Sublingual Cannabis: Does It Really Deliver the Effects You Expect?

Do cannabis sublingual films truly function?

As the cannabis industry evolves, usage techniques are broadening beyond pipes, blunts, and edibles. Now you can place a small strip of cannabis film beneath your tongue.

Sublingual films have rapidly become a growing segment of the market due to their swift-acting efficiency and inconspicuousness. But how precisely do these minute film strips function?

Sublingual cannabis films operate by engaging with the body’s oral mucosa, the absorbent layers beneath your tongue.

Those sublingual layers are resilient. They’re designed to endure shearing and stretching from mastication and to regenerate cells rapidly. They serve several purposes, primarily acting as a barrier to safeguard the internal tissues and organs of the mouth from microorganisms introduced orally.

The layers also play a role in providing sensation in the oral cavity (so you’re aware of what’s happening in there after you take a bite), along with secreting saliva to maintain moisture in the mouth and assist in breaking down any ingested food.

Sublingual layers have also been traditionally used as a means to administer certain medications to humans, owing to the mucosa’s remarkable level of permeability. For example, Suboxone, a prescription medication intended to assist individuals with opioid addiction, is most commonly delivered through a thin film that dissolves under the tongue. If you’re exploring alternatives like cannabis products, weed delivery Toronto offers a convenient way to access premium options tailored to your needs.

Advantages of sublingual absorption

A significant reason why sublingual absorption has gained popularity among cannabis consumers—and particularly among medical patients—is that the effects are as swift-acting and reliable as smoking or vaping, while enabling the user to avoid inhalation entirely. Moreover, they provide a much quicker onset and a more consistent effect than other smokeless alternatives like edibles.

Sublingual absorption is effective because it bypasses the gastrointestinal tract, where stomach acids and enzymes may convert delta-9 THC into the more psychoactive form of11-hydroxy THC.

11-hydroxy THC induces those stronger highs that often deter first-time cannabis users.

“More frequently than not, [first-time users] will sample a cookie or a gummy and they’ll undergo a very intense experience that dissuades them from cannabis. And then we lose that participant in our market,” said Josh Kirby, CEO of California-based sublingual film brand Kin Slips. “Sublingual films sidestep that by going straight into your bloodstream through that membrane underneath your tongue. It doesn’t pass through your digestive tract and it doesn’t interact with those enzymes and digestive fluids that can convert it to that hydroxyl-11. So you get a pure delta-9 encounter, which feels just like smoking or vaping. This is why it’s so much more regulated and clear.”

How to correctly dose

The most crucial detail to remember when utilizing a sublingual cannabis film is to place it beneath your tongue. Placing the film on top of your tongue prevents it from adhering to the oral mucosa, which it’s specifically designed to do to yield optimal effects.

Many brands of sublingual films face challenges with this misconception, largely because individuals mistakenly associate sublingual cannabis films with breath fresheners like Listerine Breath Strips. And, to be fair, some of the films available do add a minty flavor—the best for masking the harsh cannabinoids and terpenes. However, cannabis films operate differently than a dissolvable breath strip, and if you position them on top of your tongue, you’ll likely be disappointed.

When you place the film beneath your tongue, though, the product operates effectively. The key is to keep your mouth closed for about three to five minutes as the film dissolves.

Kirby noted that Kin Slips’ average dissolve time is around one minute, but other films may require more time, or even less. When you begin discussing your experience with a friend, or chewing to better assess the film’s flavor, you move it off the sublingual layer it’s intended to adhere to and reduce the film’s effects.

No scent, out of view

Another advantage of sublingual films for cannabis consumers is their inconspicuousness. Individual films are about the size of a nickel and as slim as a sheet of paper. This is one of the only forms of cannabis that you can conveniently carry in your pocket or bag. For medical patients and adult consumers, this can be a fantastic way to deliver the cannabis into your system without drawing attention to yourself—something that older users, in particular, are wary of.

Furthermore, brands like CBDfx recently introduced their first CBD-only sublingual film. They viewed a hemp-based film as a practical mainstream item. “We have a pretty good reach when it comes to convenience stores, so many of our offerings are grab-and-go items in the sub-$10 category,” said Christian Graverson, Brand Manager for CBDfx. “We also wanted to ensure that the dosing was precise and that absorption was as high as possible. For those requirements, we found that the sublingual film was superior to any other options.”

Creating a sublingual film

Typically, film strips are produced by taking a slurry—a smoothie-like mixture that incorporates everything you want in your film—and pouring it onto a substrate or surface. Then, a machine spreads it thin, sends it through an oven, cuts it into strips, and then packages it for sale. It sounds quite straightforward, but there are various challenges when producing a cannabis film.

Initially, manufacturing thin film cannabis strips can be challenging because, unlike with a patient taking Saboxone, there’s an expectation that a cannabis or CBD film will taste pleasant while delivering its effect. Moreover, cannabis strips utilize concentrated cannabis oil, typically as a distillate or isolate, which tastes particularly bitter on the tongue and can be hard to mask.

“An average sublingual film weighs about150 mg—and you’re attempting to incorporate10mg of THC or CBD into it,” explains Kirby. “That’s a significant proportion of the total matrix, and on top of that, you must utilize all components to make the film properly accept [the cannabis] so you end up with a very limited capacity to add flavors or masking agents or whatever else you wish to do to mitigate that [unwanted] flavor.”

Not easy to sweeten it up

When artificial flavors are added to the film, new challenges arise. Many sublingual films use artificial sweeteners and colors that can introduce allergens and chemicals that are harmful to patients. Additionally, many films incorporate chemicals in the formulation to retain cannabis, CBD, or whatever they’re trying to deliver on the film they’ve created. All of these chemicals can lead to a sort of “diet soda” aftertaste, Kirby notes.

“Our major challenge was determining how to find an emulsifying stabilization agent—a sophisticated way of asking how to keep everything in place—without resorting to chemicals,” said Kirby.

Where to locate sublingual films

Sublingual films can be discovered in various retail locations. Kin Slips (which contain THC and can’t be sold across state lines) are offered in California cannabis shops, while CBDfx collaborates with convenience stores to retail their CBD-only films by the register in thousands of retail spots.

Wherever you find these sublingual films, it’s advisable to investigate the source of the cannabis or hemp, the production process, and whether third-party testing has been performed before purchasing. Most brands should make this type of inquiry straightforward for you—look for “certificates of analysis” on their website, or like with CBDfx, there is a code on the back you can scan to access the full breakdown of what’s in their product.

Once you acquire the films, it’s best to store them at room temperature to prevent them from melting or degrading in their packaging. Other than that, they’re an easy means to achieve your medical or adult-use dose of cannabis or CBD in a discreet and rapidly effective manner.