More people than ever can access safe, high-quality cannabis, and you probably won’t be surprised to know that a lot of newbies try to buy every strain they can get their hands on. But that is a rookie mistake since they will end up getting too high at some point. Luckily, if you have overindulged and are too high, you can still come down from the high quickly. Keep reading to find out nine ways that will help you come down from your high and how to avoid getting too high the next time you use cannabis.
How Do You Get Too High?
Whether you have smoked a strain that is high in THC for the first time or you are eating edibles that are highly potent, it is all too easy to get so high that you can’t function normally. But don’t despair, because it can happen to everyone at some point. It is hard to know when to cut yourself off if you are eating something particularly tasty or enjoying your smoke a lot. As a beginner, you will be the most likely to get too high, but you do not have to worry since you will not die from it.
Unfortunately, it is not always as easy as you think to come down from being high. Luckily, there are some things you can do that will help you feel better soon. As with many intoxicating substances, the best step is to spend time waiting since your body will need to metabolize the THC, just like it would if you had alcohol to drink.
Everyone’s body is different, and the method of delivery will also play an important role. For instance, with edibles, the THC will take a much longer to take effect, and they will also take longer to fade away as they move through your system. In general, edibles work differently for everyone, so if you do not know yet what your ideal dose is, you should be extremely careful. The good news is that there are several ways you can relax if you have too much THC in your system.
- Breathe
While this might seem stupidly simple, it is hard to remember it if you are starting to feel anxious or cough excessively. Taking a deep breath from your belly is important to ensure that your blood is properly oxygenated. But when you are starting to feel like everything is going fuzzy, deep breaths can also help you feel a bit better.
You can even get phone apps that will prompt you to do this regularly during the day or if you need to take some time to check in with yourself. Even taking a minute to focus on your breathing can undo a lot of the anxiety you might be feeling after getting a bit too stoned.
While you might feel anxious, now is not the time for you to panic. Following the right steps will ensure that you are fine. Remember that there is no record of anyone ever having a fatal overdose when they were too high. You might feel terrible, but you will be OK.
Of course, it is better for you to avoid having too much cannabis if you can help it. For instance, if you have heart problems, it is likely not best for your heart to beat too fast, which might happen when you are feeling anxious.
- Use Lemon Pepper
There are currently no official guidelines on the best way to dose cannabis or even to change your high. But what the researchers know now is about the entourage effect. That refers to the way that the terpenes and the cannabinoids work to intoxicate you differently. For instance, both pepper and lemon share several chemicals with the marijuana plant.
Limonene and piperine can help to make your cannabis experience less anxious and more active. They can also help you if things did not go according to plan. You can try squeezing a fresh lemon or getting a bottle of lemon juice and drinking some in a glass of water. You can also lift up some pepper under your nose. If you want a quick fix, try smelling some essential oils. The terpenes in them might help reduce your paranoid or anxious feelings and make you feel more centered.
- Stay Hydrated
Water can go a long way towards helping you feel better. Drinking a glass of water will not fix all of your problems, but it can still help to take the edge off of your high. If you are dehydrated, you might feel lightheaded even if you did not have any cannabis. And when you add cannabis to the mix, the result is less than ideal. Ideally, you will be hydrated before you ever start to use your cannabis. Plus, some marijuana users find that the substance gives them a dry mouth, so having enough water to drink before can reduce the chances of this issue happening. - Try Caffeine
A coffee in the middle of the afternoon will not make your high go away, but it might help you some focus. If you are feeling foggy or sleepy, then caffeine can help you feel better. This is because the caffeine in coffee or tea makes your brain work a little harder. Having a cup of tea or coffee might give you some time to pull yourself together, and if you haven’t had anything energizing that afternoon, caffeine can make all the difference for you. Remember that you want to have coffee with no cannabis in it.
- Take a Nap or Shower
Depending on the situation, try a bit of self-care. For instance, you can try taking a cold shower to wake yourself up and shock yourself out of the dazed feeling. On the other hand, you may want to try a warm shower, which can relax your body and mind to help you stay grounded.
