is best for my body wins out.
Now, I take pleasure in ingesting my weed, and finding creative ways to infuse it into food.
Stephanie Zhu is a freelance writer covering the sectors of health & wellness, cannabis, and sustainability. She is also a healer, a massage therapist, and Reiki practitioner. Learn more about her at themysticdreamer.com, and on Instagram as @themysticdreamer.