Weed Hangover – How to Survive the Morning After

Similar to other kinds of hangovers, a weed hangover is when users experience various side effects, such as a headache and brain fog, after a night of indulging a bit too heavily into the wacky tobacky. 

While it may not be widespread public knowledge, most experienced stoners know what a weed hangover is. In fact, weed hangovers are much more common than many people realize. In fact, they’re just as likely to happen as frequently as alcohol hangovers. 

To get a firm grasp of what a weed hangover is, we’ll need to explore and dispel the stereotypical misconceptions about how they’re caused and how to deal with one — so let’s jump right in! 

Is a Weed Hangover Real?

Yes, a weed hangover is very real. 

Unfortunately, the concept of feeling drained and groggy after a night of ingesting too much ganja is met with speculation. 

This suspicion is likely because millions of people have smoked weed in their lifetime, but they never mention or report any symptoms, even if they have experienced them. 

Of course, various implications will impact your particular tipping point and symptoms

Still, this is why we felt the need to clear the air once and for all: Yes, you can get a hangover from consuming too much weed. 

What Causes a Marijuana Hangover?

As is the case with alcohol, several factors can increase or decrease your likelihood of contracting a weed hangover.

The consumption method, quality of your bud, individual tolerance levels, and the amount you’re consuming are the three largest contributors. 

However, things like your gender, weight, and age are all factors because they can influence how quickly or slowly you can metabolize stuff out of your system, in this case, weed. 

Moreover, THC edibles, such as brownies or gummies, stay in the bloodstream longer than smoking, vaping, or using it sublingually does — remaining in the system for up to 12 hours. 

In this way, it’s easy to understand why properly dosing your edibles is imperative for not going overboard and having an enjoyable experience and why all users should begin with a small dose and work their way up over 1 to 2-hour intervals. 

Symptoms of a Weed Hangover 

The symptoms of a weed hangover will vary from person to person. However, there are a few notable ones to look out for, and they all tend to have one thing in common, physically and mentally blocking your ability to get things done. 

So, if you plan on being productive while experiencing a weed hangover, you may be disappointed or frustrated. 

Below are five of the most common weed hangover symptoms: 

Headache 

When most people hear the word hangover, they think of a headache, and they wouldn’t be wrong. 

One of the most frequently reported hangover symptoms for both weed and alcohol hangovers is a dull, persisting headache that will likely make it difficult to focus. 

Anecdotal evidence claims that this commonly reported symptom is due to dehydration. However, there is no scientific evidence to support the theory that cannabis causes dehydration. 

It remains crucial, though, to stay hydrated while consuming weed because although it may not cause dehydration, it can lead to another common condition that can be very drying. 

Dry Mouth/Cottonmouth

Cottonmouth is one of the most common grievances among tokers, even when they aren’t suffering from a weed hangover. 

It is triggered by the natural response in your saliva glands interacting with the various types of cannabinoids and other compounds present in your favourite bodacious bud. 

Medically, it is known as xerostomia and is brought on by a reduction in saliva output, leading to other afflictions such as sore throat and bad breath. 

Since it is a familiar condition with regular consumption, it is one of the most prevalent symptoms of a weed hangover. 

Fatigue

Waking up groggy, disoriented and physically exhausted is pretty standard with both alcohol and weed hangover experiences. 

In this way, it may be difficult to get the motivation or energy to do much of anything, so taking it easy is probably the best way to go. Fatigue is something that even the most experienced tokers will attest to. 

Your body reacts naturally to tell you that you have ingested too much of your favourite icky sticky and that there are real physical consequences to this act. 

Nausea 

It may seem contradictory that many use cannabis as a medicinal combatant of nausea, but ingesting too much of it can also have the opposite effect. 

While not experienced by everyone during a weed hangover, it can be incredibly unpleasant nonetheless. 

Nothing is worse than waking up feeling exhausted but also wanting to throw up. 

Brain Fog 

Many blazers report brain fog as a common symptom of a weed hangover. Similar to how fatigue makes your body feel de-energized, brain fog can cause your brain/mind to feel debilitated. 

This symptom can be incredibly difficult to maneuver, making it challenging to complete tasks or responsibilities due to its unpleasant nature. 

In this sense, brain fog is quite difficult to snap out of and can cause you to feel incredibly tired and unmotivated to do much of anything while making it difficult to focus on one thing or pay much attention to detail. 

