by Tough Mama

You wake up in the morning, the sunlight hits you — and you know it’s not going to be the lovely day from that old song. You’re a little groggy, your eyes feel like someone shook out a bathing suit in them, and you’re feeling a little foggy. 

Could it be a weed hangover? Are weed hangovers even a real thing? And most important of all, how do you make it better? 

You’ve got questions about marijuana hangovers, and Mama’s got the answers you’re looking for. Here’s everything you need to know about how to handle the occasional morning-after yuck.

Weed Hangovers: the TL;DR

Mama knows sometimes you just want the facts without a lot of explanation, so here’s the TL;DR version.

• Weed hangovers are probably a real thing. Yeah, Mama said it.
• The main symptoms are dry eyes, cottonmouth, grogginess, brain fog, and sometimes, headache. 
• They’re pretty rare.
• They’re a lot less gnarly than hangovers caused by alcohol.
• The main cause of weed hangovers is too much high-potency weed.
• Not drinking enough water, eating too many Takis in a munchies-induced haze, and getting stoned on an empty stomach can also cause you to feel hungover. 
• There are things you can do to feel better the morning after a serious session, like taking a shower, drinking some coffee, and eating a good breakfast.
• The best way to avoid weed hangovers is to stick to your limits.

Are Weed Hangovers Real? Scientists Don’t Know, but Stoners Say So 

This is where Mama would usually whip out a few scientific studies to give you the down-low, but newsflash — scientists haven’t done a whole lot of research about marijuana hangovers. Maybe they were too busy trying to prove that it’s a gateway drug and all the other scare stories you read. Insert eye roll here. 

There are only a few studies on whether weed gives you a hangover. They’re pretty old, and only included young men as subjects, so they may not apply to everyone. 

• One study in 1985 had 13 guys smoke either a joint or a placebo (a.k.a, a fake joint). Then, they had them do a bunch of simple tests that night and the next morning. They found that the guys who smoked the real deal didn’t judge the passage of time as accurately in the morning as the guys who smoked the fake doobies. The researchers concluded that smoking marijuana may have some subtle “residual” effects.
• In a 1990 study, researchers had 12 guys smoke weed one weekend, and fake doobies the next. Each weekend, they had them answer questions and do tests the morning after they smoked. They found no real differences in their results between the two weekends and concluded that weed doesn’t cause hangover effects.
• In 2015, researchers asked medical marijuana users what they liked best and least about using medical cannabis. Some of the people who answered mentioned “marijuana hangover” and “a foggy, non-alert feeling in the morning.” The study doesn’t mention how common those particular effects were. They were lumped in with the 21% of smokers who said they didn’t like the smell, the munchies, coughing, or feeling paranoia. 

So science is pretty split on whether or not weed hangovers even exist. But stoners have been talking about weed hangovers practically as long as they’ve been lighting up. That’s what scientists call “anecdotal evidence,” and anecdotal evidence often turns out to be on point. It’s obvious that some people have some kind of symptoms the morning after enjoying themselves, but the very fact that folks still have to ask if it’s a real thing suggests that it’s pretty rare.

The bottom line: Yeah, weed hangovers are a real thing. But they’re pretty rare and the effects are pretty tame. 

What Causes Weed Hangovers? 

The first answer to that one is pretty basic. The most common cause of being stoned-over is smoking or ingesting edibles beyond your tolerance level. Just like greening out, when you smoke more than your body is used to, you might feel crappy afterward. You’re more likely to experience some symptoms if you’re indulging in high THC products, especially if it’s more potent than you’re used to, or if you use more than usual.

Some folks suggest that the morning after grogginess, sleepiness, and general blah-ness isn’t actually a hangover. Instead, they say, you’re just still high from last night. This can be especially true with edibles, which take much longer to kick in and deliver a high that can last for hours. 

It’s also possible that you’re feeling the effects of something else. *Cough*Alcohol*Cough*. If crossfading is your thing and you get that hungover feeling in the morning, you might be blaming the wrong intoxicant. Booze hangovers come with symptoms — like nausea and pounding headaches — that don’t usually happen when you stick to weed. 

If you like your intoxicants in liquid form, Tough Mama’s Yolo Shotz come in tasty flavors, mix well with your favorite mixers, and kick in fast to get the party started. Check out Mama’s recipe for Lucky Lemon Lime Elixir and follow on Insta for more tasty home-baked goodie ideas.

What Are the Symptoms of a Weed Hangover?

The most common symptoms of being stoned-over include… 

• Fatigue
• Sleepiness
• Brain fog
• Grogginess
• Dry eyes 
• Dry mouth
• Mild headache

How to Get Rid of a Weed Hangover

The best way to get your day going if you wake up still feeling baked is to just get on with your day. That may sound like some of Mama’s Tough Love, but it turns out that a typical morning routine is just what the doctor ordered for those symptoms.

Here’s Mama’s weed hangover cure:

• Take a shower. You can try alternating hot and cold water, but really, just getting under the water will help wake your system up and get your circulation going.
• Drink a cup of coffee. Caffeine will help jumpstart your alertness.
• Go for a brisk walk or do a quick workout. Just like the shower and the coffee, it will help wake you up.
• Eat a good breakfast. Hey, good nutrition is the key to feeling right any time, and it’s especially helpful if you’ve overindulged in anything the night before. Keep it light, and hit all the important food groups.
• Invest in some eye drops. Burning, grainy eyes? This, too, shall pass, but in the meantime, over-the-counter eye drops can help soothe them.
• Get the juices flowing. To deal with cotton mouth, try chewing some gum or sucking on hard candy. Either of those will give your salivary glands a little poke.

