A cannabis tincture is a liquid cannabis product that’s taken orally. It contains extracted cannabinoids set in a carrier liquid such as food-grade oil or alcohol. You usually use a tincture by placing it under your tongue and holding it there for several seconds before swallowing it. Taking a tincture sublingually facilitates fast absorption of the compounds into your bloodstream.
At City Trees, we offer a wide variety of cannabis tinctures that give you the opportunity to customize your experience by choosing tinctures with different flavors and different ratios of cannabinoids. We’re big believers that tinctures deserve a major role in your herbal wellness routine, and in this article, we’re going to explain the unique benefits that they have compared to other types of edibles.
They’re convenient and discreet.
People love smoking and vaping cannabis because they enjoy the natural flavors and aromas of their favorite herb. They also love the fact that inhaled compounds enter the bloodstream extremely quickly. The one thing that vaping and smoking aren’t, though, is discreet. You may not feel comfortable using a vape pen at work, for instance, and it might also be difficult or impossible to vape or smoke if you live in an apartment building with other residents.
Tinctures, on the other hand, are entirely discreet and have no smell. Whenever and wherever you need to medicate, you can feel completely comfortable using a tincture.
They’re faster acting than traditional edibles.
The next major benefit of using cannabis tinctures is that they absorb into the bloodstream much more quickly than other oral forms of herbal consumption. When you use a traditional edible such as a gummy, the majority of the active compounds won’t absorb into your bloodstream until they reach your digestive system. Depending on your rate of metabolism, it could be an hour or even longer before you begin to feel the effects of a traditional edible. When you hold a tincture under your tongue, the active compounds immediately begin to absorb into your system through your sublingual artery. People typically begin to feel the effects of tinctures within minutes.
They’re easy to measure and great for microdosing.
Traditional cannabis edibles are good for consistent dosing because every capsule, gummy or other product should contain the same active ingredients in the same concentrations. One of the challenges with traditional edibles, though, is that they’re not ideal for smaller dosages. You can split a gummy into halves or even quarters, but you’re going to run into problems if you want to go smaller than that. A tincture doesn’t have that problem because you measure it with an eyedropper. You can take as little as a drop at a time if that’s what’s right for you.
They allow you to customize your cannabinoid intake.
One of the things we love about cannabis tinctures is that, because they’re based on isolated and extracted cannabinoids or strains with specific cannabinoid profiles, it’s possible to create tinctures with different cannabinoids and different cannabinoid proportions. This can make tinctures appropriate for a wide variety of needs and use cases. For example, our selection of cannabis tinctures includes THC-dominant blends, CBD-dominant blends and 50:50 blends.
They’re great for adding to foods and drinks.
A cannabis tincture has a mild, slightly herbal flavor that’s not too strong and is perfect for blending with foods and drinks. You can drizzle a cannabis tincture over your evening meal, for instance, or you can add it to your favorite salad dressing. Download our free recipe book for even more great ideas.
If you want to add a cannabis tincture to your food, you need to remember two things in order to have the best possible experience.
THC vaporizes at a temperature of 315 degrees Fahrenheit, so you can’t use a cannabis tincture as a cooking oil. If you’re adding a tincture to a hot food, you should either drizzle it over the finished dish or use it in a situation where you know that the temperature of the food won’t exceed 315 degrees.
If you eat or drink a cannabis tincture instead of holding it under your tongue, it’ll increase the absorption time. In this case, you’ll need to wait a bit longer before you’ll feel the tincture’s effects.
They have a long shelf life.
If you’re a light cannabis user and want to buy a product that you can store for a long time without worrying about it going bad, you’re going to love cannabis tinctures because they have just about the longest shelf lives of any cannabis product. An oil-based cannabis tincture that’s made well and properly filtered can last around two years with no noticeable reduction in quality. Alcohol-based tinctures can last even longer. When you aren’t using your cannabis tincture, all that you need to do is keep the bottle tightly closed and store it in a cool, dark place.
How do you use a cannabis tincture?
The traditional way of using a cannabis tincture is by taking it sublingually. Just follow these steps.
Measure the desired dose using the eyedropper. A half-full dropper usually has a volume of 0.5 ml, which is considered a standard dose for most tinctures. If you’ve never used a cannabis tincture before, we recommend starting with a smaller dose until you become familiar with the effects.
Place the tincture under your tongue and hold it there for as long as you like. We recommend holding the tincture under your tongue for at least 30 seconds.
Swallow the tincture whenever you’re ready.
Allow plenty of time to experience the full effects of the tincture before taking more. Although you’ll begin to feel the tincture within a few minutes, it may take as long as an hour for the effects to peak. Don’t take more until you’re certain that the effects have begun to fade.
As we mentioned above, you can also take a tincture by mixing it with food or drinks or by swallowing it directly. You might find this useful, for instance, if you don’t enjoy the herbal flavor or don’t like the feeling of holding the tincture under your tongue. If you swallow a tincture instead of taking it sublingually, though, it’ll take longer before you begin to feel the effects.