Most cannabis consumers will tell you that there is a slew of factors that can affect your high. Similar to a glass of fine wine, cannabis must be appropriately paired with the situation and environment. We’ve broken it down into five fundamental factors that directly affect your cannabis experience: method, dose amount, setting, terpene availability, and tolerance. Let’s delve into how these five core factors affect your cannabis experience.
Tolerance
The initial and quite frankly the most important factor that affects your high is your tolerance. Tolerance is a medical term that refers to the minimum required amount of medication consumption (i.e., cannabis) that can successfully pass the threshold to be notably experienced by the body. In Layman’s terms, tolerance refers to how much your body can take of a substance. For example, some individuals are buzzed after two beers, and some are trashed after two beers. This is due to their tolerance. Refraining from a substance will lower tolerance, while constant indulgence will increase tolerance. This is why the first time you smoked cannabis, you were astronomically high versus the joint you smoked while reading this.
Dose Amount
Dosage is another important factor that significantly affects your cannabis experience. Across popular methods of consuming cannabis, the dosage is often measured in grams. In conjunction with your tolerance, dosage represents how much cannabis will be consumed during the session. This could be a joint (roughly about ½ of a gram) or a Backwood that has been stuffed to the brim (3.5 grams). Furthermore, if you are not the only person indulging in the dosed amount of cannabis, a bit of math will be required to identify your dosage. Splitting a joint with another individual is quite different than sharing a cigar packed with cannabis. In conjunction with your tolerance, the dose amount could blow your mind or do nothing for your cannabis experience whatsoever.
Setting
Another essential factor that can significantly affect your cannabis intake experience is the setting. The environment and ambiance is a factor that could make or break your experience. Cannabis consumers who used to smoke in their mom’s basement now have their own Diggs for smoking cannabis wherever and whenever know that this is tantamount. The environment can bring on adverse side effects of cannabis, such as paranoia and even psychosis in a select few. Conversely, the set & setting can provide consumers with a comfortable experience and feeling of warmth. Remember: the framing is just as necessary as the portrait itself.
Means of smoking (‘method’)
Another critical factor that can affect your high is how you choose to indulge. There are countless methods of consuming cannabis, ranging from smoking, edibles, tinctures, vaping, lotions, and even suppositories. It is also a fact that some ways are more potent than others. For example, consuming edibles are more powerful and everlasting than smoking. Concentrates such as dabs and shatter are stronger than smoking and edibles. The method you chose for consuming cannabis can make or break your high.
Terpenes
The last factor that can significantly affect your cannabis experience is the profile of terpenes within your cannabis. Terpenes are the essential oils of cannabis. These are the oils produced throughout the buds that significantly affect their aroma and medicating properties. There are a handful of known terpenes. Some of the famous terpenes are Limonene, Pinene, and Myrcene. These terpenes also give cannabis those effects often associated with Sativa or Indica strains. Terpenes can affect mood, creativity, energy level, appetite, and more. Understanding the terpene profile of your cannabis can provide you with the insight needed to determine the high of your buds.