Alternative Marijuana Products: What are They & Why Use Them?

To alleviate stress and anxiety, reduce chronic pain symptoms, and for other health-related reasons, people are opting to use marijuana for medical purposes. It might seem intuitive that medical marijuana users would smoke their cannabis. However, if you elect to consume your marijuana the traditional way and you smoke it, you are putting yourself at risk.

The risks of smoking are still there, even if you’re consuming medical-grade cannabis products. Like a cigarette smoker who experiences adverse side effects, marijuana smokers could face long-term lung issues because they smoke. The good news is that you can still consume cannabis products without putting yourself at risk. Let’s discuss a few safer, alternative ways you can consume cannabis products:

Vaporization

When you smoke marijuana, the smoke itself is harsh on your lungs—the marijuana is burned, it produces ash, and it lingers in your lungs. So, choosing vaporization methods over smoking is a great option because when you engage in this process, you won’t be burning the marijuana.

With vaporizers, instead of burning the cannabis, you’ll just be heating it. Therefore, it is not as detrimental to your lungs. Even more, the harsh odors of marijuana products will be reduced when you use cannabis vaporizers.

Edibles

With edibles, you can consume cannabis products, again, without the harm that smoking causes your lungs. Essentially, cannabis edibles are products that you ingest orally. The product type varies greatly: some people put their cannabis into baked goods, consume a traditional edible gummy, or get creative and make cannabis-infused tea.

It is important to note that edible users should be aware of their consumption, as it is not difficult to take too many accidentally. Follow the instructions of your marijuana doctor as you experiment with edibles.

There are many benefits to taking edibles: If you’re at risk of having a seizure, edibles can reduce the risks. Moreover, they can help users manage their weight, reduce anxiety and depression, alleviate pain, and more.

Oils

Consuming marijuana is super simple when you use oils. As you might expect, applying cannabis oils is another safer way to consume marijuana because it is not smoked. In the case of cannabis oil, it is lathered into your skin or (most commonly) placed right under the tongue.

Unlike other alternative cannabis options, cannabis oil takes a little bit longer to take effect. So, if you’re looking for an immediate remedy, it will usually take 15-30 minutes before you feel the effects.

Topicals

Medical cannabis can be applied as a topical. Cannabis topicals are essentially cream-like products that are infused with cannabis. These are applied directly onto your skin. So, in no instance will you consume a topical orally. Instead, you’ll apply it to the outside of your body, wherever you’re feeling pain.

Topicals are great if you’re looking for decreased inflammation, pain relief, anti-itch solutions to regulate your oil glands, and more. Of course, depending on your situation, topicals may or may not work for you.

Compassionate Care Consultants Can Help

Sometimes, consuming cannabis products is the best way for patients to experience pain relief. Or even relief for whatever issue they have. So, it’s important patients can experiment with different forms of medical marijuana, all while staying safe.

For your health, try to avoid smoking marijuana and choose a safer alternative method. If you need a medical marijuana card, then Compassionate Care Consultants might be able to help. We’re committed to assisting people to get access to the care they need, so for more information, contact us.