There are more ways to consume cannabis than ever, from a classic joint to a measured gummy or a lotion you rub into your skin. Each method has its own timing, strength and trade-offs. This guide groups them into four routes, compares onset, duration, dose control and odor, and helps you match a method to what you're after.
Ways to consume cannabis: the four routes
Every method falls into one of four routes, based on how cannabis enters your body:
- Inhaled: smoking, vaping and dabbing, absorbed through the lungs.
- Eaten or drunk: edibles, capsules and beverages, absorbed through the digestive system.
- Under the tongue: tinctures and other drops held in the mouth.
- On the skin: lotions, balms and transdermal patches.
Route matters because it changes how quickly THC reaches your bloodstream and how long it stays active. In a classic 1980 study, smoking delivered roughly 18% of the THC to the bloodstream, while THC eaten in a cookie delivered about 6%, absorbed slowly and unevenly. That's one reason the same number of milligrams can feel so different from one method to the next.
Inhaling: smoking, vaping and dabbing
Inhaled cannabis works fastest. According to a review of cannabinoid pharmacology, inhaled THC is felt within seconds to a few minutes, hits its peak at 15 to 30 minutes and fades over 2 to 3 hours. Some effects can linger longer than that, though. In a 2018 study of 17 adults who rarely used cannabis, some effects and measurable impairment lasted up to about 6 hours on average. Because the effect keeps building for a while after each puff, pause for several minutes between puffs while you learn a new product.
Smoking
Joints, pipes and bongs all burn dried flower. Smoking is simple and easy to adjust one puff at a time, but your lungs pay for it. The CDC notes that smoked cannabis, however it's smoked, can harm lung tissue, and that cannabis smoke shares many toxins, irritants and cancer-causing chemicals with tobacco smoke. Smoking cannabis is also tied to a greater risk of bronchitis, cough and mucus.
Smoke also carries the strongest odor of any method, which matters at home, in a rental or around neighbors.
Vaping
Vaping heats cannabis without burning it. Dry-herb vaporizers heat ground flower, while cartridges and disposables heat a cannabis oil. Vapor leaves less lingering odor than smoke, and many devices make small, precise puffs easy.
Smoking vs. vaping isn't a simple swap. In that 2018 study, the same THC dose felt stronger, and pushed blood THC higher, when it was vaporized rather than smoked. Moving from joints to a vape? Take less.
Vape products carry their own risks. In 2019 and 2020, an outbreak of serious lung injuries struck people who vaped. The CDC connected most cases to THC vaping products, especially ones from informal sources, and found the additive vitamin E acetate strongly linked to the outbreak. Buy vapes only from licensed stores, and never add anything to a cartridge. Our cannabis vaping guide covers devices and care.
Dabbing
Dabbing means vaporizing a tiny amount of a concentrate like live resin or shatter on a hot surface. It's the most potent inhaled option and best left to experienced consumers. A dab pen offers a simpler way in.
Eating and drinking: edibles, capsules and beverages
Swallowed cannabis takes a slower road through the digestive system and the liver. Effects usually show up 30 to 90 minutes after eating, peaking after 2 to 3 hours. Depending on the dose, they can stretch to 4 to 12 hours. The CDC warns that edibles and beverages may need as long as 2 hours to be felt, which makes it easy to take more too soon. Our guide to cannabis edibles covers the basics.
Advantages of edibles
- No smoke or vapor, so your lungs stay out of it.
- Measured servings. Gummies, chocolates and capsules usually list the THC in each piece, which makes a dose easy to repeat.
- Long-lasting. One serving can carry you through several hours.
- Discreet. There's no smell when you consume them.
The trade-off is timing. Start low, let two full hours pass before deciding on a second serving, and remember that eating, especially a fatty meal, can shift how quickly you feel it.
Edibles vs. smoking comes down to speed and length. Smoking is fast and fades within a few hours, while an edible is slow to arrive and can stay with you for the rest of the day.
Advantages of cannabis drinks
- Familiar and social. Sipping a seltzer or a tea fits easily into a gathering.
- Easy portions. Cans and bottles usually list the THC per serving, and you can sip slowly.
- No smoke and little odor.
Drinks are still swallowed cannabis, so give them time, and don't finish a can as fast as you would a soda. Our comparison of drink and edible timing covers the differences.
