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Why Does My Mouth Taste Like Weed

By Last updated on October 11, 2023No Comments

Whether you’re a pro weed smoker or have just started smoking it, you’d know it is hard to eliminate the smell afterward. Not only does its pungent smell become a nuisance, but its taste also lasts for hours. Your mouth may even feel like weed even when you haven’t touched it for hours or days. 

If your mouth tastes like weed, it’s because of the plant’s ability to dry out the saliva in your mouth, causing a “cotton mouth.” No saliva means the flavor of the weed’s terpenes can’t be washed out, so it stays in your mouth for a significant time. 

Your mouth may also taste like weed due to the indigestion of cannabis edibles. It may also be a psychological effect that makes smokers believe they are smoking even when they are not. 

Whatever the reason, you must know how to get rid of this condition to live without worrying about getting caught for your weed indulgence. This post will help you in this regard, so let’s dive in!

Reasons Your Mouth Tastes Like Weed

Reasons Your Mouth Tastes Like Weed

Weed dries out your mouth, requiring you to drink a gallon of water to restore hydration in your throat. That’s the primary reason your mouth tastes like weed for hours after smoking. Let’s get into more details:

  • Cannabis Has Salivary Inhibitors. Weed contains elements like THC that dry saliva in your mouth, leaving nothing behind to wash out the cannabis flavor. When you don’t spit the remaining weed, it stays in your mouth for a long time, making you feel like you’re still smoking. 
  • Undigested Weed Edibles. Your mouth may taste like weed after eating marijuana edibles. If your body doesn’t digest them properly, their flavor may come up from your stomach to the throat. As a result, your mouth tastes like weed. 
  • Psychological Effect of Weed. Another reason your mouth may be tasting like weed is only because of the psychological effect. Many smokers, especially regular ones, experience a weed-like flavor in their mouth even when they are not smoking. 

These are the only logical reasons your mouth tastes like weed without smoking. It’s a common phenomenon that most smokers experience, mainly when their bodies and hearts crave cannabis. 

However, some underlying medical issues may make you feel like this. The best way to identify this is by trying at-home remedies to get rid of the weed taste. If they work, you’re good to go. But in case they persist, you must seek a professional doctor’s help.  

How to Get Rid of the Weed Taste from Mouth

There is no need to walk around in anxiety when your tastebuds recover from the weed flavor. Here are some tips to help you get rid of the weed taste in your mouth:

Brush Your Teeth

Dental hygiene is the key to saying goodbye to the strong weed smell in your mouth. All you have to do is rinse your mouth and brush your teeth with a toothpaste specialized in dealing with potent odors. You will see the difference within a few minutes. 

However, this trick will only work if you have a little taste lingering in your mouth. In case of intense odor, brushing your teeth may reduce it but won’t eliminate it immediately. 

Use a Quality Mouthwash

After brushing your teeth, you can use mouthwash to remove the remaining weed aftertaste. But make sure it’s an enzyme oral rinse

Instead of further drying out your mouth like an alcohol-based mouthwash, an enzyme oral rinse boosts protein in the saliva to ensure optimal hydration and cleaning. It is also strong enough to remove the weed odor and taste.  

Drink Plenty of Water

This is a no-brainer. Since weed dries out your mouth, you should drink lots of water to keep your throat hydrated. With sufficient moisture, you can quickly spit or rinse out the aftertaste of weed at the end of your smoking session. Hence, no lingering flavor. 

Carry Some Essentials

Whether you smoke at home or outside, make sure to carry a few essential items with you all the time. These include mints, gum, cough drops, and scented lip balm. The cough drops and mints will ensure your mouth stays hydrated by producing more saliva, allowing you to spit the aftertaste immediately. 

When it comes to lip balm, this trick will temporarily cover the foul odor and taste of weed. So you can be at ease for some time. 

Eat a Citrus Fruit

Another option is to eat citrus fruits. They will keep your mouth hydrated by boosting saliva production and giving it a new flavor. These include orange, lemon, pomelo, clementine, and more. 

Have a Caffeine Dose

Your last resort will be drinking coffee. While it won’t remove the weed taste entirely, its pungent odor will indeed mask the cannabis’ strong flavor. This trick may not work for intense levels of weed taste. 

How to Prevent Weed Taste in Your Mouth

Sometimes, the weed tastes so strong that you can’t get rid of it no matter what you do. That’s why prevention is better than cure in this case. Here are some tips to prevent your mouth from tasting like weed:

Keep Your Tools Clean

Cleaning your smoking tools ensures a great experience. It not only makes your buds taste better, but also removes the chances of plaque buildup in your mouth. That’s one reason your mouth tastes like weed after smoking. 

Try Vaping

Whether you intake tobacco or weed, smoking in all forms makes your mouth taste bad for a long time. But tobacco causes the worst odor. Thus, you can try switching the tobacco with mint leaves to reduce the chances of weed’s aftertaste. 

You can also try vaping, as it reduces the amount of weed that goes into your mouth. So, instead of smoking cannabis traditionally, you can try a vaporizer to prevent the strong weed taste from lingering in your mouth. 

Pop on Edibles

If you still want to smoke weed the old-school way, cook something that masks the aftertaste of weed. Whatever you decide to make should have a strong smell and taste. 

Conclusion

It’s normal for your mouth to taste like weed after smoking cannabis. This smell may linger in your mouth for a significant time, making you feel like you’re still smoking weed. This happens because weed dries out your mouth, leading to a cotton mouth, where the mouth feels sticky and dried out. 

Another reason could be the psychological effect of cannabis on regular smokers. It makes them feel that weed is still in their mouth even after hours of smoking. The last explanation is indigested cannabis edibles, which propel your stomach to return them to your mouth. 

Just make sure to maintain your dental hygiene, use quality mouthwash, and take a strong mint or candy that masks the aftertaste of weed. 

The Sanctuary Editorial Team

Our writers use a combination of research and personal experiences to eloquently tackle these topics. The research process utilizes multiple levels of information. We reference informal channels for details relating to casual topics such as describing slang or how to create a bong out of fruit. We also examine scientific publishings for up-to-date research. The accuracy of our articles is crucially important to us and they are written with the idea of inclusiveness for readers of all walks of life.