Edibles were my first choice when I began medicating with marijuana. You will understand why after you read my pro list.  However, there are a few drawbacks.  Today we take a look at both to help you decide if edibles are for you or not.

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Pros

1. Discretion:  Unless I announce it, nobody has a clue that the candy or baked good I am eating has cannabis in it.
2. Easy on the lungs:  Unlike smoking or vaping, you won’t cough up a lung while medicating.
3. Long lasting: The high from edibles lasts much longer than from smoking or vaping.  The long lasting high is what gifted me with restorative sleep right from the beginning.  With smoking or vaping I would wake up in pain after a few hours, whereas I would sleep through the night, minus a quick potty break, and wake up feeling well rested.
4. Cost: The price tag on edibles terrified me when I first began looking at dispensary menus.  But after I realized that each product was more than one or two doses, I discovered just how affordable edibles were.  For example, a $12 chew caramel candy that was marked as 4 doses turned out to be 6-8 doses for me.  Another thing I didn’t expect was that I only needed a full dose before bed.  I could get through most days waiting to medicate until evening and when I couldn’t I only needed a small portion of the sixth or eighth that I would need at bedtime.  Last month during my bout of bronchitis I turned back to edibles.  Each night I would eat either a half or whole square from a 12 piece candy bar.  I paid $15 for the bar which at half a piece per night would yield 24 doses.  The only way edibles wouldn’t be cost effective is if you purchase baked goods that will go stale after a day or two.
5. Easy to micro-dose:  Knowing the dosage of each edible makes it easy to breakdown and know how much you are taking.

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Cons

1. Storage: First, you want to make sure you keep edibles out of the reach of children.  Secondly, depending on the type of edible you need to make sure that you store your edibles at a temperature that it won’t melt in.  Thirdly, make sure that ants, other insects, or your pets can’t get into your storage container.
2. Strains: Unlike flower and vape, it is almost impossible to find an edible manufacturer that lists what strain was used.  Some will notate whether they used a hybrid, indica, or sativa, but even that isn’t enough to know exactly what to expect.
3. Waiting for it to kick in:  Edibles are not my go to form when I need to fall asleep fast.  It can take anywhere from 30-120 minutes to kick in.  This can make it difficult to follow a strict schedule.
4. Different effect from same product: One piece of candy from the same package doesn’t always end with the same result.  Everything can vary from one bite to the next.  From how long it takes to take effect, how long the high lasts, and the high itself.
5. Long lasting: While mostly a pro, the long lasting effect can become a con when you need aren’t able to carve out a solid 8 hours of sleep.  I am not talking about 8 hours from the point of consumption, but from the point when your meds take effect.

Be smart when first trying a cannabis edible of any kind.  Start with a small dosage, approx. 2-5mgs for first timers.  If you aren’t feeling any effect, wait 90 minutes after consumption before increasing your dosage.  Remember that you cannot overdose from cannabis alone.  With that said, DO NOT take with opioids or other narcotics.  If you are feeling too high, you can try combatting the effect by eating, sleeping it off, or take some CBD.