Top 8 Reasons Why You Can’t Get High Anymore

We all remember the good ol’ days when we started consuming cannabis. Half a joint would be enough to set us up for a night of fun and giggles. In fact, for a lot of cannabis users, nothing is as good as the initial highs as time passes. 

This is because, over time, your body grows accustomed to cannabis and develops more tolerance to it. Out of the many reasons why you can’t get high anymore, this one sits at the top of the list.

If you are experiencing the same problem where marijuana doesn’t get you high anymore, you may want to take a step back and analyze why. After all, what’s the point of partaking if you don’t enjoy it anymore?

Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to reset your system and enjoy cannabis like you used to. But, first, learn why you may not be getting high anymore in this article.

1. You Have Smoked Too Much in Your Life

Your body slowly gets used to the effects of cannabinoids when you smoke regularly over time. This is also why you’d get super blazed with just two puffs earlier, whereas it may take a joint or two to get you going now. 

In short, you need more and more to get the same level of high. And after months or years of regular smoking, your body needs more THC to feel the same.

THC binds to the CB1 receptors in your ECS or endocannabinoid system, which serves as a network of receptors, but our bodies are adaptive. Over time, the brain rewires some of the receptors to adapt to cannabinoids, leading to THC no longer affecting you the same way.

The solution is simple — smoke more. Choose strains with higher THC content, switch to concentrates or dabs, or roll thicker joints.

Another solution is to detox your brain. Take a break from smoking up for a couple of weeks so that your brain’s ECS gets reset. This break, known as a tolerance break, is highly effective. And, the longer the better. It also depends on how much THC you want to flush from your system. 

Although a tolerance break for a fortnight will remove most of the THC, a break lasting for 3-4 months will be even better as it removes the THC even from your hair follicles. After that, you can resume smoking — you’ll most probably feel like it’s the early days of your cannabis session.

2. Your Cannabis is Low-THC

One of the more common reasons why you may not be getting so high these days is if you are smoking low-THC cannabis. Weed with high THC levels produces a more pronounced high with classic symptoms like giggles, euphoria, and, of course, the munchies.

There is no way to visually know if a strain is high-THC or otherwise. It’s all about genetics. So, what you should do instead is purchase cannabis only after reading its THC content. Or, better yet, grow your own!

If the THC content listed on the website (ensure it is third-party lab tested) is over 15%, the strain is potent enough. Anything over 20% is too strong and should be left for experienced users or special nights. Similarly, look for information provided by seedbanks and choose high-THC strains. 

However, not all of us have the luxury of online shops and local dispensaries. If you live in a country where marijuana is illegal, you should simply shop around and find the supplier that sells the most potent cannabis. You can use a home testing kit to measure the cannabinoid content in cannabis. 

3. You are Not Smoking Cannabis

Look closely at what you are smoking, especially if you have bought it off the street or from an unlicensed seller. You will be shocked to know how many unlicensed sellers often lace cannabis with other similar-looking herbs (and even tobacco) to trick the customers. 

On the other hand, even if you don’t have laced cannabis, it may still contain a lot of leaves or stems — a common technique used by black market sellers to increase the volume. 

The solution is to check your stuff before purchasing it. And always purchase cannabis from reputable sellers that have licenses. If you are still unsure, always read the reviews about the product before making the purchase. 

While herb-laced cannabis won't necessarily harm your health, you may also get a batch of laced cannabis, that can be pretty harmful. Thus it’s crucial to always purchase cannabis from the right source.

If you have bought cannabis with a lot of leaves and stems, then you can still salvage it. Instead of smoking it, consider turning it all into cannabutter. 

4. Your Cannabis has Gone Bad

If you are sure of the quality and potency of your cannabis, the next thing you should check is your cannabis shelf life. When cannabis buds are exposed to light, air, or heat, the chemical compounds disintegrate, which makes the buds lose potency over time. 

So, if your cannabis buds are too old or not stored properly, the terpenes on them can get destroyed, leading to underwhelming psychoactive effects. 

The solution is to understand what a fresh bud is and how to distinguish it from an old bud. Second, you must learn how to store your cannabis the right way. You can maintain its freshness by storing the buds in an airtight container (preferably glass) and leaving it undisturbed in a cool, dark place in your high. 

5. You May Not be Smoking Properly

A lot of cannabis users don’t get high the first time they smoke up. This is mostly due to the lack of smoking skills. So, if you are new to smoking, you need to learn how to smoke well. When smoking up, inhale the smoke directly into your lungs. It may feel harsh or weird at first, but your body will get used to it. 

Another related problem is that you may not be smoking enough. If you take really small tokes of cannabis in low quantity, all you will get is a subtle high. To solve this, roll thick joints and smoke up so you give your body enough THC to have a good time. 

6. Other Substances are Interfering with Cannabis

Sometimes, you may not feel high if you are consuming cannabis with other substances like nicotine, caffeine, or alcohol. But you will find a lot of people claiming that these substances improve their high, so what’s the deal?

Everyone’s body is different, so for some, such substances may hinder THC from binding well to CB receptors, leading to milder highs. 

The solution is to try smoking cannabis without drinking coffee, alcohol, or smoking nicotine. If you get high, then the other substances were clearly affecting your high. 

7. Your Mind Isn’t Clear

Stress, anxiety, or overthinking can affect not only your emotions but also your bodily functions, including how cannabis is metabolized by your body. While a lot about the mental wiring of our brains remains unknown, experts have recognized that stress (and other negative feelings) can have a tremendous negative effect on your physical being. 

One of the ways stress affects your body is that it alters the hormone production in your body, making you feel tense and producing more adrenaline, which can stop THC from acting right in your brain.

The solution is simple — try to clear your mind before you consume cannabis. You can do what makes you happy, like walking your dog, watching a cartoon, eating a pastry, talking to your friends about what you are feeling, and a lot more. Only after that should you light your joint. 

Stress is not only bad for your cannabis high, it is bad for your body, too. If you can’t get high anymore due to stress, you should consider talking to a professional. It can lead to a lot of other problems that can impact your quality of life.

8. The Food You Ate May be Stopping You from Getting High

When you haven’t eaten for a while, the blood sugar levels in your body are low, which leads to THC hitting a lot harder. On the other hand, if you have had a heavy meal before consuming cannabis, the THC may not affect you as hard as it would otherwise. 

This does not happen with some meals, but other meals are more prone to reducing the effects of THC, especially foods with sugars. Instead, try foods high in terpenoid content or fat. 

Some of the best foods to eat when consuming cannabis are mangoes, pine nuts, chocolate, etc. Some of these foods even enhance your high, not diminish it. For example, chocolate contains anandamide, the happy hormone, which pairs well with THC to give you intense, blissful highs.

Summary: Top 8 Reasons Why You Can’t Get High Anymore

These were some of the reasons why cannabis may not be hitting you hard enough. And it’s easy to fix. In most cases, if you are a regular cannabis smoker, you have just built up a tolerance, which is probably why you can’t get high anymore on cannabis.

In other cases, if you are purchasing cannabis off the street, there is a chance that your cannabis is either adulterated or just low quality. You must purchase cannabis from reputable, licensed sellers only to get exactly what you want or grow your own at home. 

And for others, you can’t get high anymore on cannabis probably because you are not smoking properly, consuming cannabis with other substances or foods, or your mind is stopping you from getting high.

Whatever the reason, it is fixable. Try out the various tips mentioned above and you will be able to get high like before.