Category: Ask Mama

Mama thinks you should always pay attention to what you put into your body, even if that body is weirdly smooth like some sorta land-dolphin. And while your pizza rolls have nutrition facts and serving suggestions right there on the box, edibles can feel a little more like some sorta delicious wild west. 

Don’t be scared, baby – Mama’s always got your back, and she’s gonna guide you through the wide world of edibles till you’re perfectly high, feelin’ snugly safe, and absolutely full of snacks.

The Wonderful World of Edibles

It’s a pretty weird time to be alive compared to how things were back in Mama’s day (and also compared to living in the jungle). But it’s a pretty f***ing awesome time to be alive when it comes to weed stuff. Nowadays, you can get edibles ranging from beef jerky to ice cream, not to mention all kinds of cold and hot beverages, powders, tablets, and sublingual drops, if you’re not into the whole munchies thing (but you should eat, you look thin).

How do they make all these treats? Basically, the same way they make other foods, but infused with cannabis extract. Usually, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the stuff that gets you high) cannabinoids are extracted from the plant by heating up flower to produce cannabis oil, or distillate. Just like a home-cooked meal from Mama, you can use oil to make all sorts of food or add it to existing types of food – so that’s often how your THC gets into your snacks.

Leveling Up with Nanoemulsion

Like Mama said, though, it’s a great time for weed culture, and that includes all kinds of science-y innovations. Mama’s own new fave, YOLO SHOTZ, have blasted right past distillate – they’re infused with cured resin via nanoemulsion tech, which breaks oil droplets down into ridiculously teeny tiny particles that not only mix easily with water (TAKE THAT, SALAD DRESSING) but also increase their bioavailability and potency. It really hit home with the bigwigs at the Hall of Flowers expo, so maybe you should be proud of Mama for a change.

How Edibles Work

Edibles are deffo diverse, but one thing they have in common is that they are all food, food like delicious bananas. And that means that when you eat or drink or drop an edible, that food – which in this case contains THC – is digested, metabolized, and absorbed into your bloodstream. It’s through this process that the cannabis part of the edible begins to interact with your body’s built-in weed receptors, the endocannabinoid system, to send special signals to your brain and muscles. And that’s when you start to 🎵feeeeeeeeel hiiiiiiiigh.🎵

That’s also why you’ll notice that liquid edibles usually hit faster than solid snacks, but more on that later, kids. 

Some Basic Dosage Tips

When it comes to edibles dosing, keep in mind that everybody’s different. Just like smoking weed, all kinds of variables – from your size to the strain to the dose itself – are gonna affect how you feel. That said, experts like Dr. Dustin Sulak at Leafly offer up some basic rules of thumb to help you get your edible journey started off right:

• 1 – 2.5 mg of THC: good for a micro-dose or a first-timer getting their feet wet, can help with focus and creativity.
• 5 mg of THC: might cause euphoric feelings or some solid relaxation (depending on the strain) for recreational stoners who want to get a little high.
• 10 mg of THC: getting way more euphoric or vibey now, this is best for stoners who’ve built up lots of tolerance.
• 20 mg THC: we’re talking very high at this point; for high-tolerance super stoners who want to alter their perceptions.
• 50 – 100 mg of THC: mega-grade high for the most seasoned stoner elite, Mama cannot officially endorse this – prepare for altered states, you are not going to work today. 

You can find THC content and edibles dosing suggestions right on the labels of your favorite edibles (aren’t you glad Mama taught you to read?). Mama’s YOLO SHOTZ, for instance, contain 100 mg THC per bottle. That’s good for mixing into 20 canna-cocktails at 5 mg a pop, or for going hard and shooting 10 straight shots of 10 mg each. Not by yourself, calm down, damn.

How Long Does it Take for an Edible to Kick In?

So how long does it take for edibles to kick in? You’ve probably noticed a theme by now, and that theme is that edibles can vary. Because of that whole metabolizing thing, it usually takes edibles a little while longer to kick in than smoking or vaping. Depending on active ingredients, dosage, THC concentration, and stuff, you’re generally looking at 30 to 60 minutes to feel the effects of an off-the-shelf edible. 

Want an example of those variables? YOLO SHOTZ onset time is only about 10 to 15 minutes, making them one of the fastest-acting edibles out there. That’s even when considering that beverages are generally faster to get you high than solid foods, as it only takes liquids about 10 or 20 minutes to leave the stomach compared to the hours it can take solid foods. Just get ready for Mama’s special recipe to kick your ass in the best way, is all I’m saying.🚀

How Long do Edibles Last?

And once you’re there, how long do edibles last? A lot longer than smoking or vaping – expect them to stick around for 6 to 8 hours, if you’re rolling with most traditional edibles. For the over-achieving honor roll kinda stoner, plan for your peak high to be about 3 hours into the experience. Because of that nano magic, though, YOLO SHOTZ get absorbed a lot quicker, peak about an hour into the high and usually last about 2 hours (or up to around 4 hours, max).  

Remember, it ain’t all set in stone and there will be variables. Listen to the smart people, like Johns Hopkins M.D. Andrew Stolbach, who said to EatingWell, “Something that’s important to remember about edibles is that absorption is unpredictable. People don’t experience peak effect for a while after eating, [which can be] minutes to hours – but usually hours.” 

