Cannabis Wine vs. Joints: To Sip or Smoke?

Sipping on a chilled glass of wine can be a relaxing and luxurious way to unwind. Smoking a joint, on the other hand, is the fastest way to experience relaxation, pain relief, and other benefits from cannabinoids.

But what if you could combine both? Enter cannabis wine, the beverage that melds the social ease of wine with cannabinoids’ therapeutic perks. Let’s dive into the cannabis wine vs. joints conversation to see how they compare and help you pick between sipping and smoking.

What’s Cannabis Wine?

Cannabis wine is typically grape wine infused with the full spectrum of cannabinoids or specific cannabinoids like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD). The wine may be alcoholic or non-alcoholic, red or white, or even sparkling. Sipping on it provides cannabis’ therapeutic or euphoric effects via ingestion.

What Does Cannabis Wine Taste Like?

The taste depends on the type of wine used as the base. For instance, if it’s a sweet wine like Moscato, you can expect fruity, floral notes, while a dry red will have bolder flavors. It’ll also have a noticeable cannabis flavor, but its intensity will depend on the wine’s cannabis content.

Of course, the specific cannabis flavor will depend on the strain used to make the wine. For instance, a strain like Pineapple Express might add tropical, citrusy notes, while something like OG Kush could bring in earthy, woody undertones. The result is a layered tasting experience that blends the wine’s original profile with the unique character of the cannabis strain.

Effects of Non-Alcoholic Cannabis Wine

A non-alcoholic wine won’t get you drunk, regardless of how much you drink. Since a non-alcoholic wine can’t cause intoxicating effects, you’ll only feel the impairing or therapeutic effects of its cannabinoid content.

If it’s a full-spectrum wine, you may experience balanced euphoric effects that will be more pronounced the more you drink. Non-alcoholic wines infused with only CBD may have a calming effect without any intoxication, making them ideal for stress relief or unwinding without the high. In contrast, a wine infused with THC, cannabis’ psychoactive compound, may cause a more euphoric, body-centered high.

Besides the number of glasses you drink, the wine’s THC or CBD levels will also determine its effects. For instance, a glass of wine with 20% THC may cause faster and more intense impairing effects than one with 5% THC.

Effects of Alcoholic Cannabis Wine

An alcoholic cannabis wine offers a double whammy of impairing effects — intoxication from the alcohol and a high from the cannabis. This combination can amplify the effects of both substances, leading to a stronger sense of relaxation, sedation, or euphoria. And the more you drink, the more impaired your motor skills, judgment, and coordination will be.

As with any alcoholic drink, it’s important to consume canna-wine responsibly and be mindful of how your body responds to its alcohol and cannabis content. Like edibles, non-alcoholic cannabis wines may take up to 2 hours to fully kick in.

Alcoholic versions, on the other hand, may start working within 15 to 20 minutes because alcohol speeds up your body’s cannabinoid absorption. Alcohol and cannabinoids also slow each other’s metabolism, making effects stronger and last longer. Also, the effects of cannabis wine can last for 4 to 10 hours, regardless of whether it’s alcoholic or not.

What’s a Joint?

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A joint is cannabis or flower wrapped with rolling paper into a cigarette. You torch one end and put your lips on the other to inhale smoke from the burning cannabis. It’s the classic way to enjoy cannabis and probably is still the most popular marijuana consumption method for millennia.

Effects of Smoking Joints

Smoking a joint delivers fast effects through smoke inhalation. The inhaled smoke goes to your lungs, where cannabinoids like THC are absorbed almost instantly into the bloodstream. Unlike ingesting cannabis, which can take hours to take effect, you can feel the cannabinoids from smoking within 2 to 10 minutes.

What you’ll experience from smoking a joint depends on the strain’s cannabinoid content and how much you smoke. For example, a few puffs of a high-THC strain may cause intense euphoric effects. In contrast, a whole joint of 0.3% THC hemp may leave you relaxed without pronounced psychoactive effects.

Why Choose Cannabis Wine Over Joints?

