How to Recover Quickly After Cannabis Use

Most recreational users and many wellness users of cannabis will, at one time or another, find themselves on the “wrong” end of a cannabis session. Maybe they miscalculated their dose. Or perhaps the onset of an edible was slower than anticipated, causing impatience to grow prior to the peak of the initial wave. Regardless of the reason why, it can be very important to know what to do when you are too high — or groggy — after consuming cannabis.

While recovery from cannabis products can never be considered clinically hazardous (in terms of toxic levels of THC), this does not necessarily imply that the user finds the experience pleasurable; nor does this suggest that there are no practical measures that can be taken. In reality, there are several.

Understanding What’s Actually Happening

During the Experience: Acute Recovery

The techniques that follow are based on real physiological responses that will be felt by you when using cannabis. f you feel like you are experiencing overwhelm (your heart is racing, your body feels anxious, you are feeling detached from yourself) — the above listed methods have scientifically supported physiological bases for their use.

• Black pepper – Black pepper contains large amounts of Beta-carophyllene, which is a terpene. It has been found to bind to cannabinoid receptors type 2 (CB2) in the brain and potentially modify how strong THC is.
• Smell or chew several whole peppercorns – A widely circulated harm reduction method for people who find themselves overwhelmed while under the influence of cannabis. There is a biological reason why this method works.
• CBD – CBD products with high levels of Cannabidiol act as a negative allosteric modulator on CB1 receptors. This means that CBD reduces the strength of how THC binds to CB1 receptors. This can provide relief from being overwhelmed when using cannabis.
• Cold water – Cold water applied to the face stimulates the diving reflex. When the diving reflex is stimulated, the heart slows down and there is some stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system.
• Grounding Techniques – Naming 5 things that you can see, 4 things that you can touch and 3 things that you can hear stops an anxiety spiral in its tracks and does not require anything but you to do it.
• Get into a comfortable position, lying down is best – Fighting off your experience typically makes your experience worse. Allowing feelings to simply occur without giving them any significance is physiologically wise and consistent with the reported experiences of those with years of cannabis usage.
• Do not drink alcohol or take any stimulants – Both stimulate cardiac activity and prolong the time it takes to recover after being under the influence of cannabis.

If you’re currently feeling overwhelmed — racing heart, heightened anxiety, or dissociation — the following approaches have genuine physiological basis:

The Morning After: Clearing the Fog

You can begin to see that next day effects from marijuana haze will be responsive to a specific series of actions:

• Drink as much water as possible right away – since marijuana has been shown to cause a mild suppression of Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH) there could potentially be some level of dehydration taking place even though no alcohol was used. Drink at least 500 ml of water first; also drink water with some salt added along with something containing potassium so that your body absorbs the water better.
• Get moving before drinking any caffeine – twenty minutes of walking increases blood circulation throughout your brain and stimulates release of dopamine and norepinephrine signaling molecules which have decreased activity due to heavy usage. So get moving before getting a cup of joe!
• Eating a good quality meal – THC disrupts how the body regulates blood sugar levels, therefore if blood sugar drops rapidly, then the potential for cognitive fogginess will increase. Therefore, protein and carbohydrate sources that digest slowly will be absorbed better than coffee alone – consider eating an egg sandwich or Greek yogurt with oats instead.
• Consume caffeinated beverages in moderation – too many cups of coffee can actually exacerbate remaining feelings of anxiousness and increase your heart rate. Drinking only one or two caffeinated beverages per day is okay, but consuming three cups of espresso prior to lunchtime will likely do you more harm than good.
• Take a short nap – marijuana blocks normal sleep patterns, thus even after sleeping all night you may still feel fatigued. Taking a 20-30 minute nap in the early afternoon will provide a considerable amount of restorative benefits without interfering with your nighttime rest.
• Don’t redose to “smooth things out” – you’ll extend the time needed to recover instead of reducing it. In fact, redosing is one of the most frequent errors made by habitual users.

Longer-Term: Tolerance Management

The amount of time it takes for someone who regularly uses marijuana to recover from an episode depends on how often they use and in what quantities:

• Over time, chronic exposure causes CB1 receptors to be downregulated (i.e., reduced), this causes the difference between a therapeutic and toxic dose to decrease
• Tolerance breaks of at least 1 week, but ideally 2 weeks, can result in a considerable increase in the number of CB1 receptors and thus an increased sensitivity
• After taking a break, lower doses will now provide an effect that was previously provided by much larger doses; this results in greater predictability of experience as well as quicker recovery when problems arise
• Selection of strain also affects potential recovery time — high THC and low CBD strains have less recovery “buffer” then other strains with balanced ratio’s; therefore, using a 1:1 or higher CBD ratio strain reduces both occurrence and severity of problematic experiences

Quick Reference: Recovery Checklist

Acute overconsumption:

• Smell or chew black pepper
• Take CBD if available
• Cold water on the face
• Lie down in a quiet, safe space
• Ground yourself with a sensory exercise
• Avoid alcohol and stimulants

Morning after:

• 500ml water with electrolytes on waking
• 20 minutes of light movement
• Substantial meal with protein and slow carbs
• Moderate caffeine only
• Short nap if needed
• No re-dosing

Weed Wonderland always here to tell you more about cannabis culture

The main thing about recovery from cannabis isn’t that recovery is hard to do, it just has to be done a certain way. The approaches shown above work because they deal with the actual physiological changes happening during an experience (CB1 receptor inhibition; activating of the parasympathetic nervous system; normalization of blood glucose levels; reducing a “sleep deficit”) rather than being some sort of folklore remedy being circulated via the internet. Therefore, the best approach for recovery, like most everything else related to cannabis wellness, will start well before you begin your session, i.e., understanding what your optimal dosage is for a given amount of time; knowing the THC/CBD ratio of whatever cannabis product you intend to use; and having a good idea of how much cannabis you can safely ingest.