While there haven’t been cases of cannabis overdoses, a lot of people have ended up in an emergency room as a result of increased cannabis use or combining weed with other drugs. Consuming higher doses of weed may also produce side effects such as the munchies, dry mouth, dry eyes, increased heart rate, effects on your mental health (triggering paranoia or schizophrenia in people who have a predisposition for it), and increased blood pressure – which is why first time users should take lower amounts.
This is why some users, besides having questions like how many hits does it take to get high and how to get the most out of your weed, also wonder whether smoking weed can get you tripping – which is the focus of this particular article.
So let’s get down to answering the question of how cannabis use can affect you, and whether it can make you trip.
The 411 on Bad Trips
As we’ve previously stated, consuming cannabis can cause a wide array of effects because of the presence of cannabinoids like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). It can cause users to feel ecstatic and euphoric, but also relaxed and calm. However, smoking weed combined with other substances, going overboard with the edibles, or consuming more than you can tolerate can make you uncomfortable, anxious, and paranoid. But can it give you the effects of an acid trip?
Tripping is connected to the effects people get from consuming hallucinogens. They’re psychoactive drugs which change our perception and affect our senses. The most common ones include magic mushrooms, LSD, ecstasy, and other hallucinogens.
When users come down from consuming psychedelics, they can experience a lot of different effects on their mental and spiritual well-being, especially when mixing weed with mushrooms, LSD, or MDMA.
Weed on its own can have hallucinogenic effects when consumed in high doses. However, pairing it with a psychedelic experience like an acid trip may affect your brain chemistry up to a point where you wouldn’t like the after-effects, so let’s figure out why people do this.
The Effects of Psychedelics
Tripping can be a positive or a negative experience, depending on the user. Some people have an insightful and relaxed experience while consuming psychedelics, while others can feel stressed out or anxious. It all depends on:
- The level of preparation;
- Your previous experience with hallucinogens;
- Your current mood and environment;
- Your mental and physical condition.
This is all true for people who have consumed psychedelics, but can you trip as a result of smoking weed?
Can You Trip on Cannabis?
Cannabis can amplify all our internal feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Therefore, people who are in a bad mental place can feel even worse after consuming weed. You can easily end up feeling anxious, paranoid, or nervous, especially if you’ve been feeling stressed out prior to smoking weed.
Does Cannabis Affect Us Similar to Psychedelics?
Even though a lot of people assume that weed acts as a psychedelic, the truth is that it acts in a different way compared to psychedelics such as DMT, LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline.
Psychedelics induce intense and long-lasting visions as well as distorted perceptions by interfering with the serotonin in the brain.
Smoking weed, on the other hand, produces a high by affecting the endocannabinoid system. THC and CBD bind to the CB1 and CB2 endocannabinoid receptors in the brain and mainly THC produces its psychoactive effects which are different from the effects that you get from consuming mushrooms. However, some people believe that consuming edibles is similar to having a psychedelic experience, but weed doesn’t act in the same way as true psychedelics.
Can You Have a Bad Trip on Cannabis?
There are a lot of factors that can result in you having a bad trip or a bad reaction to cannabis, and we’ll go over the most common ones below:
- High potency strains in high doses (too much THC in your system is the fastest road to a bad trip, so if you’ve bought a strain with high THC levels from your local dispensary, make sure you start with a low dose).
- Consuming edibles as a first-time user (edibles can be an overwhelming experience even for seasoned cannabis users, but especially for beginners, so if you’re a beginner, maybe start with smoking or vaping).
- Dabbing (similar to consuming edibles, dabbing gives your body highly concentrated levels of THC, so make sure you don’t overdo it).
- Your current state of mind (weed works by intensifying all our feelings and emotions, so if you’re feeling down, cannabis may worsen those feelings).
What Can You Expect From a Bad Cannabis Trip?
While there aren’t any records on cannabis overdoses, users have experienced some of the following symptoms while having a bad trip:
- Hallucinations;
- Anxiety or paranoia;
- Fear;
- Physical sensations, including sweating, increased heart rate, stomach discomfort, numbness, and others.
On the other hand, some users who have a predisposition for mental health conditions such as psychosis or schizophrenia can trigger these conditions as a result of marijuana use.
Finally, whatever effects you may be feeling, you need to remember that they aren’t permanent. If you’ve been smoking weed, you can expect the effects to wear off after 1-2 hours, while metabolizing cannabis and ending the high from edibles can take between 6-8 hours.
How To Prevent a Bad Cannabis Trip?
The most common reasons why people experience bad trips from weed are often a result of a bad mental state or consuming too much weed. To prevent this you can:
- Only smoke weed when you’re in a good state of mind which will reduce the chances of having a bad experience.
- Choose your surroundings well by smoking where you feel relaxed in order to promote good vibes when you get high.
- Always start with a low dose and slowly increase over time if you haven’t felt any effects after a while.
Final Thoughts and Stopping a Bad Cannabis Trip
While experienced users know more about their tolerance levels compared to beginners, they too can end up on a bad cannabis trip. If you’ve consumed too much weed either as a newbie or as a seasoned marijuana user and you’re having a bad trip, you can:
- Reassure yourself that the effects will end soon, so you have nothing to worry about;
- Try doing some breathing techniques to calm yourself down;
- Go out for a walk and breathe some fresh air which will clear your head and speed up the metabolization of THC;
- Consume some CBD to take the edge off the high;
- Drink herbal tea like rosemary or lemon balm to calm your body.
And remember, you have nothing to fear since a bad trip is just a lesson on how you should smoke (and how much weed as you can tolerate) next time.
