Tincture High vs Flower High - How Each Affects Body & Mind
The tincture high vs flower high distinction is of interest to cannabis enthusiasts or beginners looking to experiment with new products. The high offered by each will depend on factors like the strength of the product you consume and your sensitivity to cannabis.
A THC tincture is an infused extract, while cannabis flower refers to the dried buds of the cannabis plant. Both are rich in cannabinoids and terpenes. However, the differing route of administration leads to each having slightly different absorption times and effects.
How Are THC Tinctures and Cannabis Flower Consumed?
THC tinctures and cannabis flower can be consumed in several different ways. Because each consumption method has different benefits, which one you choose will largely be a question of personal preference.
How Are THC Tinctures Consumed?
THC tinctures can be consumed sublingually, by swallowing, or as a part of cannabis edibles:
Sublingual Consumption
Consuming marijuana sublingually involves dropping the desired amount of tincture under the tongue. The extract should ideally stay under the tongue for up to 60 seconds before swallowing.
The tincture will be absorbed through the mucous membranes in the mouth and carried to the bloodstream. Consumers favor this method because of the faster onset of effects compared to edibles.
Swallowing
You will feel the effects of swallowing tinctures, but it will take longer to kick in than taking it sublingually. However, the effects may last longer.
Adding Tinctures to Food or Drink
Adding your cannabis tincture to food or drink can be useful to mask its taste. Try adding a few drops of tincture to tea or coffee or easily mixed foods like yogurt to make marijuana edibles. Drinking coffee or tea with or alongside your tincture is a great way to boost your high and stay hydrated.
Just like swallowing the tincture alone, you'll feel the effects later than taking your tincture sublingually. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the effects tend to be longer-lasting.
How Is Cannabis Flower Consumed?
Smoking or vaporizing are the most common ways of consuming cannabis flower. Cannabis flower can be smoked in a joint, blunt, or bong, or vaporized in a dry-herb vaporizer.
How Do Tinctures and Flower Get You High?
The familiar euphoric feeling individuals experience when consuming THC tinctures or flower comes when the THC contained in the product activates the brain’s CB1 receptors. This results in a reward response in the brain.
When choosing a THC tincture, check its THC percentage; you’ll find this on the label. Logically, a higher THC content will generally equal a stronger high. However, there’s some debate about how much THC percentage matters as other factors also contribute to the high offered by any given strain.
On the other hand, not all cannabis tinctures will get you high. CBD tinctures only contain CBD, a cannabinoid that offers various therapeutic effects but won't cause the psychoactive effects associated with THC. Ask a budtender if you’re not sure what effects a particular tincture will have.
What Are THC Tincture Highs Like?
The effects THC tinctures offer will depend on factors like the potency of the tincture and the consumer's sensitivity to cannabinoids.
High-THC tinctures may offer effects like euphoria, heightened sensory perception, relaxation, or relief from discomfort. Others may experience increased appetite. However, it can be difficult to predict how each person will respond because accounts of tincture highs are largely anecdotal.
Pro tip: If you don't want to get high but wish to benefit from the potential health benefits of cannabis, choose a CBD tincture rather than one that contains THC.
THC Tincture Highs Can Be Customized With Precise Dosing
The main advantage THC tinctures offer over vaping or smoking cannabis flower is the control the customer has over their consumption.
The introduction to a study published in 2016 noted that tinctures are popular with non-smokers and offer consistent content. Knowing how much THC content you're consuming is especially important for beginners or consumers who want to regulate the amount they ingest. For example, customers at our Seattle stores can choose from tinctures containing different concentrations of THC. These range from 10mg to 100mg of THC.
What Are Flower Highs Like?
If you've ever smoked weed, you'll know the familiar sensation. Just moments after inhaling, the THC, cannabinoids, and terpenes hit your bloodstream running and make their way to every corner of your body and mind.
The physical effects are often noticeable very quickly and may last an hour or even longer. This will depend on the strain and how much you smoke or vape. Because marijuana strains contain an average of 13.3-23.2% THC, the strength of your high can vary.
Different strains will offer different experiences. As a rule, though, a few hits of flower will offer blissful relaxation followed by either a body high or cerebral high that boosts inspiration and/or creativity.
Main Differences between THC Tincture Highs vs Flower Highs
The main differences between THC tincture highs and flower highs are the onset of effects, how long the high lasts, and the strength of the high.
THC Tincture
Cannabis Flower
Onset of Effects
THC absorbed through the lining of the mouth could take from 15 minutes to two hours to be absorbed.
Smoking or vaping cannabis flower typically causes effects within 5-10 minutes.
Duration of the High
Depending on the strength of the tincture and how much you consume, the effects may last from two to six hours. (Same reference as above.)
The effects will generally taper off after two to three hours.
Strength of the High
Taking tinctures sublingually may provide a faster but weaker high than consuming it in an edible or inhaling it.
Highs tend to be felt strongest within 15-30 minutes after inhalation. (Same reference as above.)
Tinctures, Flower, and The Entourage Effect
The Entourage Effect theory suggests that the full spectrum of compounds in cannabis plants works better than isolated elements. According to this theory, the different cannabinoids and terpenes found in cannabis work synergistically with the plant’s effects.
The high consumers feel from smoking or vaping full-spectrum cannabis flower could therefore be different from the high experienced after consuming THC isolate in a tincture.
Caution: Higher THC Content Doesn’t Necessarily Equal a Stronger High
A study from the University of Boulder concluded that smoking a high-THC concentrate raises THC levels in the blood significantly more than smoking regular cannabis flower. However, participants reported a similar high. Using a product with high THC levels like a THC tincture therefore doesn’t necessarily guarantee a stronger high than smoking.
Enjoy a Blissful High with a THC Tincture or Cannabis Flower
Dispensaries offer a wide range of experiences thanks to the variety of cannabis products and chemical compositions these products contain. The good news is that consumers can shop safe in the knowledge that both tinctures and flower provide blissful highs.
The cannabis industry is constantly innovating to create new products, meaning a new experience is just around the corner for people willing to experiment. THC tinctures and flower both offer consumers wonderful experiences and can both become regulars in your cannabis routine.