Capsules
Capsules work like edibles, with the dose sealed in a pill. Because they have no taste and deliver the same dose each time, some people prefer them to gummies or chocolates.
Tinctures and sublingual use
Tinctures are cannabis extracts in an oil or alcohol base, sold in dropper bottles. When you hold drops under your tongue, some of the dose may be absorbed through the tissues of your mouth, and the rest gets swallowed. That's why timing varies. Sublingual use has also been studied far less than smoking or eating, so until you know how a tincture works for you, plan on edible-style timing.
To use one, shake the bottle, measure with the dropper's markings and keep the drops beneath your tongue for about a minute before you swallow. Tinctures are easy to measure by the drop, smoke-free and discreet, and you can stir them into food or drinks. Our tincture guide covers dosing and storage.
Topicals and their advantages
Topicals are lotions, balms and salves applied to the skin. Most are made to act where they're applied rather than in the bloodstream, which is why people generally don't describe feeling high from them. Transdermal patches are different, since they're built to carry cannabinoids across the skin into your blood, so read the label carefully.
- No smoke and no odor, with nothing to inhale or swallow.
- Usually no high from lotions and balms.
- Simple to use as part of an everyday routine.
Research on topical cannabis is limited. Choose products with clear labels, test a new product on a small patch of skin first, keep it away from your eyes and broken skin, and stop if you notice irritation. Our guide to cannabis topicals goes deeper.
Cannabis consumption methods compared
| Method | Onset | Duration | Dose control | Odor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoking | Seconds to minutes | About 2 to 3 hours | Good, one puff at a time | Strong |
| Vaping | Seconds to minutes | About 2 to 3 hours | Good, but can hit harder than smoking | Lower than smoke |
| Dabbing | Seconds to minutes | About 2 to 3 hours | Hard, since concentrates are very potent | Noticeable |
| Edibles and capsules | 30 to 90 minutes, sometimes longer | 4 to 12 hours | Precise dose, slow feedback | None when eaten |
| Drinks | Similar to edibles | Several hours | Measured servings | Little to none |
| Tinctures | Varies, so plan on edible timing | Several hours | Precise by the drop | Minimal |
| Lotions and balms | Applied locally | Varies | Easy | Minimal |
These ranges come from pharmacology research and shift with your dose, your tolerance and the product.
Picks by goal
There's no single best way to consume cannabis. Weigh three things: how quickly you want effects to arrive, how many hours you want them to stay, and the setting you'll be in.
- New to cannabis: Inhaled cannabis gives quick feedback, so you can stop after one small puff. A low-dose edible avoids smoke but demands patience. Either way, start low and go slow.
- Fast onset: Smoking or vaping, which act within minutes.
- Long-lasting: Edibles and capsules, which can last 4 to 12 hours.
- Experienced consumers: Concentrates and dabs, in small amounts.
- Smokeless cannabis and low odor: Edibles, drinks, tinctures and topicals, with vapes as a lower-odor inhaled option. For more ideas, see our discreet cannabis use guide.
- Repeatable dosing: Capsules, edibles and tinctures with clear labels.
Lower-risk choices, and what "healthiest" really means
People often ask about the healthiest way to consume cannabis. The honest answer comes from the CDC: health and safety risks exist for every way of using cannabis, and there isn't enough evidence to say one way is safer than another.
Each route trades one risk for another:
- Smoking exposes your lungs to smoke, with a greater risk of bronchitis, cough and mucus.
- Vaping avoids combustion, but contaminated or unregulated products have caused serious lung injuries, and vaped THC can hit harder.
- Edibles and drinks spare your lungs but make it easier to take too much, because their effects arrive late.
- Topicals skip smoke and swallowing, though research on them is limited.
A few habits lower the risk whatever you choose. Buy from licensed stores, start with a low dose, skip alcohol, store products out of reach of kids and pets, and don't drive after consuming. Stick to one method at a time while you learn, since stacking a joint on top of an edible makes it hard to judge your dose. And remember that impairment can last for hours, up to about 6 in one study, so plan your ride before you start. A clinician should weigh in first if you're expecting, nursing, on medication or living with a heart or lung condition.
Questions about a format? On your next visit to one of our stores, a budtender can explain how each one works.
