The Big Debate: Tincture vs. Edibles

Tincture vs. edibles? Is there a big difference? It’s a question many have asked before.

Cannabis has been used for thousands of years for its medicinal benefits. Tinctures have been popular since the 1800s, heralded as a fast and discreet way of providing relief to users. 

They’re straightforward, easy, and fast to use, and you’ll feel the effects in as little as 15 minutes. 

Edibles became more widespread in the 1900s but were banned in the USA in 1930. Nowadays, you can buy edibles in many forms.

Long gone are the days of just having a brownie; almost anything you can eat or drink now could be infused with cannabis.  

When starting your journey with cannabis, think about your goal and if you need fast relief or something long-lasting.

It’s a minefield of information, but let’s get to the bottom of the big tinctures vs. edibles debate together.

Tinctures vs. edibles: The basics 

Before determining if tinctures are better than edibles and which suits your lifestyle and needs best, we must understand each form better. Let’s get into the finer details right now. 

Tinctures

Originally popularized in the 1800s, this is a liquid and concentrated form of cannabis. The leaves, bark, and flower are soaked in alcohol or oil, making a very concentrated liquid you drop onto or underneath your tongue. It’s simple to learn how to make cannabis tinctures at home.  

Tinctures are also great if you’re not into baking and don’t want to introduce other chemicals into your body by smoking or vaping. 

Edibles

Can you eat them? Can you spread them on bread? Can you drink them? You can!

Edibles are infused with cannabis!

Want some ideas? 

Popular forms of edibles include brownies, churros, and cookies. You can even put edibles into drinks, so the options are pretty much endless. 

What’s even better about that? You can learn how to make edibles at home easily. 

Are tinctures stronger than edibles?

Technically, yes. Edibles do take longer to work the cannabinoids into your bloodstream. Your body does what it’s supposed to do and filters out toxins through your liver, so you’ll receive between 4 and 20%. 

Tinctures have a higher potency, delivering around 40–50% to your system. 

So what about tinctures vs. smoking? The cannabinoid levels you’ll take in cannot compare to smoking a joint.

Do tinctures work faster than edibles? 

The answer is simple. Yes! Edibles do have the advantage of being longer-lasting but take an hour or so to kick in. This is because your body needs to digest whatever you have eaten. 

Tinctures work in around 15 minutes because you put drops onto or under your tongue. Both have advantages and disadvantages. 

If you need something instant and long-lasting, you can put a drop of tinctures onto your edible and have the best of both worlds. 

A word of warning. We wouldn’t advise this for someone new to cannabis. Newbies should keep the dosage super low and build up over time once they know how their systems react. More on dosage later, so keep reading. 

So does that mean tinctures are better than edibles?  

Tincture vs. edibles: How to choose the best for you

To help decide which is best for you in the battle of edibles vs. tinctures, let’s break it down.

Medical applications

In the question around weed tincture vs. edible in medicine, tinctures deliver faster pain relief than edibles.

Tincture also delivers more of the therapeutic parts of the plant-CBD- into the bloodstream faster. 

Edibles give a longer-lasting relief, but it’s worth noting the effects will vary depending on if you have an empty stomach or not.

Convenience

Both win on this front. When comparing cannabis tincture vs. smoking or edibles vs. smoking, the obvious difference is discretion. 

You can’t really be standing at a bus stop smoking a joint, but eating a cookie or having a few drops invites much less attention. Plus the fact some people simply don’t want to smoke.

Potency

This is a biggie. A novice may not get along with tinctures. They have a strong flavor of the plant, which some find unpleasant, but the speed of a tincture working can offset this. 

Looking at a Tincture high vs. edible high, it really does depend on the dose. Edible doses are more challenging to control, but the high tends to last longer. 

An edible may not affect how you feel as intensely (depending on the dose) but does last longer. 

You absolutely can combine the two and make a tincture edible when you’re more experienced, which brings us nicely to…

Dosage

When ingesting cannabis for medicinal purposes, do you prefer to have something longer-lasting or that gives you faster relief? Both things to consider when choosing between edibles and tinctures. 

With edibles, finding the proper dosage for you can be difficult. It’s always best to educate yourself on correct edibles dosing practices because baking cannabis into something affects the potency. 

Tinctures are much easier to control dosage-wise, so some favor it for this pro alone. 

Nutrition

For those of you watching your figure, tinctures are one to go with. After all, edibles are often put into sweet things! 

You can purchase tinctures with added sugar or flavors that contain fewer calories.

That being said, a little treat never hurts anyone, right? We could totally eat a whole pan of brownies right now!

THC content

Something else to consider is THC. When purchasing tinctures or edibles from a store, make sure you have a look at the THC/CBD content, which is displayed on the packaging.

If you want to have just the medicinal perks of cannabis-CBD- then opt for a low or no THC content. The more THC, the more of a high you will get. 

When it comes to the type of high, THC tincture vs. edible question is answered with another question. Have you got an empty stomach? Yes? THC levels absorbed through tinctures are higher than edibles. 

If you have a full stomach, then an edible is going to give you higher THC absorption. This is also something to bear in mind if you are distilling your own at home or baking into an edible- know your plant’s folks. 

Safety

We’d like to think that you’re not leaving edibles hanging around the house with kids running around. Edibles are often yummy treats like brownies, gummy bears, pretzels, etc., so it goes without saying to keep them separate from your everyday food. 

The side effects you can experience with both tinctures and edibles are things to be aware of. These include, but are not limited to the following:

• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Lethargy
• Memory loss
• Dry mouth
• Red eyes

Frequently asked questions about tinctures and edibles

A lot of information has been thrown at you; we get it! Hopefully, you now know everything about both edibles and tinctures. Just in case anything has been missed, here are some frequently asked questions.

Tincture vs. gummies, which is better? 

Absolutely your choice!

There’s no medical benefit to choosing one over the other- gummies have sugar in them, so consider that from a calorie point of view. 

Tinctures act faster, and gummies are yummy.

Is tincture or butter better for edibles?

Ask yourself, do you like butter? No? Then use tinctures! It’s got the added bonus of working faster, all-around a win.

Another thing to consider is how often you are planning on using butter. It expires, so if this is something you aren’t going to use pretty quickly, tinctures are the way to go.

Do edibles or tinctures last longer?

Edibles last around 8 hours, tincture around 6 hours. Math is great. 

Both options will give you some relief, and tinctures act faster than edibles.

To tinker with tinctures or eat all the edibles

Overall, there’s no right or wrong way of getting the medicinal relief that cannabis offers. Things to consider are more personal taste than anything else. 

Do you like cooking? 

Can you actually be bothered to soak the plant in alcohol or oil? It comes down to choice and also the time you have. Consider things like taste, potency, and what your needs are. 

Need a quick relief? Tincture. Want something longer-lasting? Edibles.

When shopping for either product, be sure to ask the staff for their opinions. The THC content is something else to think about. 

Both are great alternatives to smoking and vaping while giving you medicinal advantages. 

Experiment with both and see which suits you best. You might find you love both, and it gives you an alternative to smoking a joint. 

Whatever you decide, it’s hard to argue against the brilliant medicinal qualities of marijuana CBD and how it’s helped so many people live an easier and pain-free life. 

With so many health benefits to cannabis, why not check out these latest blogs to see how cannabis can help you with your health and wellness.