The pick
Tincture. A 1 oz (30 mL) bottle with 1000 mg THC costs less per milligram than syrup, holds potency for 1 to 2 years in a dark cabinet, and ships with a marked dropper. Those three facts cover price, storage, and dose control.
Buy syrup if the plan is to pour the dose into a drink. Syrup dissolves in soda, coffee, or tea with one stir. Tincture floats on cold liquid and tastes like alcohol or glycerin.
Onset and duration
Hold tincture under the tongue for 60 to 90 seconds. THC crosses the membrane there and reaches blood in 15 to 45 minutes. Swallow it and the liver converts THC to 11-hydroxy-THC, a stronger metabolite. Onset then runs 30 to 120 minutes.
Syrup goes down the throat. Expect 45 to 120 minutes to onset and 4 to 8 hours of effect. A drink with 10 mg THC can land in 30 minutes on an empty stomach.
Dose control
- Tincture: dropper marks in 0.25 mL or 0.5 mL steps. At 33 mg per mL, 0.15 mL is 5 mg. Measure over a spoon, not your tongue.
- Syrup: dosing cup or cap. Most labels list 5 mL or 10 mL per serving. A 10 mL pour from a 5 mg per mL bottle is 50 mg. Read the label.
Cost, storage, shelf life
- Tincture: 1000 mg runs $30 to $60 in US states with legal retail. Alcohol base holds 1 to 2 years. No refrigeration.
- Syrup: 100 mg to 1000 mg per bottle, $15 to $50. Sugar and water feed microbes. Refrigerate after opening. Use within 6 to 12 months.
Portability
A 30 mL tincture bottle fits in a pocket and doses 200 times at 5 mg. A 2 oz syrup bottle is larger, sticky at the neck, and needs a cup.
Options
- Alcohol tincture. Fastest sublingual onset. Burns.
- Glycerin tincture. Sweeter, thicker, slower to absorb.
- MCT oil tincture. No alcohol taste. Hold under the tongue or add to food.
- Simple syrup. Sugar, water, cannabis. Neutral flavor, mixes in anything.
- Flavored syrup. Fruit or cola base. Built for soda and cocktails.
- High-dose syrup. 1000 mg per bottle. For splitting across many drinks, not single servings.
Bottom line
Tincture for daily dosing, storage, and cost per mg. Syrup for drinks and group pours. Two bottles cover both jobs.