Weed nanotech seem to be all the craze when it comes to innovations in consumer cannabis products. Let’s look at what makes them so interesting and effective.
Anyone had an inconsistent or unpredictable experience with edibles? They can be a tricky one to get right. The reason why edibles are so unpredictable is because of the time it takes for cannabinoids to be absorbed. THC is absorbed in the bloodstream, which can be significantly delayed depending on a range of factors. This delay makes it rather difficult to predict onset, resulting in accidentally consuming too much and then feeling the effects a bit too intensely.
Onset for edibles can range from 45 minutes to 2 hours (quite the window), and obviously depends on a bunch of factors including your metabolism, what you’ve eaten beforehand, how much you’ve drunk and most importantly how much of an edible you consume.
Consuming too much of an edible before you feel the effects is a common mistake that far too many of us have made. This is something nanotech weed products can help a lot with.
What are nanotech weed products?
These products place a lot more control and consistency into the edibles experience. After consuming a nanotech edible, you’ll feel begin feeling the effects within in about 15 minutes, as opposed to up to 2 hours. This makes you less likely to make the mistake of taking more than you should, before you feel the dose. So, overall making it a safer, better experience.
How do nanotech products work?
Right, let’s start with the basics. Cannabinoids (the molecules in cannabis) interact with receptors in the body. This then results in a range of effects on us such as euphoria, pain relief or anxiety. These effects come from a range of cannabinoids which include THC, CBD, CBN and CBG.
For these cannabinoids to be absorbed in the first place, they need to be bioavailable, which literally means “absorbed by the body”. The more bioavailability something has, the less of the product you need in order to experience the desired effects.
For normal edibles, or products that don’t use nanotech, THC and CBD are absorbed through the gut, the digestive system and then the bloodstream. This can take a while.
For nanotech products, cannabinoids are made smaller through a process called emulsification. This process mixes two liquids that typically can’t be mixed together into a stable compound. An example of this is oil and water. In this process, a third ingredient called a surfactant is added and binds the two liquids together (mayonnaise is a great example of this in the case of water and oil).
For cannabis products, the emulsification process blends cannabis oil in a high pressure blender, breaking it down into small chunks and reassembling them into liposomes. These are tiny spheres of substances surrounded by fat. Liposomal delivery is used for a bunch of medicines as it allows products to dissolve in both fat and water, making digestion a lot easier.
By decreasing the size of the particle, the product can be dissolved and brought into the bloodstream quicker, making it more bioavailable. Through this nano-emulsification process you end up needing a lot less of the cannabis product to achieve the same effect.
What impact does weed nanotech have?
Innovation and product improvement is a byproduct of liberalising our drug policies. As more jurisdictions look at legalising cannabis for recreational purposes, we can expect to see continued innovative developments in how the drug is consumed. Nano-emulsification gives the consumer a greater amount of consistency and control with their cannabis consumption experience. It also allows consumers to consume less, feel effects quicker and generally have a more consistent experience.
Policy change and legalisation is an incredible way to bring out innovations and give consumers a safer, more consistent and overall a more enjoyable experience using cannabis. Technological developments as a means of harm reduction should be championed.
Nanotech or not, follow the age old trick – start low, go slow and wait till your first dose kicks in before topping up.
This piece was written by Katya Kowalski, Head of Operations at Volteface. Tweets @KowalskiKatya