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Effects

The psychoactive effect of cannabis (the “high” or “trip”) depends on many factors including route of administration, the amount taken, the potency, your set and setting, your expectations, your tolerance to the drug, pre-existing physical or mental medical conditions, whether any other drugs were taken and even the strain and quality of the cannabis.

Erowid has identified and compiled these possible cannabis effects:

Positive

Mood lift, euphoria
Laughter
Relaxation, stress reduction
Creative, philosophical or deep thinking: ideas flow more easily
Increased appreciation of music. More aware of/deeper connection to music
Increased awareness of senses (eating, drinking, smell)
Change in experience of muscle fatigue. Pleasant body feeling. Increase in body/mind connection
Pain relief (headaches, cramps)
Reduced nausea, increased appetite (used medically for this)
Boring tasks or entertainment can become more interesting or funny

Neutral

General change in consciousness (as with many psychoactives)
Increased appetite, “munchies”
Slowness (slow driving, talking)
Change in vision such as sharpened colours or lights
Closed-eye visuals
Tiredness, sleepiness, lethargy
Stimulation, inability to sleep
Blood shot eyes (more common with certain varieties of cannabis and inexperienced users)
Mouth dryness, sticky-mouth (varies with strain)
Interrupts linear memory. Difficulty following a train of thought
Cheek, jaw, facial tension / numbness (less commonly reported)
Racing thoughts (especially at high doses)
Increased emotional impact of music
Time sense altered: cars seem like they are moving too fast, time dilation and compression are common at higher doses

Negative

Nausea, especially in combination with alcohol, some pharmaceuticals, or other psychoactives
Coughing, asthma, upper respiratory problems
Difficulty with short term memory during effects and during periods of frequent use
Racing heart, agitation, feeling tense
Mild to severe anxiety
Panic attacks in sensitive users or with very high doses (oral use increases risk of getting too much)
Headaches
Dizziness, confusion
Light-headedness or fainting (in cases of lowered blood pressure)
Paranoid & anxious thoughts occur more frequently
Possible psychological dependence on cannabis
Clumsiness, loss of coordination at high doses
Can precipitate or exacerbate latent or existing mental disorders

Any and all of the above reactions are possible within any given trip and it should be noted that an individual could have a completely different reaction the next time they get high.

The effects from smoked cannabis will be felt almost immediately after inhalation and can last four hours with lingering effects (the hangover) being felt up to 24 hours later. When eaten, the duration of the high can last 10 hours with the after effects being felt well into the next day.

There is also a great degree of variation in marijuana’s potency. Different organizations will report widely different ratios for supposedly the same products. This is most likely a reflection of the fact that growing conditions greatly influence the potency of the herb. Hashish (the compressed glands of the THC-rich plant resin) and hash oil are the most potent cannabis products while stems, leaves and seeds contain the lowest ratio of THC, leaving the flowering tops (or buds) somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Seedless buds (sinsemella) have higher THC contents than buds gone to seed.

Set, setting, expectations and tolerance also play a large role in determining the nature of your trip. Set is the mental state you are in at the time of getting high. Cannabis can generally be regarded as a sensitizer, which means that it is likely to accentuate whatever mood you are in. For example, if you are in a negative state of mind cannabis may heighten that feeling. Conversely, moments of levity could become euphoric when combined with cannabis. Likewise, if you truly believe that cannabis will give you a bad trip then the likelihood of experiencing a bad trip increases dramatically. On the other hand, if you expect marijuana to cure all your ills or liberate your soul you may be disappointed. It’s best to approach the high in as neutral a way as possible. Setting will also play an important role in your trip. While the definition of a good setting is very user specific, a place or people with which you feel at ease and comfortable is generally a good time and place to get high. Set and setting is particularly important for novice users who may not have the control over the trip that experienced users gain. If you choose to use pot more often you can cultivate a better understanding of how you react to the high, your preferred dosage, and the more dramatic effects of the trip may lessen in intensity.

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