Skip to main content
Porch-puffing pre-rolls through the dog days of summer is an exercise in meteorological fortitude that many pale AF Portlanders simply can’t be bothered with.
Even the most seasoned potheads can agree: There’s a distinct degree of difficulty in knocking back a flaming-hot doink when the mercury has been steadily rising for days. The millennial degradation of our once-mild, juicy and wet climate means that many of our outdoor smoker pals are now doomed to suffer their blunts, moon rocks, and dogwalkers in an increasingly hostile atmosphere. And since edible highs differ so significantly in duration and intensity from combustible ones, we can’t just make an easy summertime swap—gummies and chocolates don’t exactly replace pinners and spliffs.
But cannabis isn’t limited to edibles and smokables. In fact, a THC high delivered sublingually (under the tongue) can produce effects remarkably similar to smoking in both potency and persistence—without the sluggish onset of an edible or the misery of inhaling in 90-degree heat.
For the uninitiated: Traditional edibles travel through the liver, where THC is metabolized and converted into the far more psychotropic 11-hydroxy-THC. Sublingual administration bypasses this process by diffusing THC through the semipermeable tissue under the tongue, allowing it to enter the bloodstream directly. Sublingually applied THC passes through the blood–brain barrier without encountering the enzymes that would otherwise convert it into 11-hydroxy-THC. This means the onset and quality of the high are more comparable to smoking—and dosage is easier to judge and adjust, avoiding the unpredictability of edibles.
All of which is to say: If your summer smoke is giving you upper-lip sweats, consider a seasonal switch to sublinguals—tinctures and beverages. Not only will your bronchi thank you, but there’s plenty of fun to be had by spiking classic summertime refreshers with a responsible dose of vibes. Here are a few recipes to get you started:
Nice Dreams Ice Cream Float
Update this intergenerational indulgence with the sarsaparilla flavor of Magic Number Soda (12 ounces, 25 mg, $5 at Floyd’s Fine Cannabis, multiple locations) poured over a scoop of Tillamook vanilla ice cream. Slurp through a straw and the experience can be akin to spending 15 minutes with a full-gram flavored-wrap pre-roll.
For users more focused on medicating than recreating, skip the THC soda and add two pumps of East Fork Cultivars CBD Drops (eastforkhemp.com) to 12 ounces of regular pop before adding your ice cream. East Fork’s Drops are organic, relatively (but not completely) flavorless, water-soluble, and easy to incorporate into any beverage.
Cannabrazilian Lemonade
Your summer feeds will be full of foodfluencers piling limes into a blender with a sloppy scoop of sweetened condensed milk and some water, then blending the bejeezus out of it and sampling it with exaggerated wow-delicious-slurp faces. Heed this lazy stoner’s warning: ignore those fools.
Instead, grab a small bottle of Hapy Kitchen’s Stone’d Twisted Citrus Fruit Syrup (250 mg, $20 at Weedland, 4027 N Interstate Ave., instagram.com/weedland_pdx), 4–5 limes (cleaned and quartered, with ends trimmed), and 14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk. Pulse the limes in a blender with 3 cups of water for 20 seconds. Strain the mash into a pitcher, then pour it back into the blender with one serving of Twisted Citrus, a handful of ice, and half the can of condensed milk. Blend and taste. Stir in more condensed milk until you reach your preferred sweetness and texture. Serve with a straw and slurp unabashedly—no matter how intense your slurp face gets.
Pakalolo Blue Hawaiian
For the cannathusiast who loves a retro cocktail/mocktail moment, this weedy twist on a classic might just be your drink of the summer. Prepare for blue tongues.
You’ll need one can of Keef Xtreme Blue Razz Soda (12 ounces, 100 mg, $15 at Kind Heart Collective, 8217 N Denver Ave., kindheartcollective.com), pineapple juice, club soda, and sweet and sour mix. Consider your dosage before mixing, then combine 1 part pineapple juice with 1 part Blue Razz, add a splash of sweet and sour mix, and finish with club soda to taste. Garnish with cocktail umbrellas, pineapple wedges, and maraschino cherries if you’re feeling festive (and you should be).