3 Take-Aways to Enjoy Cannabis Responsibly

The three most important steps to feeling safe with your cannabis are education, self-awareness, and planning.

1. Get to Know Cannabis

Read about cannabis science. Learn how your body metabolizes THC, how different consumption methods affect your impairment, and how to plan for times when you’re intoxicated.

Even if you’re an experienced consumer, talk to your doctor or a cannabis educator. They can point out whether any of the medications or supplements you’re taking might accidentally increase the impairment from your bud, as well as point you towards strain profiles, dosing schedules and consumption methods that can help you get more relief for your symptoms with less intoxication.

2. Get to Know Your Body

Start low, go slow and pay attention to how you feel with each new product. Different strains, terpene profiles or product types can affect you differently, even if they have the same amount of THC. Depending on whether you inhale or eat your dose, what’s in your stomach, how frequently you’ve been consuming cannabis and other factors, you can even have a different reaction from one session to another.

Always try a new product in a safe place and on a day when you have nothing important to do. Be aware that even experienced users can have unexpected spikes of impairment. This is because THC is lipophilic (i.e., it binds to fats). It can be stored in your body fat and get released into your blood weeks later.

3. Keep Your Cannabis Clearly Labelled and Secured

Always keep cannabis products, especially edibles and concentrates, clearly labelled and locked well out of reach of children and pets.

If you know your effects, minimize your risks and plan ahead, you can feel good about your approach to cannabis and enjoy your bud in the adult world.