How to Sober Up Fast From Weed

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Let’s face it! More and more people are using cannabis A.K.A. Marijuana these days, including Baby Boomers, which, depending on what generation you grew up in, means YOUR PARENTS! Heck, your grandparents may even be using the Ole’ hippie lettuce to help them address various symptoms. The proliferation of users seen over the past several years is due to the legalization of marijuana on both a medical and recreational level in several states around the country.  

So, what is with the sudden and rapid increase and interest in the usage of marijuana by people whom you may have thought would never try it? While there are many more studies that need to be conducted before we can say for certain, the tens of thousands of pieces of anecdotal evidence online and in medical forums suggest that using cannabis in its various forms may help in addressing symptoms of pain, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

But what if you have kids that need to be picked up from school, or taken to sports practice, or it’s your night to prepare dinner for the family and that one puff of the joint or the THC gummy has made you feel too high to function without compromising yours and your family’s safety or well-being? Is there a way to sober up quick? 

Not smoking or prevention is the best way to avoid the scenario, but if you must proceed, here are some guidelines. Whether you are just starting out on your journey using marijuana, or you are an old veteran who used to partake in high school or college, but haven’t done so in years, keep these things in mind before you “pass the dutchie ‘pon the left-hand side.”

THC % (potency) in Marijuana is not the same as it used to be:

The marijuana you used to smoke in high school or college that was brown and contained lots of seeds is NOT the same as the marijuana available today. Years of practice in the cultivation of marijuana has increased the potency by at least double the amount as compared to what was available 30 + years ago, and that could potentially lead to an unpleasant experience. By potency, I am referring to the percentage of THC present in the marijuana strain. Back in the day, if the THC percentage in most marijuana strains was 10%, you were lucky. Nowadays, the percentage of THC in most marijuana strains begins at around 18% and can go up to over 30%, which is very potent! This means it can make you feel very high or euphoric, perhaps even a bit out of control. One reason people use marijuana is to relax and “chill out,” but if you have a low tolerance to THC, even if you have smoked it in the distant past, or if you are a beginner, then high percentages of THC could make you feel irritable, uncomfortable, paranoid, and confused, and may actually magnify one’s anxiety, which is the exact opposite of what you are trying to achieve.

Mixing Marijuana with Alcohol or other Substances:

This is going to be a very short commentary on the subject, and here’s my advice; DON’T DO IT! If you are trying to take the edge off a tough day or trying to reduce pain from inflammation and you want to use marijuana to try to address these scenarios, mixing it with alcohol or other prescription or Over the Counter (OTC) medications will only amplify the high or euphoria, which may lead to an unintended outcome if you are expected to perform tasks for the family while under the influence.

Methods of Marijuana Consumption:

The maturity of the recreational and medical marijuana markets is seen in the vast amounts and varieties of form factors available to a person looking to consume marijuana. You can smoke a marijuana cigarette, typically referred to as a “joint,” and you can consume marijuana gummies and edible brownies and chocolate bars. In medical dispensaries, you can find cannabis oils that are administered under the tongue and capsules that you swallow, so here is another caution – understand that different form factors can be a big determining factor as to the intensity of the high. For example, when someone takes a puff from a joint, they will feel the effects within one through three minutes, and the duration of the high typically lasts between one through three hours. Because it almost immediately enters your system, you can get very high if the marijuana contains a high percentage of THC. If you consume an edible, like a gummy or a brownie, it may take 60 minutes or longer to begin to feel the effects, so don’t go reaching for another brownie if you haven’t felt any effects in 20 minutes. What often happens is that people lose patience or even forget that they consumed a brownie containing THC, so they reach for another one, 40 minutes later, they are so high that they may have a panic attack and want to go to the hospital. I am sure you have heard some stories like this even if you’re not into the cannabis culture.  

So, what can be done to prevent this from happening? Remember the old proverb, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” but let’s give you some other possibilities for sobering up from being too high on weed.  

It may sound silly, but you should have a designated non-smoking buddy to help you out if you find yourself too high to function in your daily roles/responsibilities. Just like you should have a designated driver when we go out and drink, you will also benefit from having someone you know and trust there to help you out if you accidentally overindulge on marijuana.  

If you or someone you know is purchasing marijuana from a friend in what is referred to as either the “underground” or the “black market,” then you don’t really have control over THC percentage or strains, and you are at the mercy of what is available. If you reside in one of the states where medical and/or recreational marijuana is legal, then you will have much greater control over your choices of strains and THC percentages. If you want to smoke or try edibles, my recommendation would be to find strains that contain 10% THC or below and one that also contains other cannabinoids like cannabigerol (CBG) or cannabidiol (CBD.) The blend of multiple cannabinoids increases the therapeutic value and may decrease the psychotropic properties of marijuana.  

Having a hemp-derived CBD product on hand may also increase recovery time if you find yourself in the position of being too high from marijuana. Preferably a CBD joint or a oil would be best because they have quick times to onset. Taking one or two puffs from a hemp CBD joint may create a sudden feeling of calm and relaxation, which may knock down any anxiety or paranoid feelings you may have developed from overusing marijuana. CBD oil could take 20 – 30 minutes to take effect but there is no proven science on this subject yet other than people’s experience. 

Having water or electrolytes in a beverage and simply allowing yourself time to sober up is also an option, and sometimes you just have no other option than to just ride it out but be sure to take a mental note, so you don’t repeat this event again.