All of these symptoms typically subside within a few hours. However, in the case of edibles, it can last a lot longer, as we mentioned earlier. 

The mental or cognitive signs that you should lay off the THC and take a break include:

• Short-term memory loss 
• Shortened attention span 
• Sluggish verbal skills 
• General brain fog 
• Delayed reaction time 

How to Prevent a Weed Hangover

It’s always important to remember that every single person will likely react differently to a weed hangover. 

However, there are some tried and true methods that can work to help prevent a weed hangover from happening, such as:

Staying Within Your Limit 

One of the easiest ways to prevent a weed over from happening is prevention.

In this way, you should always watch your ingestion intake and be sure to stay within your normal tolerance level. Many weed hangovers result from venturing outside your comfort zone and consuming too much weed. 

It’s slow and steady wins the race. Of course, this will require some experience under your belt to understand your tolerance fully. 

If you’re new to weed, adhere to the classic homage of start low and go slow. 

Making Sure you Eat Something 

While a lot of strains of weed tend to evoke a strong case of the munchies, ingesting weed on an empty stomach will cause the overall effects to be enhanced. 

So, before indulging in some Mary Jane, it’s a good idea to eat something first. 

Food will impact your body’s blood sugar levels. If you don’t eat enough, the levels will be low, and you will experience adverse side effects, including dizziness, nausea and light-headedness. 

Low blood sugar also increases your likelihood of greening out, which is a condition you want to do your best to avoid. 

Staying Hydrated

Not to sound like a broken record, but again, just like an alcohol hangover, a large quantity of weed can leave you feeling dehydrated. 

Drinking a lot of water is a good idea on any given day, but especially when you’re planning on getting blitzed, especially because a lot of tokers tend to forget to sip on water while they’re enjoying their favourite bud, which could result in negative consequences. 

Feeling dehydrated can cause a variety of adverse side effects, including dizziness or light-headedness, dry mouth, headache and low blood pressure. 

How to Treat a Weed Hangover

Like the next morning alcohol hangover, there is no magic cure for a weed hangover unless you have a time machine. 

Time is both a friend and an enemy when it comes to overcoming the aftermath when you’ve had too much of a good thing, so telling yourself it will all pass and staying relaxed will go a long way in helping you to feel better. 

However, even if we don’t intend it to, the dreaded weed hangover may strike, so here are some helpful fixes for if it does. 

Drink Caffeine 

Caffeine is excellent for perking yourself up and giving a much-needed energy boost while also increasing awareness, which is incredibly beneficial for someone suffering from a weed hangover. 

If you’re feeling tired and unmotivated, a nice piping hot cup of tea or coffee should do the trick in helping break through some of the brain fog and help inspire you to be more productive and aware. 

Take a Cold Shower 

For a real shock to your system, trying pulling yourself out of the weed hangover with a cold shower. 

Research indicates that cold showers can help stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, while alleviating anxiety and depression symptoms to promote increased alertness. 

It likely won’t sound like your first choice activity, but a cold shower could be exactly what your body needs to wake itself up. 

We won’t lie. It’ll likely suck while it’s happening, but it’s one of those things that you have to endure to reap the benefits. 

Sleep

If you feel you can take a nap or go to bed so you can sleep your weed hangover off, we highly recommend it. 

Sleeping lets your mind and body rest, recover, and reset. So, the more shut-eye you have, the better. 

If you don’t want to or can’t get some zzz’s, doing the opposite and getting in some exercise to help wake up and energize your body, and to help pull you out of your stupor. 

Weed Hangover – Not Awesome, but not Forever

The key thing to recognize about a weed hangover is that it’s impossible to overdose on cannabis alone, and it will resolve itself in good time. 

There has never been a reported case where the symptoms from a weed hangover lasted more than a day, and there has never been a death or overdose from consuming or smoking cannabis in excess. 

It is also important to remember that everyone will react to a weed hangover differently. However, hopefully the advice lined out in this article will help you combat the unsavoury symptoms and get you back up and running. 

Ultimately, the best method for how to treat a weed hangover is to prevent one from happening in the first place. Be sure that you are cautious and stay within your limit, watch your water intake, and make sure that your stomach isn’t entirely empty. 

Stay careful and be safe!