April Pride: This podcast discusses cannabis and is intended for audiences 21 and over.

Vanessa Lavorato: I like edibles, they are definitely a different high than smoking. It’s a different process in your body, it’s your liver that metabolizes the cannabinoids and because of that, it feels different, it’s more of a body high, lasts longer. For people who take a pharmaceutical prescriptions, it’s kind of like rapid release versus time release and edibles is more of like a time release.

April Pride: Welcome back to How To Do The Pot, I’m April Pride and I do the pot. This is the audio newsletter. If you’d rather read it, visit dothepot.com to subscribe to the email newsletter. And if you like How To Do The Pot, please share it with someone and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, it helps more people find the show.

April Pride: With the wildfires brought on by the climate crisis, almost the entire West Coast is dealing with terrible air quality. They can’t go outside and air purifiers are the new home accessory. Considering the stress of our current day to day, it’s no surprise that legal weed sales are higher than ever, as are we, we all just want to feel better, right? But without making ourselves more susceptible to getting sick, so smoking and vaping, they invoke more guilt and less pleasure. Many of us are living under a cloud of smoke after all. And so we’re turning to edibles. So many of us, in fact, that edibles are selling at two times the normal average rate.

April Pride: You just heard from Vanessa Lovorato, a cannabis chef and co-host of Vice’s weed cooking show, Bong Appétit. You may remember Vanessa from episode 10 of How To Do The Pot, The Edibles List, have a listen to hear more from her on properly dosing with edibles. Even women who work in weed had to get back on the horse, so to speak, after a bad edibles experience. So if you too find yourself scared to give it another go, you’re in good company, take your time, you’ve got plenty of that, experiment to find out what works best for you. We’re all different and one size fits all does not apply to edibles at all.

Jen Seo: My name is Jennifer Seo, people call me Jen, and I am the brand manager at Kiva. I initially was not into edibles, I just am so sensitive to them, but now people are coming out with really great microdosing edibles in the market where you don’t have to eat an entire cookie, you can have a little mint or you could have a sublingual, like a tincture and you can somehow now incorporate cannabis into your life. And I think that’s the next big push is, how to microdose cannabis.

April Pride: Have questions about microdosing? Check out episode 20 of How To Do The Pot for more.

Raeven Duckett: Hi, my name is Raeven Duckett, I am a founder of Community Gardens. Edibles are something that I try now, I used to be very scared of them, I used to be like, “Oh my God, I can’t take an edible because I’m going to be laying on the floor somewhere really paranoid.” And it’s not like that anymore. There’s some really good dosed edibles, some edibles that have some CBD in them, which help bring down your high and things like that. And so kind of through learning and through trying, I’ve been able to find the edibles I like.

April Pride: So given that there’s no shortage of bad edible stories, we’re here to help you or someone you know, with five practical tips to have the best possible edibles outcome. Today’s High Five, our guide to help you enjoy eating the pot. Number one, most adult use legal states mandate a 10 milligram maximum serving size or dosage. This can be further broken down into two and a half milligrams or five milligram doses. Read the label and before leaving the store confirm with your bud tender the exact serving size for the product or products that you’ve purchased.

April Pride: Number two, consuming an edible with fatty lipids, which is a high-fat meal or high-fat carrier oil, will maximize the effects and duration of THC.

April Pride: Number three, what type of edible you consume will determine how quickly you feel its effects. Fully ingesting an edible, like a gummy or a hard candy, means it must be processed through your liver and that extends the onset of effects to one to two hours. If you let a gummy or hard candy dissolve in your mouth, cannabinoids such as THC and CBD are absorbed sublingually. Sublingual administration is absorbed quickly into your bloodstream through the cells of the soft tissue in your mouth. You should feel the effects in 15 to 20 minutes.

April Pride: Number four, every time you take a dose of an edible set a timer for one to two hours, edibles are notorious for creep, which means you will lose track of time. If you’re fatigued, dehydrated and/or know yourself to have a faster metabolism, expect a faster onset.

April Pride: Number five, the ratio of CBD to THC, remember CBD is the first number, the number to the left of the colon, and THC is the number to the right of the colon, C comes before T. The ratio of CBD to THC in an edible has an impact on its effects. The more CBD there is in a product, the more mellow the high will be. CBD actually helps bring you back down to earth if you’ve had too much THC. So look for high ratios of CBD if you’re looking to avoid a more intoxicating experience.

April Pride: And of course, three strains to stimulate your appetite, Silver Haze melts stress and mild aches, increases your stamina, creativity and appetite. Downside includes dry mouth and eyes so have eye drops and gum handy. Skunk #1 invites a creative heady buzz, reduces stress and nausea, increases your appetite and muscle response. Love Potion #1 induces a soaring high feeling, stimulates creativity and appetite, and has post high lasting effects on your mood. Now, this could be a mellow harsher, do not confuse Love Potion #1 with Love Potion #9, which has much more sedating effects.

April Pride: And three podcast recommendations from us. I like Going Through It hosted by Ann Friedman, this is Mailchimp’s audio podcast that explores behind the scenes shit that’s all in a day’s work. Ellen likes You Must Remember This hosted by Karina Longworth, a podcast dedicated to exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood. Check out Jean and Jane about actresses Jane Fonda and Jean Seberg. And to do the pot we recommend Periodic Effects, episode Edibles Versus Smoking, How They Change THC.

April Pride: Are you ready for Saturday’s to feel special again? Stay tuned every Saturday for our new audio series, Saturday Strains, we want to take the worry out of weed. Each week we’ll cover one strain in five minutes, answering questions like, how will it help? How high will I get? And what do I do now that I am this kind of high? Join me every Saturday this fall for our own version of Saturday morning cartoons. This is going to be fun.

April Pride: Thank you for listening to this audio newsletter, let us know what you think. Find us on Instagram, @dothepot, and you can follow me, @aprilpride. And for lots more information about cannabis and women visit dothepot.com. Thanks to my co-founder, Ellen Scanlon, Madi Fair our marketing manager, and our producer, Nick Patri. I’m April pride, and we’ll be back soon with more of How To Do The Pot.