“Prevention is better than cure” – we’ve all heard it, right? But when it comes to preventing ourselves from taking too much weed, we might fail occasionally. And those occasions, rare as they may be, can still be pretty stressful for us. If taken too much, cannabis products containing THC can cause you paranoia, anxiety, hallucinations, nausea/ vomiting, and increase your heart rate. So, whether you’ve already suffered the ill effects of weed and wish to avoid it in the future or are here to know how to sober up from being high, in advance, we’ve got you covered.
People often ask, “how to sober up fast from weed?” And the answer is, there aren’t any quick remedies to make your high go away instantly. Only time can truly sober you up. You will feel like yourself only when the THC metabolites leave your body. Normally, the high resulting from smoking weed lasts for about 2 hours. But edibles can be more obnoxious as they’re easier to overdose on and last longer in our system. And even after they’re digested, you may feel foggy and disoriented for some hours. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it, you can certainly try and minimize the symptoms of the high. There are many ways, some scientifically proven while others backed by personal anecdotes, that you can try to get sober from weed high. These remedies will also provide answers to the question, “how to sober up from edibles?” Let us look at them one by one.
Black pepper is here to rescue you!
If you have previously looked for weed-high solutions, you must have come across this one. And though it may sound a little doubtful to most people at first, considering that black pepper is a spice, it actually is known to work. But what is it in black peppers that helps us up from weed? It’s the terpenes, especially beta-caryophyllene and pinene that do the job. [1] They help us counteract the negative effects of THC and thus provide you with some relief.
How you wish to take the peppers depends on you, you may crush a couple of peppers and chew on the powder or if you do not like the taste much, you can simply sniff the powder. Now you know that black peppers do not just have a culinary use but they can also rescue you from weed-highs!
When life gives you lemons, eat the rind!
No, seriously! Lemon (and other citrus fruits like orange) rinds contain another miraculous terpene called limonene which can work wonders to fight the toxic effects of THC. [1] You may hear people advise you on having lemonade or taking some lemon/orange juice but the most beneficial part for our purpose is their rinds. Granted, the rind is not tasty but chewing on it will do you good. If you particularly dislike the taste, just take the zest, even that should work.
Ibuprofen can help you relieve the symptoms of weed high
You’ve surely used (or at least, heard of) Ibuprofen before. It’s a common anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving drug. But some research studies have shown its potential effect on THC that can help you balance the latter’s ill-effects. [2] So, if you’re experiencing the mind-bending effects of THC and want to reduce it, take a dose of Ibuprofen, it will restore some of your cognitive abilities.
Tackle one cannabinoid (THC) with another- CBD
This may sound a bit ironic to some of us but it’s a fact that cannabidiol (CBD) helps counterbalance the effects of THC. Not all cannabinoids are psychotropic, CBD is a non-psychotropic cannabis compound and it has several beneficial effects including anti-anxiety, pain-relieving, nausea-reducing, and anti-inflammatory properties. [3] It also tends to react with the endocannabinoid system of our body (like THC does) but interestingly, it has almost opposite effects on our body than THC does. Where THC increases heart rate and causes anxiety, CBD tends to reduce them and leave you calmer. So, if smoking yourself high is the problem, smoking yourself sober by smoking CBD is your solution!
Other than the remedies we talked about above, there are a few other tips that can help you deal with the unpleasantness of weed-high by engaging your mind.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
Is there any health problem where water can’t help? Probably not. Sipping water at regular intervals and swallowing it down slowly can not only help you directly tackle the problem of dry mouth but will also signal your brain that things are normal which can help relieve anxiety. You should stay away from other drinks like coffee and alcohol as they can exaggerate the negative effects of weed. Stick to plain water.
Munch on your favorite snack
Is it the fastest way to sober up? No. But it will successfully engage your mind and leave you less prone to anxious thoughts for the moment. It’s a psychological fact that a mundane activity like chewing or eating can lead the brain into believing that things are fine. When your brain and body feel grounded and safe, you will experience less stress.
Sleep is the best medicine
If you are feeling unwell because of consuming excessive THC and wondering how to get rid of being high, probably sleep will do the trick. It is best to put the lights out and sleep if you can. Sleep tends to be a go-to remedy for a lot of problems- excessive stress, fatigue, mental exhaustion, all can be solved to some extent by sleeping. It will also give your body time to clean and repair itself better. Try and get some sleep by focusing on your breath but if you are unable to sleep, don’t worry. There are other tips on this list that might help.
