Ruth started taking cannabis gummies two years ago, “in a similar way to people having a glass of wine with dinner or a beer after work,” she says.

“I use them if I just want a fun afternoon or evening to relax, by myself or with friends,” she says, and unlike alcohol, “I don’t have a hangover in the morning.”

The 30-year-old, who works in marketing, has never enjoyed alcohol, which she says makes her feel “awful and tired”. She finds clubs and pubs too busy and expensive, and prefers to spend her weekends at home painting, sculpting, crafting, listening to music or watching television – often under the influence of a gummy.

“The worst thing that’s ever happened is I laugh too hard at episodes of Parks and Rec or silly YouTube videos. Sometimes I become very motivated and energised and start deep cleaning my house.”

Ruth is among the rising number of Australians taking cannabis recreationally in gummy form, which is fast becoming a preferred form of consumption to smoking, and for many an alternative to alcohol.

Cannabis gummies look just like the gelatin-based candy and often assume the popular bear-shaped form. Most of the time it contains both cannabidiol (CBD), the nonintoxicating component derived from cannabis known for its medicinal properties, as well as THC, the psychoactive component which produces the high.

John Ryan, the CEO of public health research organisation the Penington Institute, says it’s hard to know exactly what’s happening in an illegal underground market but “there’s certainly lots of anecdotal reports of increased consumption of gummies”.

Cannabis products, containing both CBD and THC, are legal for therapeutic purposes in Australia, with doctors allowed to prescribe them on a case-by-case basis. No gummies are approved by the medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, but compounding pharmacists can create them.

Read the full article from The Guardian