Flying High: A Guide to Using Edibles on a Long Plane Ride

“Wanna upgrade to first class for $5?” I joke to a long-time customer who is flying east in the morning. I’m holding up a perfectly wrapped gingersnap cookie and waving it around with a smile.

If you haven’t used edibles to ease your jet lag maybe you should consider it. Imagine paying for first class and sleeping through all the free champagne? You might soon find it’s a wasted expensive ticket if you can sleep just as comfortably in coach. Look out business class, edibles have come to town.

I think I fly more than the average person. I take at least four to eight flights a year. Whenever I embark upon an arduously long journey (groaning sounds from our ancestors) I like to pack along edibles for the flight there and back.

Often, I can fall asleep shortly after takeoff for three or four hours and wake up feeling ready to watch two or three movies before landing. Jet lag be gone!

If you play your edibles right, you could be the happiest person on that plane! So, I have assembled a modest guide to help you make the right choices for your flight.

Dosing can be tricky. Everyone is different. Personally, I consume around 50 mg per four hours of flight time, but what is the right dose for you?

Two ways you could approach this:

1. Test sample your edibles a few nights before take-off.
2. Make small edibles with 10 mg doses each and work your way up.

You might consider waiting until your flight is safely at cruising altitude to eat your edible. I once got stuck on the tarmac for an extra two hours allowing my mind to run-a-muck over potential disasters while speculating what could possibly be wrong with the plane.

Once the flight is at cruising altitude, all that worry is behind you and you are free to get busy relaxing.

(Read also: Baking With Cannabis? Here Are 7 Important Considerations for Home Bakers)

Choose traveling edibles wisely. Pick recipes that perfectly mask the smell and/or color of our dear herb. Something with spices and darker tones to it.

For me its either gingersnap cookies due to their heavy spice content or “bliss balls,” which are a combination of nuts and dried fruits rolled into balls. You can add almost anything… cocoa, coconut, cinnamon, chia, dates, dried apricots, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, etc. They are a “highly” nutritious snack full of good fats and proteins, perfect for a long journey and perfect for masking cannabis smells and colors.

Stoner alert… your passport expires before it expires. One time I got up to the counter and presented my passport only to be informed that my passport would be denied entry. To enter Europe your passport needs to have more than three months of validity to it. Mine had 2.9. The airline employee assured me this was normal and some countries require a full year. So, know your passport expires before it expires.

Spoiler alert… Last time I went to Europe and back they served frozen ice cream sandwiches mid-flight by using dry ice. I was happily blissed out, but I woke up for ice cream sandwiches. What a nice way to liven up your mouth and put a smile on your face.

Serious alert… I should state the obvious, that smuggling cannabis is a criminal offence and in some countries it’s punishable by death. Please make wise choices. Eating your edibles before landing in other countries seems fair and not entirely unlawful. Worry less if you are traveling within your own country. Be wise, stay calm, and be polite.

p.s. Edibles work great in cars, trains and buses too, assuming you aren’t the driver.
p.p.s. Welcome to Canada!

Recipe: Whiskey Bliss Balls

Makes approximately 24 balls

Cannabis Preparation

• Pre-heat your oven to 220°F.
• Toast dried cannabis leaves on cookie sheet in oven for around 20-30 minutes. Don't burn.
• This is a no-bake recipe, so dry-cook the cannabis leaves in the oven to convert them before grinding it into a fine flour and sifting.
• I also like to add the whiskey (rum would be yum too) to this recipe to help mask the smell and taste but also to help convert the cannabis over time.
• Putting your lightly toasted cannabis in the whiskey and letting it marinate for five to six days works too, if you have time. Strain off before use.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted dates or dried apricots
• 1 1/2 cups of soaked macadamia or cashew nuts
• 1/2 cup chia
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/3 cup coconut
• 2 ounces of whiskey
• 5 grams of dry cooked cannabis shake flour (sifted)
• 1/2 tsp rock salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon if desired

Instructions

1. Put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth.
2. Let stand for one hour. This allows things to absorb and fuse together.
3. I rolled my balls in toasted cocoa nibs and coffee I ground up, as well as shredded coconut. Get creative. You can even use ground nuts if you have some left over.
4. Make these up a few days before your flight. Time makes them taste better. Plus, you can test them out for your journey.