Sweat it out
Exercising has an uplifting effect on our body and mind as it leads to the release of endorphins. Hence, a good way to negate anxious feelings is by getting some light exercise done. Mind you, do not do any intense activity as you are not sober. Just some walking or light yoga will suit you better. But refrain from exercising if you are not feeling well because what you need then, is rest.
Focus on your breathing
To count your breaths or just feel the air moving through your nose, windpipe, and lungs is a good way to calm your nerves. Take deeper breaths, hold in for some time and then exhale slowly. This will help you relax and thus, reduce anxiety.
Have a cold shower or bath
Many experienced cannabis users swear by this tip. They suggest taking a cold shower/ bath or splashing cold water on your face while reeling from the effects of weed. It has dual benefits- one, the cold water shocks you back to reality, and two, cold water lowers your heartbeat. So, if you are wondering how to sober up before bed, maybe a cold shower is the answer.
Find some distractions
All the above tips, in one way or another, help distract your mind from anxiety and panic by engaging your attention in a particular activity. You can explore more such activities, like watching television, listening to music, or just calling someone you can enjoy talking to for a few minutes (or hours!). Of course, be careful who you call, it should be someone you trust.
That largely answers your question, how to make a high go away. There is another query, people often have, does milk bring down your high. Though there isn’t any scientifically backed evidence in favor of milk in killing a high, milk is known to contain tryptophan, an amino acid that helps you calm down. This is also why people take milk before bed. So, you could give it a try but we cannot promise that milk will help.
Now, we feel there is a yet more important query to be addressed here. Let’s look at that, shall we?
As we said in the beginning, prevention is always better than cure. So, why not also answer how to get less high? And the answer is no rocket science. One only has to keep a few things in mind to ensure that they remain within the safe limits-
- Be careful about the dose and potency of the cannabis product you’re consuming. It is always better to start with low doses and low potency products and then work your way up. This will reduce the risk of taking in too much THC at once.
- Your body stats affect the way you react to weed. Less body weight, high metabolism, and less tolerance for THC will result in a quick and intense high and vice-versa.
- If you’re taking edibles, you should wait for at least 20-30 minutes after taking your first dose because they take some time to show effects. If you consume more at once, you may suffer the ill effects of an overdose later.
- While smoking/ vaping, take smaller puffs/ vapes as it will help you understand how each puff/ vape is affecting you. You should put a gap of 5-10 minutes after every 1-2 puffs to ensure less high.
- If you’ve had some bad experiences with weed in the past, keeping a note of approximately how much THC resulted in those symptoms will be good. Next time you plan on taking weed, check the note and consume less THC.
Concluding words
Although it is better to err on the safer side and take less weed than more, an occasional overdose might happen to the best of us. Therefore, you should not panic or become over-anxious if you think you’re more high than you intended to be. You could consume foods like black pepper and lemon rind as their terpenes help counteract THC. CBD is an excellent option to balance out the effects of THC. Also, exercising or sleeping, whichever suits you at the moment, will make you feel better. Of course, not all the tips mentioned above will help everyone but these are some tried and tested ways to sober up from weed and you can explore them to see what works for you. Lastly, the next time you consume cannabis, take care to take the right dose and potency of THC product.
References
- Russo EB. Taming THC: potential cannabis synergy and phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects. Br J Pharmacol. 2011;163(7):1344-1364. doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01238.x https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3165946/
- Chen, R., Zhang, J., Fan, N., Teng, Z.-qian, Wu, Y., Yang, H., Tang, Y.-ping, Sun, H., Song, Y., & Chen, C. (2013). Δ9-THC-caused synaptic and memory impairments are mediated through COX-2 signaling. Cell, 155(5), 1154–1165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2013.10.042 https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(13)01360-3?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867413013603%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
- Zuardi, Antonio & Shirakawa, I & Finkelfarb, E & Karniol, I. (1982). Action of cannabidiol on the anxiety and other effects produced by delta 9-THC in normal subjects. Psychopharmacology. 76. 245-50. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/16911686_Action_of_cannabidiol_on_the_anxiety_and_other_effects_produced_by_delta_9-THC_in_normal_subjects