• Respiratory Safety: If you have or want to avoid respiratory issues, cannabis wine is better than smoking. The smoke from a joint can irritate your throat and lungs, exacerbating existing respiratory issues or increasing the risk of developing one. Besides your respiratory health, smoking may also endanger your oral health.
• Discreet Consumption: Compared to smoking, sipping cannabis wine is less likely to draw unwanted attention. Drinking wine also won’t leave you smelling of marijuana smoke, which most societal circles find off-putting.
• Longer, Smoother Experience: It may take longer to feel the effects of cannabinoids with cannabis wine, but once the effects hit, they tend to last longer than smoking. The prolonged effect makes wine better for a sustained cannabinoid experience without the harshness of the smoke from a joint.
• Classier: Wine is often seen as a social beverage, making cannabis wine more welcome than smoking at most gatherings. Some may even consider cannabis wine to be highbrow and smoking lowbrow.
• Potential Health Benefits: With non-alcoholic cannabis wine, you can enjoy the benefits of CBD or THC without the intoxication, toxicity, or hangover associated with alcohol.
• Preference: If you’re more of a drinker than a smoker, you’ll find cannabis wine more attractive and satisfying than joints.
• Flavoring: Cannabis wine provides a unique way to add flavor and cannabinoids to your dishes. For example, instead of making a regular wine reduction, make a cannabis red wine reduction for your steaks, pasta, and other recipes.

Why Choose Joints Over Cannabis Wine?

• Cheaper: Buying flower and rolling paper costs far less than a bottle of cannabis wine. So, if you want a potent cannabis experience without overspending, joints are a better deal.
• Faster Effect: If using cannabis for anxiety or pain relief, smoking may be the better option because it works quickly. Unlike wine, which can take half an hour to an hour to take effect, you’ll feel cannabis within minutes of smoking or vaping it.
• Convenience: Joints are portable and easy to use, without the need for glasses, bottles, or special storage. This makes them perfect for a quick smoke session.
• Alcoholism: If you’re a recovering alcoholic or at risk for alcohol dependence, joints may be safer than wine.
• Accurate Dosing: With cannabis wine, it’s easy to overdo it and drink more than you should, which can lead to experiencing unwanted effects. Joints, on the other hand, let you control doses with each puff. Also, since you’ll feel the effects within minutes, you’re less likely to smoke more than you intended.

READ: Introducing France’s First Cannabis-Infused Wine from The Heart of Bordeaux

How Does Alcohol Interact with Cannabinoids?

A 2015 study finds that alcohol potentially enhances the effects of cannabinoids. 19 participants of the study had higher THC levels in their blood when alcohol was involved compared to when it wasn’t. Also, with alcohol, THC stayed in their systems longer, with some participants still testing positive for active THC in the blood up to 8.3 hours later.

Based on these findings, cannabis wine with the same cannabinoid content as a joint will feel more potent. This will be due to alcohol amplifying and prolonging the effects of the cannabinoids, and vice versa, due to absorption and metabolic interactions.

Also, don’t forget that cannabis affects everyone differently. As such, your experience combining cannabis and wine may slightly or greatly differ from what you’ve heard about it.

Health Considerations

Even though cannabis wine is less harmful to your respiratory system than smoking, you should still use it with caution or at least responsibly. Why? The combined effects of alcohol and THC are stronger than if you use the substances individually. The enhanced impairing effect can severely impact your decision-making, motor function, cognition, perception, and more.

However, the intensity of the effect from using alcohol and cannabis may vary based on your dosage, tolerance, and the potency of the substances. It’s also important to remember that people can have very different reactions to the same mix of alcohol and weed.

If you want to play it safe, choose a non-alcoholic wine with less than 0.3% THC. Its low THC content means you can experience the therapeutic benefits of cannabis without the impairing effects of alcohol or THC. This is especially important if you have a history of substance abuse or mental health conditions that THC or alcohol might worsen.

That said, you should skip cannabis wine altogether if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, driving, operating heavy machinery, or taking medications that interact with alcohol or cannabinoids.

Legal Considerations

You can share a joint or a bottle of cannabis wine with friends, or enjoy it by yourself (responsibly). However, if you do so in a state where cannabis is illegal, you could face jail time. Alcoholic cannabis wine may also get you into trouble if you drink in public, especially in jurisdictions where drinking outside is illegal.

Lastly, driving while high or drunk is unsafe and illegal. The same goes for operating heavy machinery and caring for children while impaired. So, while you can have cannabis wine or a joint for fun or therapeutic benefits, make sure you do so responsibly and without breaking the law.