By Nick Maleki
Are your weed habits starting to become a little stale? Sometimes in our grand cannabis journey we reach a place where that high just doesn’t hit the same way it used to. Not to worry — there are many proven techniques to enhance your routine that can lead to tangibly more pleasurable and prolonged experiences. Here are 8 essential ways to extend and elevate your high.
1. Up Your Dose
If you’re just getting your feet wet in the world of cannabis and you start to feel like those beginner doses are packing less of a punch, the easiest thing you can do to increase that high is simply up the dose of your normal consumption. Whether it be an extra bowl smoked or a strain with higher levels of THC, this is a fool-proof way to get a high that will last you longer than before.
2. Consume Consciously
If you’re not using the right tools when smoking, there’s a good chance you’re not maximizing your high to its fullest potential. A required tool for joints, bowls and pieces is a grinder. This creates more surface area for your weed to burn, thus elevating the high.
Smoking out of a vape pen is another way altogether to enhance your high. Premium vape pens have a different high than traditional flower — sometimes even stronger — because of the way that the raw flower is processed into oil. Over the Rainbow, Houdini or Phantom vape pens by Mistifi are fantastic options to explore if you are looking to step into the world of vaping. Each features a triple-strain blend designed to supercharge cannabis’s natural entourage effect — allowing you to more deeply experience your high.
3. Change Strains and Up the Quality of Cannabis
Something as simple as changing the cannabis strain that you normally consume can have profound effects on how you may experience a high. For example, if you’re normally a Sativa person, why not try out a hybrid strain or something with more potency?
If you aren’t smoking flower, you’ll want to make sure that you’re using a pen or taking an edible that is using the parts of the plant that contain the highest levels of cannabinoids, as many use trimmings from buds to create the oil.
4. Eat Right
Believe it or not, what you eat can have a significant impact on your overall high. Foods containing certain fatty acids usually enhance your high and can extend it far longer than normal. Here’s a list of foods that extend and enhance highs (note: consume these products up to 30 minutes to an hour before smoking; time it to your taste).
- Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids: Found in fish, eggs, nuts and avocado, omega-3s work effectively because they trigger an anti-inflammatory response in the same receptor in the brain as marijuana does.
- Mangoes: This superfood is high in antioxidants and contains the same terpenes that help activate THC when it’s ingested.
- Sweet potatoes: Studies show that these sweet roots can help the brain produce serotonin, and as a result can potentially create a more pleasurable high.
5. Drink Right
It makes sense that since there are foods that can enhance your high, there are certain drinks that can naturally enhance your high as well. Here are some beverages that have been known to be beneficial in extending that high:
- Coffee: Coffee is full of antioxidants and can lead to highs that can be productive in the right headspace.
- Tea: Black and green teas both contain anti-inflammatory benefits and act similarly to foods high in omega-3 fatty acids. It can also open up your lungs to quickly receive blood flow that then heads to the brain, making a high more intense.
- Beer: Alcohol is known to increase the concentration of THC in your blood levels, so beer can be a way to intensify your high when used responsibly.
6. Try a Cardio Workout
Studies show that THC levels can increase by 15 percent after 35 minutes of cardio. Whether it’s on a bike, treadmill or even a surfboard, anything to get your heartbeat flowing is beneficial. Smoking afterwards can also help relax those muscles that were in use.
7. Switch Up Your Environment and Routine
It’s so easy to get in the habit of smoking in the same way and in the same spot. Changing your environment can have tangible effects on your cannabis experience. If you’re the type to have a standard smoke routine that you rarely mix up, try something as simple as changing your smoke spot to something more inspiring, the time of day that you normally smoke from or even the apparatus you use.
Switching to a full water pipe from a traditional piece, or incorporating edibles are some examples of this.
8. If All Else Fails, Time for a T-Break!
If you tried everything on this list and nothing seems to be working, it may be time to take a tolerance break. It’s completely normal for heavy cannabis users to take regular tolerance breaks to keep their marijuana experience consistent and sustainable.
Final Thoughts
It’s crucial that you practice cannabis recreational use safely, and not develop an unhealthy dependency to marijuana. If you follow all these tips, it’s a pretty sure bet that your cannabis high will be elevated and extended to a new place you haven’t experienced before.
Nick Maleki is a freelance writer and cannabis connoisseur based out of Los Angeles, California.
Sources:
Allbud – 8 Easy Ways to Intensify Your Cannabis High
WayofLeaf – 5 Must-Try Hacks to Make Your High Last Longer
American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) – Any Dose Of Alcohol Combined With Cannabis Significantly Increases Levels Of Thc In Blood
LA Weekly – Marijuana: Exercise Can Get You Extra High
Forbes – What Do Marijuana, Fish, Eggs And Nuts Have In Common? (Hint: It’s Good For You)
Dr. Green Relief – Food That Can Increase Marijuana Effects