Whether you're totally new to the concept of edible, recreational cannabis and its various forms, or have been baking pot-infused brownies at home for years, navigating the exploding edibles market can be daunting. With so much variety — from tinctures to chocolates and beverages to lozenges — what products fit your needs? How do you determine a safe and adequate dose for your body type or experience? What tastes best? What's the best value?
We asked two Spokane-area budtenders — Kendra Nixon at Sativa Sisters in Spokane Valley and Jeff Jenkins at The Vault in downtown Spokane — to share their best advice for edible newbies, as well as some of their favorite products on the market. Before we get to their picks, though, a few key points on edible dosing, potency and consumption:
• In Washington state, a single-dose edible can contain a maximum 10 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of cannabis, with packaged items, like lozenges or chocolates, containing a maximum of 100 mg of THC per package.
• Unlike smoking or vaping, edibles take much longer to have an effect via digestion into the bloodstream. Depending on the person (factors like size and metabolism come into play) and the product, it can take up to three hours before you'll notice a high, which means if you're not feelin' it, you should definitely wait at least that long to consume more so as to avoid an unpleasant overdose.
• It's not recommended to drink alcohol simultaneously, or to consume edibles on an empty stomach.
• If you're still totally new to edibles and feeling wary, read High Times' "10 Commandments of Marijuana Edible Safety."
At Sativa Sisters (10525 E. Trent), one of the area's first recreational shops to open in the summer of 2014, Nixon recommends that newbies try the Zoots brand lozenges, sold in 20-piece tins of 5 mg, sugar-free candies in lemongrass, cinnamon, berry or caramel flavors. Zoots' discreet and sleek metal tin makes them a favorite product among customers over 50, she says. Called ZootRocks, the tins retail for $35 at Sativa Sisters. Nixon also personally recommends Spot brand fruit chews, sold in bags of six 10 mg chews for $30.
At downtown Spokane's newest recreational dispensary, The Vault (213 E. Sprague), one of Jenkins' favorite products is Ray's Infused Lemonade, which sells in 25 mg ($10) or 75 mg ($15) bottles. All infused beverages come with disposable plastic dosing cups to measure out 10 mg increments. Jenkins says liquids take effect a little faster than solid edibles, and can be a nice additive for users who smoke regularly and want to extend their high. Liquid products like this can also be a preferable method of consumption for people with higher tolerances, he adds.
Jenkins hypes one of the more new and unusual items on The Vault's shelves: GaGa Edibles taffy, which "tastes like pink Starbust," he says. The chews sell for $35 in bags of ten 10 mg pieces. For users who have a more discerning tongue or strain preference for their edibles, he says the Swifts Truffles — in flavors like mint chocolate, cookies and cream, and apple crisp pie — are strain-specific, with sativa, indica or hybrid options. These truffles sell as 10 mg singles for $7 to $9. ♦