How to Avoid a Weed Hangover 

The best way to deal with a weed hangover is not to get one in the first place. Duh. 

Here’s Mama’s best advice on getting properly baked without feeling burned in the morning.

• Know your personal limits. If you’ve been around the block a bit, you know what yours are.
• If you’re trying something new — especially if it’s stronger than your usual — start low and go slow. 
• Listen to your body. It will let you know when you’ve hit the point of a little more is a little too much.
• Avoid mixing your intoxicants. Or at least know that if you do, the chances of feeling grim in the morning are a lot higher.
• Start the party earlier. If your late-night seshes make it hard for you to get going in the morning, try indulging earlier in the evening.
• Eat before you toke. 

Weed hangovers aren’t inevitable — some people will never wake up twice-baked — but they can happen to even the toughest of us. The trick is knowing what to expect and what to do if it happens to you. 

Now that you’ve got all the info you need, Mama doesn’t want to hear any more whining. You know what to do.

Sources

PubMed – ‘Hangover’ Effects the Morning After Marijuana Smoking

Psychopharmacology Subjective and Behavioral Effects of Marijuana the Morning After Smoking

PubMed – Chronic Pain Patients’ Perspectives of Medical Cannabis

by Tough Mama

No, we’re not talking about shake weed. And, no, we’re not talking about the kinda shakes Daniel Day-Lewis and Kelis are into — though weed milkshakes are actually a thing but try to stay on topic, OK? Listen to Mama for a change.

Weed causes people to feel a lot of different stuff, and in some rare cases, THC can cause people to shake, shiver, or tremor. We call that the weed shakes. It’s always good to listen to your body, and the same kind of science that evolved Mama from a chimp to a gorilla has a perfectly legit explanation for weed shakes, too. Remember that weed shakes are usually harmless, take a deep breath, and we’ll get through this together.

OK, But What are Weed Shakes?

To be real, we don’t have studies in, like, Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research or The Journal of Neuroscience that dive into weed shakes. Honestly, as Herb reminds us, we have a lot more studies touting cannabis’ power to reduce tremors and spasms. 

But what we do have is a heap of anecdotal evidence, where people who have smoked cannabis or taken edibles report involuntary tremors, shivers, and shakes, ranging from unsteady hands to Parkinson-like vibrations. And these stories come from a whole range of sources, from Reddit users to medical pros to cannabis industry CEOs.

Why Shakes Happen

When you smoke weed, shaking is not the ideal result. Munchies, yes, high eyes, sure, but tremors are no bueno. Try not to worry your pretty little human head about it, though, because Mama has a perfectly good explanation. 

THC can actually lower your body temperature as it interacts with nitric oxide in the body, and you know what happens when you’re cold? That’s right, you shiver. But more likely, weed shakes happen when you don’t listen to your mom’s excellent advice about “everything in moderation.” 

Too much THC – whether that’s too many hits or going too hard on a high-concentration strain – can lead not only to psychoactive effects but also to paranoia and even shaking. 

Other reasons people smarter than Mama (THERE AREN’T MANY) suggest for weed shakes include: 

• Anxiety. 😰 While marijuana is typically a one-way ticket to the Mellow Zone™️, every person’s reaction is different because every person’s body is different. Sometimes, that reaction includes anxious feelings, which can physically manifest with the shakes.
• Over-Stimulation. 😵‍💫Speaking to Cannigma, Ministry of Hemp CEO Erin Zadoorian says that over-stimulation “usually occurs when you take your weed with other substances, like tobacco or caffeine.” So THC + stimulants = maybe some shakes.
• Low Blood Sugar. 😪 Because the endocannabinoid system, the built-in bodily network that processes cannabis, helps us maintain a healthy glucose balance, it’s possible that shaking happens as a response to low blood sugar. An American Journal of Medicine piece even found that stoners have a tendency to be more sensitive to the effects of insulin, which adds some weight to this theory.  

Tough Mama’s Cure for Weed Shakes

Usually, Mama’s best health advice is “smoke more weed,” but that’s not the brightest idea here. Try these ancient gorilla healing remedies instead:

• Cut out the stimulants. If weed shaking is a thing for you, avoid tobacco, Coke, tea, coffee, matcha, fair-trade lattes, Red Bulls, Four Lokos…you get the idea. Cut out any caffeine, nicotine or other sorts of uppers. Mama knows what you did in college.
• Bundle up. In case those shakes are related to weed’s effect on body temp, get a warm blanket or cozy up by the fire. Doing this will help calm you down, too, which might ease anxiety-induced effects. A little cuddle never hurt anybody, either.
• Breathe in, breathe out. Mama loves the sound of one hand clapping (silence, for those of you who need a bit of help here), and mindfulness, breathing, and meditation exercises are a great remedy for weed shakes. Get away from hectic environments or chaotic people, focus on your steady inhales and long exhales, and clear your mind in a safe, quiet space.

As Healthline says, you can’t overdose on weed, but you can overdo it. 

Your body reacts to weed differently than anybody else’s body because Mama made you beautiful. So remember to start low and go slow, and keep good, safe company when you’re experimenting with new strains or edibles. Most of the time, you can expect weed shakes to last for no more than 30 minutes, or a few hours with slow-metabolizing edibles. Just rest your head on Mama’s bosom till they pass.

Sources

The Cannigma – What Are the ‘Weed Shakes’ and How Can You Prevent Them?

National Library of Medicine – PubMed.gov: American Journal of Medicine: The Impact of Marijuana Use on Glucose, Insulin, and Insulin Resistance Among US Adults

Herb – Does Smoking Give You the Shakes?

Healthline – You Might Not Overdose on Cannabis, But You Can Still Overdo It