HOW TO HAVE A SAFE AND FUN CANNABIS EVENT; TIPS FOR SERVING EDIBLES

So you’re ready to have your first “real” cannabis event? This article will help! When it comes to cannabis, it’s important to be well informed; knowledge is power and safety. FLOW Event Agency has compiled a list of tips that can help assure your next cannabis event is both fun, and safe. 

Ingesting marijuana is very different from smoking marijuana. Ingested cannabis is metabolized by the liver, is twice as strong, and lasts at least twice as long as when inhaled. Smoking marijuana brings on effects within minutes while ingesting marijuana can take several hours before you feel the effects, making it is easy to misjudge the effects and overdose. A marijuana overdose will not kill you, but it can be highly unpleasant to experience. 

Exact dosage recommendations will vary based on many factors including individual body weight, metabolism, and tolerance due to the volume of personal cannabis use. The majority of the population will relax with a blissful feeling of euphoria with 10 – 25 milligrams of THC. Effects can last from 4-6 hours, sometimes longer. Edibles should be treated like any other medication, err on the side of safety. 

Follow these tips to help educate your guests and assure everyone has a Highly good time! 

1. Provide a Dosage Chart and Label All Medicated Foods

Providing a dosage chart is the easiest way to educate your inexperienced guests about cannabis consumption. A good dosage chart will highlight the key information and expected effects from various doses. Cannabis-infused foods are medicated foods and should always be labeled as such, provide warnings that the food is medicated. Labeling food items with accurate information regarding marijuana content is paramount for safety. Guests need to know exactly how much they are consuming in order to have a safe and enjoyable experience. 

2. Always Provide Non-Medicated Foods Too

“Munchies” are a real side effect of cannabis. Your guests will be looking for snacks, so make sure you have plenty of non-medicated food around. 

3. Infuse the Sauces Instead of the Foods

Instead of infusing the majority of the food provided at the event, consider making one non-infused menu that will be complemented by infused sauces. Think BBQ: make the food as normal, then provide infused sauces (with clearly marked dosage information) that the guests can apply themselves. 

4. Start Low and Go Slow

Most of your guests will want to start with a low dose of 2-10 milligrams of THC and wait two hours before consuming any more cannabis. The digestive system usually takes about 90 minutes – 2 hours to process food to the small intestine where it’s absorbed, converted, and released into the bloodstream. It can take even longer if eating a substantial or fatty meal. 

5. Do Not Mix Marijuana with Alcohol or Other Prescription Medications

Marijuana combined with alcohol or other substances can cause very uncomfortable side effects, such as vertigo/dizziness/ “the spins”, or even more dangerous effects such as respiratory distress. It’s best to keep these two apart from each other in a party scenario, better safe than sorry! 

6. Keep Away From Children and Pets

A sure-fire way to kill a party vibe is for a tragedy to happen. Cannabis must be treated as a medication and be kept away from children and animals. This may seem like a common sense tip but it often gets skipped. 

7. Have pure CBD on hand

This is a big one. Think of CBD as a sort of antidote that will take the edge off and reduce the bad side effects of too much THC. CBD can be used to lessen the paranoid, panicky feelings that can occur when someone is feeling the effects of an overdose of THC. 

8. Recommend Ride Share to Guests

For safety reasons, recommend that your guests use a ride-share service like Lyft or Uber for transport to and from your event. Driving while “high” is considered a DUI, it’s best to be smart and be safe. Do not endanger yourself or the public. We offer incentives for our guests to use ride-share to and from our events.