Sublingual absorption refers to the absorption of a compound, molecule or drug by a process of holding it under your tongue to bypass first pass metabolism and your digestive tract (how edibles are ingested). Instead, the compounds are absorbed through your mucous membranes and carried into the bloodstream.
Things to remember
- Sublingual absorption can have a semi-quick onset time of around 20 minutes if done correctly, though absorption rate and effectiveness can vary person to person.
- In practice and for best results, we recommend not drinking anything 30 minutes before and eating a healthy, fatty snack (like an avocado) 30 minutes to 45 minutes before using a sublingual product.
How to properly consume sublinguals
If possible, hold the sublingual in your mouth, under your tongue for 15 minutes and don’t drink anything for 30 minutes after. If done correctly, most of the cannabinoids will be absorbed via sublingual absorption. If any is swallowed, it will go through first pass metabolism and act in a similar fashion to ingesting an edible.
Cannabis products at D33 that can be absorbed sublingually
- Pre-made Oromucosal Sprays by Revolution Cannabis which are roughly 2 mg of cannabinoids per spray, a relatively low dose.
- RSO (A.K.A. Rick Simpson Oil) which is highly concentrated and can contain as much as 800 mg of THC per 1 ml syringe. It can be ingested as an edible or absorbed sublingually by diluting the product with a fixed oil to make a tincture.
We typically recommend for RSO to be compounded into a tincture by combining it with a fixed oil (MCT oil, coconut oil, avocado oil). This will:
- Increase the volume of liquid so that dosing is easy and accurate.
- Reduce the potency of the resulting liquid so that a massive amount of THC isn’t consumed at once. This helps with creating a RSO schedule for daily and precise consumption.
- Aid in absorption due to the fat content in the oil
Should you try sublingual products?
Start with a pre-made tincture and see if the method of sublingual absorption is effective. It may be worth considering if you or someone you know is having troubles finding more immediate relief and inhalation is not an option.
To compound your own RSO, checkout our Guide to Compounding RSO:
Read our Guide
