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Writer's pictureHoward Paris

Inhaled vs Edible’s Absorption of THC and Cannabinoids: 80% of The THC Is Lost to The Air?!?

Updated: Aug 8, 2022

DIOLAG’s proprietary decarbonization process efficiently holds onto CBDA, the anti-inflammatory responsible for calming the gastrointestinal system. While cannabis grows very quickly, protecting the plant from mold, insects and other hazards can test one’s patience, and its costly. Consequently, cannabis can be expensive, and One might expect that people would be careful to make the most of the cannabis they buy. The actual amount of THC absorbed by smoking is said to be between 10% and 40% with 20% being typical. That means that 80% of the THC is lost to the air.


Perhaps eating edibles would be more efficient? Well, yes and no… Smoking enables the user to smoke as much or as little as they like, controlling the psychoactive effect. People may have heard how eating edibles carries uncertainty about how much THC they will get. People wait between 30 and 90 minutes to feel an effect from edibles, also, the “high” may feel different.


The common story is that people eat some brownie and, after waiting 90 minutes, eat more. Then they become more intoxicated than they want to be. On the other hand, eating cannabis can generate an intoxication that may be difficult to achieve by smoking. Edibles suffer from two other drawbacks. For brownies and cookies, the cooking process can destroy 20-40% of the THC. The 300-350F cooking temperature degrades the THC, but the THC is kept cool and protected by the vaporization of the water in the batter. Accordingly, thin cookies or corner brownies can have the THC depleted.


The other problem with edibles is that THC has no solubility in water, and if any fat is present, the THC will stay dissolved in the fat and may pass straight through the gut. If THC extract is added to batter containing butter, a lot of the THC will travel with the butter in one end and out the other, again cutting the absorbable THC down to 20-40% of what was originally present. Therefore, consuming cookies or brownies wastes almost as much as smoking. If one eats a gummy or pill that has no fat, it should not be eaten with fat or cooking oils.


CBD, CBDA, THCA, and CBGA are all much more soluble in water and don’t have the same problem as THC described above. But they're not psychoactive, so you might have no idea what you've consumed. ///






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