How Long Does a High Last? Revealing the Untold Mystery

One of the most common concerns surrounding cannabis consumption is the debate over how long a high actually lasts. Especially if you are newer to cannabis, you will likely want to know how long the effects last and prepare accordingly.

It is also common for new users to ask, “What is it like to be high?” or, “How long does a weed high last?”

The ‘high’ we feel after smoking weed varies from person to person, depending on various factors. While some people feel stoned, happy, and chatty, others get sleepy or confused. Many smokers even get sick or hallucinate. You can only manage these after-effects if you know your weed’s lasting duration.

Read now to explore “how long does a weed high last” based on different factors.

How Long Does it Take to Kick In

Cannabis, marijuana, weed, pot, and grass are all the names given to cannabis-infused substances. You can smoke it, drink it, or eat it, so it means you can enjoy the benefits in any way you like. Some people need it to relax and for pleasure, but others need the medical benefits of the drug.

Either way, how quickly you can begin to feel the effects of cannabis mostly depends on your method of use:

• Smoking or Vaping Flower: You can begin to feel the effects of cannabis within 2 to 10 minutes. It kicks in quickly because it enters your bloodstream via your lungs within minutes of inhaling it.
• Smoke Spliffs: Many people mix cannabis with tobacco and roll it into a cannabis cigarette called a joint or spliff. It can also be used without the addition of tobacco as a weed-only spliff. The effect is very fast; you can feel high within 2-10 minutes.
  Smoke Bongs: A bong is made by mixing cannabis with tobacco in a pipe. You light up the pipe and inhale the smoke through water via a large tube. The effect of a bong is even faster than a spliff. It takes 1-3 minutes to kick in.
• Edibles: THC is metabolized in the liver into a compound called 11-hydroxy-THC. This compound is more potent than THC, has a longer half-life, and can be very sedating. It is this mechanism in the liver that causes edibles to have different effects on most people. This entire process can take between 30 minutes and 2 hours to kick in.
• Concentrates: One of the leading benefits of concentrates is the rapid onset time and the ability to yield a high that is more potent than consuming cannabis flowers. Concentrates have a high bioavailability, meaning the effects you feel and experience and the rate of absorption into your body happen almost immediately.

What Does Being High Feel Like?

When we talk about the high that comes from cannabis, it is actually about the effect of the drug on the brain and body. Some of these feelings are so pleasurable that they make you inclined to continue the usage, which can often lead to dependence on the drug.

The THC in cannabis interacts with the endocannabinoid system and closes down the communication in the nervous system, leading to extreme relaxation.

This explains why people feel happiness and have a decreased perception of time, space, and colors. Many people also experience sensations or feelings of weightlessness, which, according to them, is high. It’s almost like being in a dream.

Similarly, others feel dizziness, nausea, insomnia, or paranoia. You can also get feelings of fear, dry mouth, or hallucinations. Then, others feel the urge to write, paint, play music, express themselves, or have deep, meaningful conversations after consuming weed.

It causes a change in perception or thought process, making them more inclined towards their creative selves.

We cannot categorize the high feeling after cannabis consumption. Each individual has their own unique experience or state of thinking or feeling.

The specific qualities of your cannabis high will change over time, regardless of the form you take. Similar to how long a weed high will last, you can expect the specific qualities of a high to change from person to person and from plant to plant.

Different Cannabis, Different High

There are too many different types of cannabis strains to count. Growers can make hybrid plants from two different strains, leading to many different styles of cannabis flowers. Each flower strain has its own effect, just as each person may feel a unique effect. However, general experiences with cannabis include an altered consciousness.

Some cannabis strains will reduce anxiety and promote a calm feeling, while others may increase your energy and influence creative behavior. As the high wears down, the more euphoric aspects typically wane back to normal. Again, all of these effects depend on the chemical makeup of a given strain, as well as your genes.