Or take a nap and sleep it off. This is the perfect activity after a warm shower. If you haven’t eaten in a while, the cannabis might make you feel hungry, so look for a snack without any marijuana in it. Having a high-fat snack might help your body process the THC faster. For example, you could fry up some eggs with cheese on them. Or you might have a slice of toast with avocado on it. Black olives are another source of healthy fats.
- Try a Strain That Is High in CBD
Using more weed might be a good option if you need to back down from your high, as long as it has a lot of CBD in it. You might be surprised to learn that CBD might help mitigate the intensely psychoactive effects from the THC. This is part of the reason that medical cannabis patients like to use CBD. When you need to come down quickly, CBD is a good option.
You can try taking something that has only CBD in it, as well. For example, look for a strong CBD tincture, which you can put under your tongue so it can be absorbed quickly. Or you might look for a CBD extract or a topical patch. If you really want to stay away from the extra THC, you may want to find some CBD isolate, which is an extremely potent form of the cannabinoid.
- Get Moving
Get yourself out of the house and see something different to clear your head. Getting some fresh air and doing some physical activity will help you come down from being too high. Of course, it will not produce results instantly, and it will only reduce your high, but this is a great starting point. Just avoid driving anywhere since you should not operate a car until you are completely sober.
- Take Your Mind Off of It
In some cases, you will just need to do something else to distract yourself from the feeling of being so high. For example, you might try watching a TV show or movie. Or you could listen to your favorite playlist or read a book. You can also play a game, do a puzzle, or whatever other activity that you think will help to keep your brain engaged and help you stay busy.
Of course, this method is not guaranteed when you want to come down from your high. For some people, these activities might even make them go deeper into the high. But that depends on your individual body chemistry, so you should try to do a bit of experimentation to determine which activities that will help you come down and which ones might make you get even higher.
- Know Your Personal Limits
It is essential to do proper planning when it comes to using cannabis. You have many choices as to what dose and form of cannabis you take. Some strains are high in THC, while others are high in CBD. With edibles, you could get anywhere from 5 to 200 milligrams of THC per dose. Plus, using concentrates will also get you higher.
But you should know your limits and always keep an eye on what you are taking. Different strains have different effects, even if they seem to have similar levels of CBD and THC. That is because there are other terpenes and cannabinoids that will impact you. This is why it is important for you to only use a strain when you know the levels of cannabinoids in it.
For example, if you usually use strains that have around 15 to 18 percent THC and some CBD, taking a strain with 29 percent THC will be a huge shock to your system, especially if it does not have a lot of CBD in it. The THC will be much higher than what you are used to, and not having CBD means that the effects of the THC, such as paranoia and anxiety, will not be mitigated.
About Edibles
If you want to take cannabis in your edibles, they can take as long as four hours minutes to reach their peak. Plus, when you take THC orally, your liver will metabolize it and convert it to 11-OH-THC, which is much more potent and psychoactive than what you are used to. It might be as much as five times stronger.
The bioavailability of cannabis that you consume orally is less than when you inhale it, so it might not necessarily be five times stronger. But you can still expect the effects to last much longer. When you take edibles, you should always start with the lowest dose you can and then gradually work your way up.
If you are not experienced with taking edibles, having around 5 to 15 milligrams will be plenty to give you a nice buzz. Remember that the people who take 75 milligrams or 100 milligrams have built up a tolerance to the substance.
Closing Thoughts
Accidentally getting too high from marijuana can be challenging even if it wasn’t really an accident. But with the above tips, you can take a break and restore a sense of normalcy to your life. Try using several of these tips to help your high end sooner.
The effectiveness of any of these tips will depend on the kind of high that you have right now. For instance, if you are locked on the couch with a strong body high, you will want to try something to stimulate yourself, such as going for a walk. On the other hand, if you have a head high that is changing your mental clarity, you might want a mentally stimulating activity, like reading a book.
Of course, the opposite can also be true. You might feel like you have too much mental activity. You may be fixating and becoming anxious and paranoid. Then, you need to find an activity that will help you feel calmer and mellower.