A cannabis edible, also known as a cannabis-infused food or simply an edible, is a food item (either homemade or produced commercially) that contains decarboxylated cannabinoids (cannabinoid acids converted to their orally bioactive form) from cannabis extract as an active ingredient. Although edible may refer to either a food or a drink, a cannabis-infused drink may be referred to more specifically as a liquid edible or drinkable. Edibles are one of several methods used to consume cannabis. Unlike smoking, in which cannabinoids are inhaled into the lungs and pass rapidly into the bloodstream, peaking in about ten minutes and wearing off in a couple of hours, cannabis edibles may take hours to digest, and their effects may peak two to three hours after consumption and persist for around six hours. The food or drink used may affect both the timing and potency of the dose ingested.
Most edibles contain a significant amount of THC, which can induce a wide range of effects, including: heightened sensory perception, relaxation, sleepiness, dizziness, dry mouth, euphoria, depersonalization and/or derealization, hallucinations, paranoia, and decreased or increased anxiety. THC-dominant edibles are consumed for recreational and medical purposes. Some edibles contain a negligible amount of THC and are instead dominant in other cannabinoids, most commonly cannabidiol (CBD). The main characteristic of cannabis edibles is that they take longer to affect users compared to smoked cannabis.