How long does it actually last?
Every consumption method has a different onset, peak, and total duration. Pick a method below to see the typical timeline — useful for working out whether it fits your evening before you start.
Why the method changes everything
Inhaled methods
Smoking, vaping, and dabbing all send THC through your lungs straight into your bloodstream, which is why effects arrive within minutes. This also makes it easier to gauge your own reaction in real time compared to slower methods.
Edibles
Edibles have to pass through your digestive system and liver first, which converts THC into a different, more potent compound. That’s why onset is slow and unpredictable, but the effects tend to run longer and can feel more intense per milligram than smoking.
Tinctures
Held under the tongue, a tincture is partly absorbed directly into the bloodstream and partly swallowed — landing somewhere between inhaled methods and edibles for both onset speed and duration.
Common questions
This is completely normal — edibles commonly take 30 to 90 minutes to kick in, and sometimes longer depending on what else is in your stomach. Taking a second dose during this waiting window is one of the most common reasons people end up far more intoxicated than they intended, since the first dose often arrives right after the second one is taken.
Your liver converts THC from edibles into a compound called 11-hydroxy-THC, which crosses into the brain more easily and is generally considered more potent than the THC absorbed from smoking. Equal milligram amounts can feel noticeably different between the two methods.
Tolerance mainly changes how intense the effects feel, not so much the onset timing. A regular user and a first-time user will generally start feeling an inhaled method within a similar few minutes, but the regular user may need more to reach the same subjective intensity.
Onset is similarly fast for both, but dabbing typically delivers a much larger dose of THC in a single inhale due to concentrate potency, so the peak intensity is usually significantly stronger even though the timing is comparable.
Because the delayed onset makes it easy to misjudge your dose in the moment. Starting with a small amount and waiting the full window — often two hours — before deciding whether to have more is the standard guidance for avoiding an uncomfortably strong experience.