Other Factors Involved

Different weed strains are only part of what can determine how long a person may be high. Other factors include:

• Quantity of THC Consumed: The more cannabis you consume, the longer your high will last, as your body must process larger amounts of cannabis over an extended period.
• Quality of Consumption: If you barely inhale from a joint, you will ingest significantly fewer cannabinoids compared to vaporizing the herb or eating it. These methods avoid missing out on the full bounty of cannabinoids you consume.
• Strain and Terpenes Being Consumed: Cannabis comes in various strains, each with unique attributes and terpene combinations that can be attributed to a range of effects and a variety in high length.
• Environment and Surroundings: If you are unfamiliar with the place where you are consuming, you may feel exaggerated effects that could be elongated by this heightened sense of intensity.
• Metabolism: Every person’s body metabolizes substances differently. If your body processes chemicals slowly, your high may last longer than your peers. Staying well-hydrated is also a good idea.
• Tolerance/Familiarity and Awareness: Your familiarity with cannabis and your body’s understanding of how to tolerate and adapt to psychoactivity can affect how long a high lasts. As you become more accustomed to a cannabis high, you may sense that you stop feeling “high” after a shorter period despite the cannabinoids that are still acting in your body. Conversely, mindfulness matters. If you are in a place where you are reflecting on your high and checking in with yourself regularly, then you might notice it for longer.

How Long to Expect to Be High

So, with all this said. How long can you generally expect to be high?

• Smoking or Vaping Flower: The effects peak around 10 minutes after consumption and typically last 1 to 3 hours, though they can linger for up to 8 hours.
• Edibles: The effects of edibles usually peak around 1-2 hours after consumption and can last up to 24 hours.
• Concentrates: Similar to smoking flowers, the effects of dabbing usually last 1 to 3 hours and potentially up to 8 hours. If you use a high-THC concentrate, you can feel the impact for an entire day.

How Much Cannabis Does it Take to Get High?

The amount of cannabis needed to feel high also depends on several variables. THC is the intoxicating component of cannabis, and though the other cannabinoids also play a role in the high, the THC percentage of a cannabis product will impact how long you will be high when you consume it.

However, the method of consumption is an even more significant determining factor. For example, the effects of eating a 50-milligram edible will last longer than smoking a 0.5-gram joint with 20% THC.

THC percentages do not tell the whole story but provide a general idea of what a user should expect with flower or concentrate products. In the case of edibles, instead of THC percentage, the key factor to potency is the quantity of THC in the product, which is typically measured in milligrams.

How to Increase the Length of Your High

The higher the amount of THC, the less cannabis is needed to achieve a high. If you want to know how to increase the length of your high, you can either smoke weed again, opt for the longer-lasting intoxicating effects of an edible, or consume cannabis products with higher levels of THC.

How to Decrease Your High

Even experienced cannabis users sometimes consume too much cannabis. Whether you were trying a new product, not paying close attention to your dose, or your normal dose was just too much for you on a particular day, going a little overboard with your cannabis consumption can happen.

Taking in too much cannabis is not pleasant. Going over your limit can make you feel anxious, paranoid, nauseous, and just plain awful. Luckily, we have found at least 11 proven ways you can counteract the effects of cannabis to decrease the length of your high.

How Long Does Weed Stay in Your System?

How long does a weed high last and how long a weed stays in your system are two very different things. As drug tests are looking for THC metabolites, it can take upwards of a month for the compounds altogether to leave your system, depending on body mass index (BMI), metabolism, frequency of use, the potency of the product, and genetics.

Weed is detectable in urine for the following amounts of time after last use:

• Occasional users (up to three times a week): 3 days
• Moderate users (four times a week): 5 to 7 days
• Chronic users (daily): 10 to 15 days
• Chronic heavy users (multiple times a day): more than 30 days

Conclusion

So, how long does a weed high last? There isn’t much you can do to speed up the amount of time it takes for weed to leave your system, as once it has entered your system, your body needs time to break it down.

Depending on your intake, you can experience its effects in the body for a few minutes to hours.