Smoke Less to Get Higher? The Endogenous Cannabinoid Receptors

Have you ever noticed after smoking a lot, you tend to get less high?

Last 4/20 my buddies and I had a smoking marathon. We consumed all manner of cannabis: bowls, bongs, blunts, spliffs, joints, vapes, and more. It was a really fun day, but towards the end of the night I wasn’t getting high any more.

The science behind the reason for this involves the endogenous cannabinoid receptors.  These receptors are what THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, bind to thus producing the marijuana high. A few months ago, Moirai introduced us to these little guys in an article about tolerance breaks. As I was smoking a motley of marijuana that night, the receptors in my brain were getting clogged and this is why I couldn’t get high any more.

A tolerance break, or t-break, will give your receptors a chance to dust themselves off so they can absorb more THC in the future. Because of the way cannabinoid receptors work, you will get higher the less you smoke, especially after a long break.

For example, lets say before a t-break, it takes you one bowl to get a nice high. After a break of a week or so, try going down to half a bowl. You might be tempted to smoke more, but resist! You are smoking less, which means there is less THC jamming up your receptors. It sounds counter-intuitive but it works!

I recently just took a week and a half break and I’ve found I’ll still get a nice high even though I’m smoking less. My instinct is to smoke more, but I try to refrain so when it’s time to take another break, I’m not burned out like I was last April 20th.