How Does Weed Really Make You Feel?

The cannabis industry is one of the most profitable in North America, and with legalization spreading, it will only get bigger as time (and acceptance) continues. Besides this, education is also important, and with cannabis becoming more accepted, there must also be enough information available should anyone unfamiliar with weed want to learn more. One of the biggest questions people have is How does weed really make you feel? There are both good and bad side effects, so here is everything you need to know.

The Good

Anyone who tries cannabis do so for the good effects, these include:

Happy 

Being high on cannabis can make people feel euphoric. It can help them feel like their problems disappear, and means they don’t need to worry about anything while they are high. If you get high with friends, then these feelings of happiness can increase, as you should all be having a good time and feel on the same level.

Entertained

Many people will get high to play games, listen to music, watch a movie, or read a book. Some will even do it for menial everyday tasks such as cleaning the house or doing the dishes. Weed is useful for enhancing experiences that you’d otherwise not want to do. It can make even the most tedious activities more entertaining and makes things that are already entertaining even better, providing a more profound perspective on your experience.

Creative

From famous artists like The Beatles to legendary authors such as Jack Kerouac, many people embrace the creative effects of cannabis to write stories or play music. Cannabis can help you feel you have expanded your mind, enabling you to unlock ideas that you might not be able to locate while sober. Unlocking this creativity means you are more likely to take risks, and it could even help you get over a creative hump that you have struggled with recently.

Relaxed 

With certain strains, weed can also make you feel relaxed. This can quite often happen with edibles and causes a Couch Lock effect where you’re unable to get up from the sofa because you’re too comfortable. This effect is on the extreme side, though. Some cannabis users, will use it to wind down and relax at the end of the day, similar to how others enjoy a glass of wine or a cigarette.

Hungry 

Because weed can enhance your senses, including your hearing and sensitivity to light and sound, it also makes you feel hungry. The munchies are one thing that everybody knows about when it comes to using cannabis, and you might eat more than you usually do in a single sitting.

The Not-So-Good

However, there are some negative side effects associated with cannabis. These can occur when you are inexperienced if you do not know your limits and from prolonged use or mixing cannabis with other substances, especially alcohol. As enjoyable as the positive effects are, you should also think about the bad.

Anxiety and Panic

Anxiety and panic are two of the primary side effects associated with getting high. Experts believe this has something to do with the increased cannabinoids that could cause overstimulation of your amygdala. You might also feel anxious because you think of things you should be doing, rather than getting high, especially if you have a big project coming up. This is why it’s important to complete everything on your to-do list before getting high, so you don’t feel guilty or anxious about it.

Paranoia

Weed has been illegal for many years, and there is a vast majority of users who only associate getting high with ‘breaking the law’. This is one reason people can feel paranoid when smoking it. They are concerned about getting caught, either by parents, neighbours, coworkers, or the police, which can put them on edge. Even though weed has been legalized, there is still the social stigma that could make it challenging to de-associate with your existing knowledge, so you still feel paranoid regardless of the fact it is legal.

Lethargy 

As much as weed can help to relax you, there’s also the risk of taking it too far. For some, it can become a crutch that you turn to when you are stressed or bored. This can lead to severe lethargy that affects your social and personal life. You might find out that you don’t want to do anything except getting high, which is not a good thing. You will also put off important things, such as projects, assignments, exercise, or general housekeeping, which creates a vicious cycle of laziness.

Nausea 

Smoking or ingesting too much cannabis can make you feel nauseous as your body rejects the substance and goes into defence mode. The lead-up to nausea or vomiting can make the room spin and make it impossible to get comfortable. This sensation can also happen when you use cannabis after getting drunk, as the two do not go together well.

It Can Depend on the Strain

One important thing to remember about weed is that different strains can affect you in different ways.

The two primary strains are Indica and Sativa, but there are also hybrid strains available.

Indica strains are believed to give you the full-body-relaxation-high that most associate with cannabis use. Conversely, Sativa can give you a productive high that motivates you to do things, rather than sit on the couch.

As you’d expect, hybrid strains provide a balance of both.

That said, the science behind these supposed effects is not entirely proven, and experts suggest that knowledge about cannabis and its effects makes it difficult to discern based solely on how it looks.

Summing Up

People can have different experiences with cannabis, which means that there is no catch-all way that weed makes people feel. However, there are plenty of general side-effects that you can expect. Most people will try cannabis to achieve the good side effects, but inexperienced users must be careful. Overdoing it and not knowing your limits (just like any other substance, including caffeine, sugar, and alcohol) can have negative side effects. This is why it’s always useful to be aware of how weed makes you feel so you can enjoy your experience.