With more and more states legalizing marijuana, increasing amounts of people are trying it for the first time. New users are a lot more likely to experience negative effects of marijuana if they fail to use it in the proper manner. Some of the negative effects of using marijuana can even make a person feel as if they’ve overdosed, but is it possible to overdose on weed?
Overdosing on drugs is a common occurrence which has often led to death. However, these overdoses usually involve hardcore drugs like heroin or cocaine, not marijuana. However, while you can overdose on cannabis, there have never been any reported incidents involving fatal overdoses. Here is an overview explaining why fatal overdoses are nearly unheard of, as well as some reasons why people may feel as if they’ve overdosed.
What are the negative effects of using too much marijuana?
Most people use marijuana to either relieve pain, anxiety or some other ailment, or to simply attain an enjoyable, relaxing or energetic high. However, if too much is ingested, a person can experience symptoms serious enough to send them to the emergency room. In some cases, a person can even overdose, which is even more uncomfortable. Here is a list of the negative effects of ingesting high amounts of marijuana:
- “White out” or rapid lowering of blood sugar level that causes you to appear pale
- Nausea and vomiting
- Hallucinations
- Rapid heartbeat
- Paranoia
- Panic attack
- Lack of coordination
- Memory problems
Smoking or vaping
When an individual smokes or vapes weed, they experience its effects in five minutes or less. So, if a person smoking weed desires to achieve a sustained high or simply increase the level of his current state, then he will smoke a bit more to attain a cumulative effect. This is a much more controlled way of becoming high. However, it is possible to smoke or vape too much, but overdoses usually involve the consumption of edibles.
Consuming edibles: how it can increase your chances of overdosing
The average amount of time it takes edibles to take effect is between 30 – 60 minutes. Again, smoking or vaping weed will become effective within five minutes or less. A person who is new to eating edibles may consume some and then they don’t feel any difference, they might eat more and more until the effect suddenly hits them like a ton of bricks. Many overdoses involve the consumption of edibles, because people wrongly believe that the edibles are ineffective, when they really just need to be patient before they achieve the desired high. If, after an hour, a person feels their high is inadequate, only then should they consume a small amount more.
How to cope with overdoing it with weed
The high from weed lasts a lot longer than a high from cocaine, for instance. Of course, this will depend on your weight and amount of body fat, how much THC the weed contains, how much you consume, how fast your metabolism is, whether you’ve eaten, as well as what your tolerance level is. While weed can cause a high that lasts anywhere from two – ten hours, the high from cocaine lasts as little as five minutes and as long as thirty. That’s a very big difference, so if you’ve used too much weed and you feel like you’re going to lose it, it’s going to be a while before the high passes. Here are some ways to make coping easier while you wait things out.
- Have a trusted friend or family member stay with you until symptoms have subsided
- Drink water infused with the juice of a lemon. This will not only reverse any dehydration that might result from high THC ingestion, but it will also neutralize terpenes contained in the weed. Terpenes are chemical compounds, the essential oils of the marijuana plant and are present in CBD and THC. These essential oils are responsible for the fragrance as well as the taste of the plant
- Chewing on peppercorns can also neutralize the effects of the terpenes, which helps to improve your symptoms
- Engage in relaxing activities that will distract you while you wait for the THC levels in your body to decrease
- If all else fails and you’re feeling absolutely awful, a trip to urgent care or even the emergency room might be necessary to help you feel like yourself again
As long as cannabis is used in moderation, it is a wonderful plant that can provide many health benefits in addition to simply producing a relaxing, enjoyable high. Using more than your body can handle at one time can cause a host of uncomfortable and even frightening side-effects. Not only can you find out where to purchase the best weed in your area by checking out Weedmaps Massachusetts, but you can learn more useful tips for avoiding nasty side-effects and for ensuring your cannabis experience is pleasant.
