When we talk about marijuana, we associate it with getting high, but not the high that comes with consuming other narcotics such as methamphetamine and cocaine. The high that you get from these narcotics are way worse than from marijuana. Besides smoking joints, you can consume it by eating marijuana edibles. Cannabis is legal in many countries and states — including Arizona, where it is legal for medicial use —  but more prohibit its use. For countries and states where you can use marijuana without the implications of the law, many people take advantage of its benefits, especially medicinally. Not a lot want the high, though. Some consume marijuana for the sole purpose of benefiting from its medicinal properties.

Psychoactive ingredient

The primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis is THC or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. When marijuana leaves are un-aged and raw, the cannabinoid that it has is THCA or tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. It is an inactive ingredient, which is a precursor to THC. THCA becomes THC or the psychoactive substance when cannabis leaves go through the process of decarboxylation. It is the application of light and heat to the leaves.

Medicinal benefits

If you are one of many that seek the health benefits of marijuana, it is best to consume raw and fresh leaves. This is so you do not get the psychoactive effects that treated cannabis gives. Cannabis has a lot of cannabinoids, both active and inactive, and THCA alone has several properties that benefit people with medical conditions. These medicinal properties are anti-inflammatory, antiemetic, neuroprotective and anti-proliferative properties.

Decarboxylation process

Keep in mind that the body cannot process THCA and convert it into THC. The decarboxylation process can be achieved through different methods:

  • This is the easiest way to convert THCA to THC. When you light up fresh and raw leaves, the heat from the smoke will activate THC, and give you the psychoactive effects that you are after.
  • Room temperature conversion. When you store cannabis leaves at room temperature long enough, they become psychoactive.
  • Sunlight conversion. Sitting the plant under direct sunlight will convert THCA into THC.
  • Considered the most efficient way of converting THCA, the low heat converts and releases THC.

Consuming edibles

Now that we know that light and heat convert the inactive substance THCA into its psychoactive ingredient THC, you must not eat cooked food infused with cannabis. The heat from cooking will turn THCA into THC, which will make the edible psychoactive. You can opt for raw juices and cannabis salads if you want the non-psychoactive effects of cannabis.

If you do not want to cook your own edibles, you can always have a variety of food choices that you can buy from reputed sellers. Make sure that when you purchase edibles that they have the legal amount of marijuana in them. If you prefer the non-psychoactive edibles, you can ask your trusted seller to give you those. Mistaking the type of edibles that you eat may have a negative effect on you, especially if you really don’t smoke marijuana to get high.