Thousands of years ago, the first person looked at a cannabis plant and wondered, “What will happen if I smoke this?”. Their next thought was (probably): “How long does a weed high last?”.
Ever since then, those two questions have been repeating themselves amongst the canna-curious all the way up to the modern day. Due to the wonders of technology, those questions have been applied to an increasing number of different forms and methods that showcases the wondrous versatility of the cannabis plant.
From the flower itself to hash, edibles, tinctures, oils and concentrates– everyday, people wonder if it can get them high and how long the high will last.
The short answer: it depends.
A weed high can last anywhere from 1 – 10+ hours.
How long a weed high lasts depends on a range of factors such as:
- your tolerance to cannabis
- what form of cannabis you consumed (did you vape it, smoke it, or eat it, etc.)
- how much THC is in it
- how much of it you took
- your body weight and metabolism
- the last time you ate and how full you are
Today, we’ll explore a few of the most common and popular methods of consuming cannabis- smoking/vaping, edibles, and concentrates- and attempt to answer that age-old question:
How long does the weed high last?
Cannabinoids: It’s all in the plant
THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) is the most famous chemical compound associated with cannabis (aka cannabinoid) and for good cause- it’s what gets you high! But THC content is not the only indicator of quality as it’s sometimes portrayed. Some would argue that focusing only on THC comes at the expense of the entourage effect– the theory that many other cannabis compounds in addition to THC work together to create beneficial effects, in a situation where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
That includes compounds like CBD (cannabidiol)- cannabis’ second-most famous compound- which has a long list of potential health benefits. It’s also non-psychoactive, which means it doesn’t get you high- making it extremely popular amongst those who want cannabis’ health benefits without the buzz.
Other cannabinoids include CBN, CBG, and perhaps the most Canadian-sounding one of them all, CBC.
You also can’t forget about terpenes, those deliciously aromatic oils that give cannabis strains their intoxicatingly unique aromas.
Even if you’ve never heard of terpenes before, you’ve definitely smelled them.
Terpenes are found in many things in addition to cannabis- like mango, lemon rinds, hops, mint, and pine needles, to name a few!
How long ‘til you feel it?
The biggest determining factor in how fast the THC acts is how you consumed it. Here’s a quick breakdown of when to expect to start feeling the effects after “doing the weed”.
Smoking/vaping
You’ll generally begin feeling the high within 2-10 minutes of your first toke.
That’s how long it takes THC to enter the bloodstream through the lungs. Smoking/vaping are some of the most common and popular ways of enjoying cannabis, and is often many people’s first experience with the plant.
If you’re smoking with friends, it’s a shared, social experience that can be almost as much fun as the high itself. There’s a certain ritual to it- from the rolling of the joint, to standing in a circle and passing it around- that makes it many people’s favourite and go-to method of consuming cannabis.
- Tip: Smoking dried flower has a very distinctive odor that can carry quite far, so if being inconspicuous is a priority, vaping is much easier to be discreet about.
Smoking/vaping cannabis is a gentler, more gradual high that is easier to control than other methods (like edibles) because you can smoke to a comfortable level and just ride it out, and also stop immediately if you begin to feel too high for comfort.
How Long Do Edibles Take to Kick In?
Cannabis edibles can take anywhere between 30 minutes to a few hours to kick in, but the average time is between 30-60 minutes.
That’s because THC is processed differently when you eat it versus when you smoke it. When your liver processes edibles, it converts the THC existing in the edible from Delta-9 THC to 11-hydroxy THC.
This essentially changes the composition of THC to almost a different drug. 11-Hydroxy THC tends to release erratically and can be different from person to person, and can take upwards of 2-3 hours to come into effect.
To explain it in short, each body processes edibles differently.
- Tip: A common mistake for newcomers to edibles is not waiting long enough for the edible to kick in and taking more. And then all of a sudden it hits and they’re way too high. A good rule of thumb for edibles is “Start low and go slow”. Overdosed on edibles? Check out our article on how to recover from edibles.
Many of our members have said Canada’s legal cannabis system does not have what they need, especially in terms of edibles, as Health Canada limits edibles to 10 mg of THC per package.
Many would consider 10mg of THC a very small dose, with 5mg being a widely recommended dosage for absolute cannabis beginners.
That leaves anybody who wants something stronger than 10 mg of THC out of luck. That includes medical cannabis patients who need 1000mg THC edibles to help manage debilitating pain. But Health Canada is basically telling them to buy 100 individually-packaged edibles not only at exorbitant cost to the consumer, but to the environment as well since all of that unnecessary packaging then goes straight into the landfill.
That’s like trying to get drunk by drinking individually-packaged, non-alcoholic beer. What a waste of time and packaging.
Concentrates
As the name implies, concentrates such as shatter are a highly concentrated form of cannabis, where the essence of the cannabis plant has been extracted and condensed until all that remains are sticky, resinous oils packed with cannabinoids and terpenes.
Some would say the difference between concentrates and flower is similar to the difference between hard liquor and beer:
“It only takes a bit, and you feel it almost instantly.”
We’ve tested cannabis concentrates that contain anywhere from 60-90% THC. Compare that to dried flower, where the strongest strains usually test between 20-30% THC.
- Did you know: The highest-ever flower strain at Budmail was High Octane OG- it tested at a whopping 31% THC! Going off the THC content alone, you’d think that it was one of our best strains ever, but in reality, it was kind of lackluster due to minimal terpenes and other cannabinoids.
At the same time, we had some Romula that “only” tested at 23% but it was rich in terpenes and other cannabinoids, and was seemingly much more potent! Smoking hash can have a lighter effect than other concentrates.
Concentrates are usually used by more veteran cannabis users, if not on the strength alone, then for the paraphernalia required since concentrates are “dabbed” using a “dab rig”, which is a special kind of pipe that requires a torch lighter to reach the appropriate temperature.
OR you could ditch the torch and go with a fancy smart rig.
How long does the high last?
The timelines below are meant to be taken as a general guideline as so much depends on the potency, dosage, tolerance, and method.
Smoking/Vaping cannabis:
The high from smoking/vaping cannabis is usually felt within 10 minutes of inhaling and generally last for 1-3 hours, although the effects can be felt for as long as 8 hours
- Tip: This handy cannabis guide from the L.A. Times contains a “smoke calculator” that calculates the THC of dozens of strains and calculates the dosage for a joint, bong and vaporizer. It also allows you to compare different edible products!
How Long Do Edibles Last?
Edibles can vary so much in potency that the length of the high can range anywhere from 1-3 hours up to 24 hours! That’s why it’s so important to pay attention to the potency and take the right dose because once you’ve eaten it- there’s no going back!
Dabbing concentrates:
The high from dabbing usually lasts 1-3, much like smoking, although if you’re dabbing high-THC concentrates, the high could linger for much, much longer
Resources
L.A. Times: “A simple guide to pot, THC and how much is too much”.
Leafly: “The entourage effect: How cannabis compounds may be working together”.
LabRoots: “Why Does Marijuana Get You High?”.
Healthline: “How Long Does a Cannabis High Last?“
