While marijuana is still in a gray area in terms of legality, CBD is legal under federal law. The catch is that it should come from hemp, another member of the cannabis family. Furthermore, it should not contain more than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
This means that as long as it submits to these terms, a cannabis tincture is legal across all states. That’s not what’s stopping people from using it, though.
While cannabis users have at least heard of it, they’re not too familiar with what it is exactly and how it works. This guide will teach you the basics; learn more about it below.
1. What Is a Cannabis Tincture?
A tincture is a general term for an extract derived from a plant or animal material that’s then dissolved in alcohol. In the case of a cannabis tincture, it’s marijuana extract dissolved in a type of solvent.
For CBD tinctures, you may see other carriers. Some popular options are vegetable glycerin, vinegar, and grapeseed oil.
Still, ethanol is the most common solvent. It’s thanks to its unparalleled ability to break down plant matter. This allows it to extract more of the good chemicals in the plant.
This isn’t a modern invention by any means. It was the main form of cannabis medicine back when it was still legal, before its ban in 1937.
Today, though, it hasn’t gotten to its former status as the main form of cannabis consumption yet.
2. How Tinctures Differ from Other Forms of Marijuana
Tinctures carry the benefits of cannabis well, which means it’s an effective form getting relief from pain, insomnia, anxiety, and nausea. You can also use it as medication for your illness, like hyperglycemia, epilepsy, and many more.
However, being in the form of a tincture has its benefits for the user.
Clear Dosage Information
With a tincture, it’s easier to control the dose. The dropper helps you control it to the drop, and the bottle has a dosage guide. Remember to follow this strictly as each brand can have different potency.
As such, it’s not as easy to overdose with it as it is with some edibles. You know how much you’re taking with every drop. Some edibles come in the form of big candy bars, so it can be hard to measure its dosage correctly.
Immediate Effect
It also has an immediate effect, which also contributes to the lesser instances of overdosing on this form of cannabis. Edibles can take up to two full hours to take effect. This is the number one reason why people get impatient and eat more to get the effect they’re expecting.
Of course, you’ll have to get a THC tincture if you’re using it for recreational activities. For pain relief and other medicinal benefits, a CBD tincture is best. Either way, both give you the effect you’re looking for in a short amount of time after ingesting the tincture.
Discreet Packaging
A CBD tincture doesn’t look too out place; after all, many types of products use dropper bottles. If you don’t want to stand out, carrying a bottle with you won’t get you too many questions.
Long Shelf Life
CBD oil can last you a long time under proper storage conditions. Many people store it in the fridge, which ticks off the cool and dark requirements.
A drawer in your bedroom can be a good hiding place, too, as long as the room doesn’t heat up. The best CBD oil tincture to buy is one that comes in a dark-tinted bottle, which better protects it from the sun.
In any case, you don’t want it near sunlight and heat. The reason is that these two things accelerate the breakdown of substances.
Air exposure plays a role, too, so make sure to properly close the bottles all the time.
As long as you keep in mind these things, a well-made tincture can last you years. You can’t say the same for edibles, like cookies and brownies.
3. How to Use Tinctures
Not everyone is familiar with tinctures, so you may not know how to use it in the first place. You don’t only ingest it, vape it, or rub it on your skin; follow our instructions below to know how.
Read the General Information
Different brands use different extraction methods, so you can be too sure how potent a single drop is each time. Make sure to read the dosage information first and start with the lowest, if possible, to test it out.
Work Your Way Up Slowly
If you aren’t getting the results you want, you can increase the dosage. Remember to keep it slow, it’s still possible for tinctures to surprise you if you overdo it. Even if overdoing it is rare, you still need to be careful.
Shake the Tincture Well
Depending on the extraction method, the CBD inside will eventually settle on the bottom. To mix it again, you only need to shake it well. Read the instructions to see if you need to do anything else in preparing the mixture.
Squeeze the Dropper
There’s nothing new here; you only have to squeeze the dropper to get some product in it. The pipette should have markings indicating the dosage. Use that as a guide to see how much of the product you already got.
Squeeze It Into Your Mouth
The mixture goes directly under your tongue, so it’s not something you do for enjoyment, unlike eating brownies that may or may not have cannabis in them. You then hold it in for at least a minute for maximum absorption before swallowing.
This allows it to take a shortcut into your bloodstream. If you swallow it, it will have to go through your digestive system before it goes into the bloodstream. This explains why its effects are more immediate than other forms of CBD.
An unflavored tincture can have a pretty strong taste. Swishing it around a bit may improve absorption, but it also brings out more of the taste.
For these reasons, many people opt instead to buy flavored ones to make it tolerable enough.
Learn More About Cannabis Tinctures
We’ve already covered the basics, but there are more to learn about the cannabis tincture, like how to make one and such. This is for the more advanced cannabis users.
If you want to keep learning about it and cannabis, though, check out our other blog posts.
