Drink It In: The Benefits of Cannabis Tea
With a wave of legalization making its way across North America and abroad, people are starting to regard cannabis with less of a suspicious distance, and more of a curious open-mindedness. You can see this reflected in the growing cultural acceptance of things like CBD, which is now widely regarded as a safe and legitimate treatment for a number of ailments.
You also see the acceptance reflected in the way people think about consuming cannabis. Whereas before, your options were mainly limited to smoking and (less popularly) edibles, now there is a proliferation in methods, including cannabis additives, cannabis infused teas and cookies and other smokeless options.
This post will focus primarily on cannabis teas. For those looking to reap the benefits of cannabis, but who don’t necessarily want the weighty body high or the speedy head high that you get with conventional methods of consumption, tea is right for you. Let’s look at some of the key benefits of cannabis tea.
The Many Health Benefits of CBD
Cannabis tea extracts the compound known as CBD – or cannabidiol. This beneficial compound, which doesn’t produce any psychoactive high, has proven effective in anxiety modulation, pain relief and other therapeutic applications. Studies, both completed and ongoing, are still parsing out CBD’s many benefits, and scores of anecdotal evidence from people attests to its stress- and pain-relieving properties.
For a fuller, more comprehensive survey of the health benefits of – and considerations surrounding – CBD, feel free to peruse this Medical News Today article.
A Smokeless Alternative
As compared to other forms of cannabis consumption, drinking tea is healthy. It doesn’t have the aggressive and destructive effect on your lungs that smoke does, nor is it laden with calories – many from sugars – as most edibles are. Instead, a simple infused cannabis tea is a calorie-free, smoke-free, high-free way of reaping the benefits of CBD.
Tea as a Relaxant
Tea – any tea – has long been used as a natural form of relaxant. This is especially true of herbal teas that don’t contain any amount of caffeine. So, even at a baseline, cannabis tea is, by the very grace of being a tisane, a relaxant. Add to that all you know about CBD as discussed above and you’re starting to see how cannabis tea or calming tea can be a particularly effective way of relaxing.
The best cannabis tea companies – and there aren’t many – put effort into mixing teas with other herbs and botanicals to round out the flavour profile and provided added benefits. Cannabis on its own as an infusion is okay, but it is better when complimented by other things. Look for cannabis teas with citrus and ginger, or with vanilla and black tea – accompaniments that will liven up the blend.
Perhaps you’re taking note of the increase in cultural acceptance surrounding cannabis, and are curious to dip your toes in. Perhaps you’re a long-time user who wants to kick the smoke. Either way, you can’t go wrong with cannabis tea.
