Are you struggling to get even half as high as you did when you first started smoking? Or does your favorite flower strain fail to hit nearly as heavy as it used to?
If you can relate to either of the above, you more than likely have a high cannabis tolerance.
In this blog, we’re discussing everything you need to know about cannabis tolerance. From what it is and how to determine your own cannabis tolerance to the benefits and disadvantages and how to know if you should take a tolerance break. Let’s get started!
What is Cannabis Tolerance?
By definition, tolerance is ‘the capacity to endure continued subjection to something, especially a drug, transplant, antigen, or environmental conditions, without adverse reaction.’
And yes, that includes cannabis. As with any substance, continued cannabis use is bound to develop a tolerance overtime. In other words, your body becomes so used to smoking weed, doing dabs, or snacking on your favorite edibles that you don’t experience as dramatic of an effect.
While building a tolerance can be a good thing and offer many benefits to the consumer, too high of a tolerance can be costly, inefficient, and just plain annoying. But before we get into the benefits and disadvantages of building a cannabis tolerance, let’s first go over how to better understand your own tolerance.
How to Determine Your Cannabis Tolerance
Understanding your personal tolerance to better guide your ideal dosage is one of the most important factors in guaranteeing a pleasant experience. So many novice smokers approach cannabis without fully understanding its effects. Afterwards, those same people swear up and down that ‘weed isn’t for them’ due to a single bad experience that instilled a general distaste for the plant and fear in ever attempting another smoke session.
To avoid bad experiences and an even worse reputation for cannabis as a whole, it’s up to brands in the cannabis space to use our platforms for educational purposes. The last thing we want is for a new consumer excited about their first time smoking weed to have a bad experience because they simply consumed far too much. With that being said, we encourage new or relatively new consumers to start slowly, be patient, and gradually increase dosage if need be.
When smoking flower, for example, the effects of cannabis are felt sooner and last for a shorter amount of time. Instead of immediately jumping in with a heavy inhale, start slow and allow the high to take effect before consuming more.
As for edibles, the same rules apply. Start slow, and increase tolerance if necessary. Because edibles require cannabis to process through the liver, the effects take some time to hit and last much longer. That said, it’s incredibly important to start with a lower dose and wait an hour or so before consuming more. When it comes to tinctures, start low and go slow, but the high hits much quicker if left to absorb under the tongue for 15-20 seconds before swallowing. If swallowed immediately, your body will treat the tincture dose similar to an edible, and will take longer to process within the body.
For a better understanding of edibles dosage, be sure to check out our Edibles for Newcomers blog and our complete guide to edibles.
Cannabis Tolerance: The Benefits & Disadvantages
For some, cannabis tolerance is a good thing; it means they can handle the effects of marijuana better than when they were new to consuming cannabis. For others, cannabis tolerance is the bane of their existence and frequent tolerance breaks define their relationship with cannabis. Either way, there are plenty of both benefits and disadvantages to building a tolerance.
Benefits
- An increase in your ability to function under the influence of cannabis
- Less money spent on cannabis products
- Fewer unanticipated side effects such as anxiety or paranoia
- Relief without intoxication
Disadvantages
- The need to invest in top shelf or higher quality cannabis products to experience a high
- The inability to experience the psychoactive effects of cannabis
- More money spent on cannabis products
- An increase in the likelihood of consuming too much at one time
What is a Tolerance Break?
If cannabis is your lifestyle and you fully submit to stoner culture, then chances are that you’ve found yourself considering a tolerance break, otherwise known as a T-break, at one point or another. Many consumers practice the stoner’s version of a ‘dry January’ by taking the month off from smoking or consuming edibles to reset their tolerance and come back higher than ever.
According to an online pamphlet from Goucher College, a T-break should last at least 21 days in order to fully cleanse the body of THC. However, our body breaks down THC fairly quickly, so even a few days off for the avid stoner can make a world of difference in regard to experiencing that sought-after euphoria a good high can produce.
If quitting cold turkey doesn’t sound ideal for you, consider gradually reducing your cannabis intake to better control your high. For example, microdosing or sticking to a lesser dose can help to reset your cannabis tolerance overtime.
So there you have it… Whether you proudly uphold a high cannabis tolerance or you consume the absolute smallest dose possible, understanding your personal tolerance can make or break your experience. And if a T-break isn’t in your future anytime soon, save a trip to your local dispensary and instead let us bring the weed to you. Simply head to hyperwolf.com and place an order for a driver to deliver premium cannabis to your doorstep in 60 minutes or less. See you soon!
