Tinctures

Tinctures are concentrated cannabis extracts in a carrier — usually MCT oil, occasionally alcohol or glycerin — packaged with a calibrated dropper. They were the dominant cannabis medicine of the pre-prohibition era and are now back as the format of choice for wellness use and ratio-based dosing (1:1 CBD:THC, 4:1, 20:1).

Held under the tongue for 60–90 seconds, tinctures absorb through the mucous membranes and onset in 15–45 minutes — faster than edibles, slower than inhalation. Swallowed straight or stirred into food, they behave more like an edible, with the slower, longer-acting metabolic arc.

Tinctures are the easiest format to dose precisely. A dropper labeled 1 ml / 20 mg means each 0.25 ml dose is 5 mg. CBD-forward tinctures are the format most often used by people who don't want to feel high — for sleep, anxious patterns, or low-grade physical pain.