Why eating fats with your edibles makes a difference.

Are you one of those people who has tried edibles or cannabis-infused beverages but just doesn’t feel the effects? It’s not uncommon. For a lot of people, edibles tend to be hit or miss and you either end up on the couch wondering why the plant across your room is looking at you funny or you don’t feel much at all.

James Bellone, the manager at CHAI Cannabis Co., has a suggestion for you: Try edibles with fat in them. Specifically, he suggests trying chocolates.

“For the most part they’re made with real milk, which is animal fat,” Bellone says. “Animal fat binds with our fats to make [cannabis] work better. Sometimes, drinks don’t work for people and it’s because there’s nothing for the cannabis to bind to, it just runs right through you.”

The cannabinoids THC and CBD are lipophilic, meaning they need fats to dissolve and become bioavailable to humans. They work with the fatty tissues and endocannabinoid systems in our own bodies to enhance the effects.

When you inhale cannabis, the cannabinoids go directly from your lungs to your bloodstream and then circulate to the rest of the body. But when you ingest cannabis, it’s broken down in your digestive system and then distributed through your body, so when you eat fat-dense edibles, absorption is increased.

It’s important to note that not all fats work the same. Saturated fats, which are mainly found in animal products, work better than plant-based fats because they are made of long-chain fatty acids.

So when it comes to edibles, the fattier the better, but the type of fat matters.

CHAI CANNABIS CO., 10665 Merritt St., Castroville. 453-7180, chaicannabis.com