# Do you get more THC from eating marijuana or smoking it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2004, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200 "2004-12-05T09:48:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/1 "2004-12-05T09:48:36Z")
I’ve heard circa 70’s stories about “pot brownies” being a big favorite, and wondered just how efficient the uptake of THC is via the digestive process vs as a smoke via the lungs. Is eating it a lot more inefficient drug uptake wise? Wouldn’t eating pot taste kind of nasty? Would they taste sort of like tobacco brownies? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/2 "2004-12-05T10:01:47Z")
> [@](#): > > _Cannabis may also be orally ingested by blending it with alcohol or fats, which must be done as it is not water soluble, and requires the application of heat. **The immediate effects are significantly reduced if it is so blended, but the intoxication may last for a longer duration and be heightened. The effects of ingested cannabis are usually not recognized for at least thirty minutes (frequently longer), making it harder for users to regulate (titrate) their dosage. The “high” is also different from smoking, being more of a physical or “body high”.** Butter preparations are included in foods, commonly cookies and brownies (see space cake and Leary biscuit). A drink popular in India, called bhang, includes milk and flavoring herbs (e.g: cloves or cinnamon)._ > **[Cannabis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis)** > > Cannabis (/ˈkænəbɪs/) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis; C. ruderalis may be included within C. sativa; all three may be treated as subspecies of a single species, C. sativa; or C. sativa may be accepted as a single undivided species. The genus is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from Asia.\[ The plant is als... ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/3 "2004-12-05T13:50:35Z")
This is not an advocation of illegal activity, if any Mods are reading: quite the opposite, as it gave me gibbering panic attacks. I won’t go too much into cooking methods, but basically THC bonds extremely readily to fat cells {one reason it remains so long in your body}, so if cooked with butter or oil, yeah, the THC sticks around - and as {I’m surmising here} the THC remains longer in your digestive system than just inhaling it would do, the results are far more prolonged than smoking, and are, in my experience, extremely unpleasant. I would NOT recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Samaritan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bad\_Samaritan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Samaritan)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/4 "2004-12-05T18:09:08Z")
From my personal experience… the few times I scarfed pot brownies, I would say that the THC buzz was pretty underwhelming in comparison to the many, many, many times I inhaled it. In fact, I recall the nasty taste and light indigestion more readily. Seems like a waste of pefectly good weed if you ask me. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/5 "2004-12-05T18:52:39Z")
> [@AnatomicallyCorrect"](#): > > Seems like a waste of pefectly good weed if you ask me. In my former ‘circles’, pot was cooked when a lousy batch was had. Perfectly good weed was smoked, the brownish ‘shwag’ was cooked. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/6 "2004-12-05T19:17:38Z")
Agreeing with **Case Sensitive**. I had a bad, bad, time after eating space-cake. Not fun. Panic attacks etc. Have you ever been afraid of “Crocodile Dundee Part II”? I was. So don’t watch bits of stupid movies when eating the stuff. 😃 My body was wonderfully supple, though. [I could fold my legs around my neck] It lasted pretty long too. I’ll have a joint any day. 😉 Suck on a lead pencil and you’ll get the taste. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/7 "2004-12-05T19:21:52Z")
> [@gum](#): > > My body was wonderfully supple, though. [I could fold my legs around my neck] But, could you do that _before_ you ate it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/8 "2004-12-05T19:28:43Z")
Yes. But I couldn’t at the same time play the banjo with my toes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/9 "2004-12-05T20:37:35Z")
This is not from personal experience… 😉 …BUT: Consumtion of Marijuana makes you high from the tips of your feet to the tops of your head. Smoking of the pipe weed - simply stays in your head. So I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![Mirage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Mirage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirage)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/10 "2004-12-05T20:53:51Z")
TCH needs to be oxidized before it becomes psychoactive. This is usually accomplished by smoking the cannabis plant, however it can be taken orally as long as it has had is requisite oxidation. This makes it a good candidate for cooking with. Other drugs such as psilocybin are broken down by heat and therefore aren’t a good choice to put on a pizza, unless you like the flavor. You can bake with it, the usual treatment is to sauté it in butter to oxidize the TCH and use it instead of oil in the recipe. As mentioned before the taste is funky and the effects are different, sometimes more sometimes less pleasurable. It’s probably overall a more healthy way to consume THC however it is less potent as some of the drug us broken down during the digestive process and never makes it into your blood stream. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/11 "2004-12-05T21:43:46Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > This is not an advocation of illegal activity, if any Mods are reading: quite the opposite, as it gave me gibbering panic attacks. I won’t go too much into cooking methods, but basically THC bonds extremely readily to fat cells {one reason it remains so long in your body}, so if cooked with butter or oil, yeah, the THC sticks around - and as {I’m surmising here} the THC remains longer in your digestive system than just inhaling it would do, the results are far more prolonged than smoking, and are, in my experience, extremely unpleasant. I would NOT recommend it. Yikes! Glad I am not the only one. I had an awful experience with space cakes several years ago. I actually saw boxing for the barbaric sport that it is (and I am a former kick-boxer) and was convinced that my cat as plotting my demise. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/12 "2004-12-05T21:47:33Z")
hehehehe 🙂 But cats _are_ plotting everyone’s demise. Didn’t you know? ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/13 "2004-12-05T22:37:37Z")
CAT: Xiang Kai-Shek. Ancient Chinese Emperor starting with X. MANNIE: No, **Ch** iang Kai-Shek. CAT: You are going to die. ---
**Author:** ![InvidiousCourgette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/14 "2004-12-05T22:50:33Z")
From what I have heard a hash brownie, cooked in butter, will give you much, much more bang for your buck. The downside is it is very uncontrollable, allegedly. So I would advise avoidance. ---
**Author:** ![uncleangus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/779978/32.png) [@uncleangus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uncleangus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/15 "2004-12-05T23:21:18Z")
okay, suppose instead of orally the drug was taken as a suppository. Would you still catch a buzz? ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-get-more-thc-from-eating-marijuana-or-smoking-it/278200/16 "2004-12-06T01:00:27Z")
I’ve only tried this once, but I wouldn’t say the taste is that nasty. Yeah, it tastes a little like pot (kind of minty, kind of planty), but it still tastes a lot like brownies.