Cannabis

Smoking 12: When do you feel the effects of cannabis?

If you smoke cannabis, you feel the effects sooner than when cannabis is eaten.

When you smoke cannabis, the THC is absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs. It then flows via the heart to the brain. This journey takes the molecules about 7 to 10 seconds.

If you eat cannabis, the molecules are absorbed into the bloodstream via the stomach and the intestines. They reach the brain via the heart and the pulmonary circulation (heart-lungs-heart). It takes 30 to 45 minutes before the effects are felt via this gastrointestinal route.

Spacecake eaters often fail to realise that they must wait 45 minutes or more to feel the effects. If they feel nothing, they may eat an extra piece of cake and risk consuming too much cannabis. Eating spacecake on a full stomach or after greasy food can delay the effects even longer.