Words to the Wise 

Speaking of absorption, one thing that makes edibles tricky, and reason number 1,562 you should always listen to Mama, is that food ingredients, what else you’ve had to eat or drink that day, your metabolism, and the size and shape of your body can all affect how long it takes for edibles to kick in and how high you feel. Also, the high from traditional edibles can sometimes feel a little more intense or full-bodied than smoking weed. 

Again, though, you’ll find variations here. YOLO SHOTZ, for example, do feel more like smoking weed – and there’s a science-based reason for that. While traditional edibles metabolize in your liver as a byproduct called 11-hydroxy-THC, nanoemulsion-powered absorption enables SHOTZ to bypass the liver and go right from the tongue into the small intestine.  

That’s why it’s extra important to remember what Mama’s mama always said: start low and go slow. That’s true if you’re new edibles, but it’s also true when you’re trying a brand-new edible for the first time, even if you think you’re Stoner Supreme. As Mama just told you, it can take a while to know how you’re going to feel. So have a low dosage, wait a couple hours to see how your body responds, and increase the dosage from there. It ain’t a race, and we’re all gonna have a great time when we get there (UNLESS YOU MAKE ME TURN THIS CAR AROUND). So with that in mind, SHOTZ are on Mama this time. 🥃

Oh, honey, you’ve got those high eyes, and that’s just not gonna work for your first shift, the Zoom call that could’ve been an email, or the wedding you forgot you agreed to go to six months ago. 

Like most of the good things about weed, high eyes happen because of THC, and we know weed is a well-tolerated remedy – so, no, your eyes ain’t gonna fall out no matter how eye-poppin’ that strain is. 

Now let Mama tell you what’s really going on, and what you can do about that mean ol’ stoner eye.

What Are High Eyes?

Mama doesn’t get high eyes, because her deep brown gorilla eyes contain only the multitudes of nature and a quiet whisper beckoning you back to the ways of your primal ancestors. But as a dolphin-smooth human, you may get them when you smoke weed – it’s a common thing confirmed by both anecdotal evidence and scientific studies.

Just to be clear, when Mama says “high eyes” or “stoner eyes” or what have you, Mama means the reddened sclera (the white part) of the eye, the sort of glassy look and the dilated pupils you may experience when you smoke a bunch of weed. We’re not getting into hard drugs, optical ailments, or anything else that makes your eyes red, but isn’t related to cannabis. (Mama doesn’t know what you do in your downtime, OK?)

What They Aren’t

Let’s get something straight right off the bat: people used to think that it was the smoke – a well-known eye-reddener – from, uh, smoking weed that made eyes go all red. But you may have noticed in recent years that we’ve got nearly smokeless “stealth” vapes. We’ve got more types of edible snacks than you can shake a 7-11 at, we’ve got tinctures, we’ve got shots, we’ve got all kinds of totally smoke-free methods to get you nice n’ high. And they still might make your eyes red. 

In case you haven’t figured it out yet? It’s not the smoke, ya’ll.

Why Does Weed Make Your Eyes Red?

So why does weed make your eyes red? That’s simple: vasodilation. Next question, Mama’s got places to be.

But…What’s Vas-o-di-la-tion?

You’re still here? Man, Mama really wishes you paid a little more attention in Intro to Human Physiology.

First off, it’s vasodilation, not Vaseline. Vasodilation is just the dilation – which basically means the widening, enlarging, or opening up – of your blood vessels. According to the same type of science people who taught Mama’s great aunt sign language, THC (or tetrahydrocannabinol, the active cannabinoid in weed that makes you feel high) interacts with the body via the cannabinoid receptors in the endocannabinoid system. That’s a lot of canna words, but basically, this built-in system is responsible for all the physical responses that happen when you smoke (or otherwise consume) weed.

One of those responses is to create an overall decrease in blood pressure. To do that, the endocannabinoid system widens up – or dilates – your blood vessels and capillaries, which you’ve got a bunch of in your eyeballs. This is what causes your eyes to take on a red, bloodshot look. It’s also what might make you feel lightheaded when you’re high, and the depressurizing is exactly why some glaucoma patients use cannabis as a treatment.   

How to Get Rid of High Eyes

Regular ol’ high eyes are more of a nuisance than anything to worry about, it’d be great if you could leave the house looking like a respectable member of society. While, ya know, still being a little high. Ideally.

Mama says that’s totally possible, and here’s how:

• Use eye drops specifically formulated to reduce redness (you’ll see that right on the label). Just be sure to use them sparingly – only when you really need them – as relying on them like a crutch can cause your eyes to develop a dependency or lower their effectiveness.
• Hydrate while you smoke up. This is just about always good advice (expect no less from this gorilla), but especially so if you regularly experience high eyes. Cannabis itself doesn’t cause dehydration, but smoking just about anything does. And dehydration doesn’t help with the whole bloodshot eyes thing.
• Have a nice cup of coffee or tea. As a stimulant, caffeine is a vasoconstrictor. Remember vasodilation? Well, this is like the opposite. Vasoconstriction helps close or tighten blood vessels, which can reduce redness in the eyes. A splash of cold water or an ice pack around the eyes can have a similar effect 

Another surefire remedy? Just straight-up time. The people at the American Academy of Ophthalmology are pretty smart, and they estimate that high eyes typically only last a maximum of three to four hours after getting high. So drink a tall glass of water, smoke your pre-roll, and try not to worry so much – stress is a lot more dangerous than a little case of stoner eye.

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