Every Possible Way to Take Medical Marijuana (without Smoking It)

While the March 2019 lift in the Florida medical marijuana smoking ban came as a relief for many, for lots of others, the idea of smoking — anything — was a non-starter. 

Many people have never smoked anything in their lives and while they may be sick, or suffering, enough to qualify for Florida’s medical marijuana card, they don’t have any desire to start smoking. 

Widely known as a “universal medicine,” in Florida medical marijuana use is intended to treat many illnesses and to provide relief from the suffering caused by many other ailments. 

Because of its status as a universal medicine, many patients are left — even by their doctors — to determine dosage levels, select the types and strains they want, and leave the administration of this medicine entirely to themselves.  

Many then also assume that medical marijuana needs to be smoked. While for lots of patients this presents no problem, but for many others, it’s not the preferred method. It’s almost instant, but smoke can irritate and permanently damage the lungs. For people with asthma, that option is out of the question. 

Medical Marijuana without Smoking

Vaping – the most common way, without smoking, is more or less an imitation of smoking but with steam, or vapor, standing in for the smoke. Vaping is popular, even among ex-tobacco smokers, for providing much of the stimulus of smoking but with (likely) far fewer risks. 

Nevertheless, vaping is not well-studied, and all of the health-related implications are not clearly understood, as the practice has only become widespread in the past ten years or so. 

Dried marijuana flower or extract can be added to the liquid being vaporized, and this delivers the active ingredients of the cannabis directly to the bloodstream via the lungs.  Vaping does not present a lot of the harmful by-products involved with burning marijuana, so those using vaping as a method for administering medical marijuana should get less harmful substances like tar, benzene, and other similar by-products. 

For some, the process of vaping is still too close to the act of smoking. 

Sprays & Tinctures – Tinctures are generally oil-suspended marijuana that is placed under the tongue. For most users, the effect can be quite fast, but may not be as intense or profound. Tinctures tend to be available in a wider array of flavors and strengths. 

Placing the drops under the tongue will deliver the active ingredients into the bloodstream more quickly than with marijuana that is eaten, or which passes through the digestive tract. 

Transdermal Patches – While patches placed on the skin are not the most common delivery method, especially for those suffering from pain, they can deliver steady doses of marijuana over relatively long stretches of time. They’re particularly popular with those who feel an aversion to smoking or vaping. 

Topical Creams and Skin Applications – Similar to patches, the psychotropic effects of lotions and creams can be next to none. For those suffering from joint pain and arthritis, eczema, swelling, and localized pain, these are some of the most popular ways to use medical marijuana without many of the risks of being high, or inebriated. At the same time, some users will claim that they don’t get enough antidepressant or stress relieving benefits from marijuana that’s only applied to the skin. 

Orally (Edible Medical Marijuana) – This is one of the most popular ways to take medical marijuana, even though it is slower and can actually deliver less of the effective marijuana. 

Most commonly, people buy baked treats like the infamous marijuana brownies, but there are also candies, popcorn, sodas, and an ever-increasing variety of foods. 

Edibles are probably one of the most commonly abused methods of delivery among recreational users. It’s a little too easy to not know just how much pot is in that brownie and that can lead to the ingestion of too high levels of THC and unpleasant psychoactive effects. 

The point is, don’t just eat anything. Try to know your sources, bake your own, or just eat edibles from dispensaries and people you trust. 

“Dabbing” – Among the newest forms, dabbing involves heating concentrated liquid marijuana and inhaling the vapor. Similar to vaping, the temperature is higher, and the concentration can be extreme. In most cases, dabbing is just used by those with a lot of experience with all kinds of marijuana or those who insist on the most potent dosage. 

Marijuana Doctor is Happy to Talk to You

For some of those with chronic qualifying conditions, just the idea of trying a little medical marijuana can seem daunting. Not everyone with qualifying conditions has spent a lifetime experimenting with marijuana, or anything like it. It can still be useful, even life-affirming medicine.

The range of ways to take medical marijuana also means that you don’t need to adopt an alternative lifestyle to benefit from it. No need to burn incense yet. But if you would like to see if you qualify for the Florida Medical Marijuana Card, Marijuana Doctor can help. And, there’s no charge whatsoever if you don’t qualify.

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