Cannabis consumers love to take edibles. THC edibles have quickly become one of the most popular ways of indulging!
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Edibles can be incredible, but they also can be risky. Edibles sneak up on you quickly, and by the time you realize you’ve had too much, you’ve already committed to a long night of discomfort…
So let’s shed some light on how to sober you up, center yourself, and recover from eating too many edibles.
How Long Do Edibles Typically Stay In My System?
The effects of ingesting edibles can last up to 12 hours after use, with lasting residual effects last up to twenty-four hours. This is different from smoking or vaping, whose effects can be felt in the system as quickly as within a few seconds and last for a couple of hours at best.
By eating edible weed, the THC and other compounds within the cannabis must first go through your belly, then into your liver before eventually making it into the bloodstream and brain, where you can feel its natural effects.
These effects can differ between users, so it can be tricky to tell you precisely when you will feel the edible high after ingestion. If you consume more cannabis during that time, you could start to feel the effects of the cannabis product. Too much cannabis can cause anxiety and panic, nausea and vomiting, and symptoms of paranoia (but we will discuss all of these issues in a bit).
Activities To Recover From Edibles Quickly
You can work through the effects of eating an edible faster than the time mentioned above of twelve hours. Here are a few actionable things you can do to reduce the impact of THC in less time than you would think.
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While these solutions won’t immediately remove the unwanted side effects of eating edibles, they can reduce the amount of time of discomfort and help center your mind that is likely reeling from strong edibles.
Drink Liquids
One way to mitigate the psychoactive effects of THC from consuming too many edibles is to ensure you are adequately hydrated and have eaten. Eating and drinking assist in recovery from consuming too many edibles by providing energy and helping to metabolize cannabinoids out of your system.
Try to drink liquids that will help keep you hydrated, such as water, lemon water, coconut water, milk, herbal teas, and aloe water/juice. While sleeping can help you weather the storm of taking too many edibles, fresh tea and coffee help dehydrate you and cycle through your water supply which can help flush out your system (be sure to replace that liquid with water). Not only does this help flush your system of edible consumption, but it also provides your body with the necessary ammunition and energy to fight the overdose and prevent a weed hangover (which we will be discussing shortly).
Work Out
Exercise and movement can also be beneficial to recovery but take a few things to heart before you start thinking about throwing iron around the gym or your garage. In the altered state of overindulgence, it might not be the safest thing for you to do. Despite all the benefits of working out (such as lowering blood pressure, relieving anxiety, and simply redirecting your attention away from your overdose), it’s not worth risking your health and comfort. Trust your body; if you feel up for working on it, do it!
Overall, you want to aim to get the blood pumping and your body sweating. The faster you sweat out the compounds caused by consuming too much, the quicker you will start feeling like yourself again.
Take a Nap
Sleeping is one of the easiest ways to deal with too much edible intake.
If you’re worried about being unable to sleep after consuming cannabis, don’t be. The drug promotes sleep, so people with very active brains should have no trouble dozing off. Taking a nap can help your body rest, recover from its intoxication, and make your high feel shorter—since you’re asleep for half of it. Although you might wake up feeling groggy, sleep will never worsen your edible experience.
How To Know You’ve Taken Too Many Edibles
With the rise of medical-grade and dispensary-distributed edibles, overdosing on cannabis has become more common. They are made stronger than back in my college days. That being said, there aren’t too many terrible side effects of ingesting too much cannabis, as the side effects are primarily varying levels of discomfort.
Here are a handful of the most common symptoms you may experience after ingesting too much THC from an edible.
Impaired Cognitive Functions
The first thing you will likely experience is the damped thought process and cloudy judgment. While this isn’t necessarily a sign that you have overdosed, since this is common at almost every stage of cannabis intake, feeling too impaired can be a warning sign.
Motor Impairment
The first time I ever took an edible and experienced the effects of a cannabis overdose, I knew I was in trouble when I got up from the couch and could hardly walk. I needed the help of a few friends to get to the couch and sleep it off. While I understand that this was severe, cannabis overtakes, impaired motor functions, and difficulty moving or operating are all warning signs that you might have taken too much.
Anxiety
You can experience this in a variety of ways. It might be over worrying about small details, delusions of reality, or simply overthinking to the point where it causes varying anxiety levels.
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Extreme sedation
It can be a bit off-putting if you are on the couch watching TV and realize that you are too stoned even to move. And while many people make jokes about it, it is a real thing. Extreme sedation is one of the many effects of an edible if you take too much. Often I’ve found that this is more mind over matter and can be remedied once you talk yourself through the issue. It can certainly be something that sparks more of that anxiety mentioned above.
Cardiac stress.
Your heart will likely race, spurred by the cannabis and the heightened stress levels caused by the anxiety. Just remember to breathe deep and find other things to focus your attention on. Cardiac stress usually subsides when you are thinking about something else but is heightened the more you solely focus on it.
What To Do The Day After Taking Too Many Edibles
According to some people, an edible cannabis hangover can be worse than a hangover from smoked cannabis, while others may not notice any significant hangover.
If you are unsure whether you have experienced a hangover from edible cannabis the day after eating it, read the hangover symptoms below to determine whether this applies to you.
- Symptoms
- Fatigue.
- Brain Fog
- Dry Mouth
- Headache.
- Nausea.
Other possible explanations include that THC can linger in your system for a while after consuming cannabis, meaning you might still feel the effects from the day before. Additionally, there is still a lot we don’t know about cannabis and its impact, so there could be other reasons for this phenomenon that science has yet to uncover.
While experiencing a weed hangover might not end the world, it can be quite uncomfortable and frightening. Here are a few things you can do to minimize side effects and alleviate the symptoms that lead to a hangover.
Try an electrolyte drink
Often the fatigue and fogginess of a cannabis hangover are caused by dehydration and an overtaxed digestive system. An electrolyte drink hydrates you but will help you replenish a lot of the sodium and compounds that were depleted during the previous night.
Take A Shower
Whether it’s a cold or warm shower, anything helps. Showers help recenter yourself and can help your brain focus on something other than the discomfort, fog, and even nausea you might be experiencing. A shower can help rid your body of the effects the next day and even help you sweat out some of the still lingering compounds.
Try Some Ginger
I’ll say that I have never tried this one, but many avid cannabis enthusiasts swear by the healing powers of ginger to cure your cannabis edible hangover.
Have Some Caffeine
Caffeine can help wake you up, cycle through your body’s liquids, and can help kickstart your system if it’s still feeling sluggardly. Natural stimulants like tea and coffee are always preferred here for me and are usually the first thing I reach for if one of my weed hangovers occurs unwantedly.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
