What happens if you smoke bad weed and have a bad trip?
Having a bad trip can be quite a frequent occurrence but there is much information available to help you know what to do if it happens to you. In this guide, we give you some tips on how to prevent a bad trip, how to get through a bad trip without too much trouble, and some popular strains that are unlikely to lead to a bad trip.
What is a bad trip?
A ‘bad trip’ is an informal way of describing the experience of overwhelming emotions brought on by drugs. When it comes to cannabis, a bad trip can happen for a number of reasons and because everyone’s response is likely to be different to the same product it is not always easy to pinpoint exactly what caused it. Whether it’s the music that’s playing or who you are hanging out with, a bad trip can be sparked off.
Whilst having a pleasant experience leads to feeling ‘high’ when we take more than our limit, be that from smoking, dabbing, or eating, then we can suddenly flip into a less pleasant realm. A key way to help you learn your limits is to take things slowly when trying new things. A different strain can be much more potent than another and eating cannabis takes longer to kick in so you should always avoid diving right in if you want to avoid a bad trip and don’t want to ‘pull a whitey’.
What are the symptoms of a bad trip?
Just like the causes of a bad trip, the symptoms of a bad trip will also vary from person to person and vary depending on how you have chosen to enjoy your cannabis. However, there are a number of common things that many people have reported feeling when suffering from what they would describe as a bad trip. One of these common features is the combination of a pale face with a sweaty brow, a shortness of breath, and a numb face.
When we experience these three things together, it can instill a sense of panic but it is important to try and stay calm and recognize why you are feeling this way. Another common symptom is stomach pain and nausea which can lead to vomiting although you are less likely to throw up if you can try and remain calm. This is because our stomachs are linked to our nervous system and our psychological feelings can transform into physical ones if we focus on them too much and feel panicked.
Other common symptoms of a bad trip are:
#1 Feeling Disorientated:
You can lose touch with your surroundings and even have hallucinations that affect your vision and auditory receptors. This can even make you lose track of where you are, time passing and who you are with.
#2 Strange speech:
You may notice your speech is slurred and even producing strange sounds.
#3 Inability to focus:
Unlike normal lack of focus, you may find that your brain is flooded with thoughts that are not triggered by your surroundings and lead you to feel out of control.
Being too high can cause you to feel extremely unsettled when you don’t know what’s happening. When you notice any signs of a bad trip, then you should make sure to stop consuming any more cannabis and remember you can just wait it out safe in the knowledge that no one has ever died from a cannabis overdose. However, if you love using cannabis but are finding it hard to avoid bad trips, here are some top tips to avoid a bad trip.
How to prevent a bad trip from cannabis?
As the causes are little known, preventing a bad cannabis trip is not easy and the tips here might not be totally effective for everybody. However, they are a good way to make sure you have the best chance of avoiding a bad weed trip. With these provisos in mind, the following tips will go a long way to prevent a bad experience with weed.
#1 Get comfortable
This is important in terms of both your physical and emotional surroundings. Smoking weed in an area where you are constantly worrying about the police showing up, or getting high before going into a formal dinner where no one else is are both open the door to a bad trip as your stress levels and emotions will be naturally heightened in these situations.
You’re also more likely to have a bad trip when you’re surrounded by people you don’t know. So a good thing to do is surround yourself with good mates when you smoke weed as this will help you to relax. Having a physically comfortable space to smoke in, is also a good idea as this will also lead to you feeling more relaxed if you are supported by a big comfy sofa that sucks you to its warm envelope.
#2 Have a place to escape to in mind
If you have had some bad experiences and want to know how to stop tripping on weed, then a good plan to make before you get high is to have a quiet place in mind where you can escape to if needs be. Make sure there is somewhere in the vicinity where you can relax on your own, whether that’s in the back of a car or a spare room as having this backup available will encourage a relaxed mind and reduce anxiety.
#3 Keep hydrated and eat well
Most people who’ve smoked weed have experienced the munchies at some point. So making sure you have some decent snacks in is a good idea to help you avoid a bad trip as it is something different to focus on. You should also keep well hydrated and sugary drinks tend to taste even nicer after a few spliffs. This will prevent your body from feeling additionally strained and potentially minimize the high effect to begin with rather than leaving you needing to find a way to come down.
How to stop a bad cannabis trip once it has started
As mentioned, having a bad trip can be hard to predict and can happen to anybody, even a regular weed smoker if they find themselves in the wrong situation. Even if you’ve followed the tips above, you may still find yourself spinning out and feeling ‘too high’. These next tips are good to have in your armory to stop a bad trip quickly or at the very least will help you to respond in the right way when you are having a bad reaction to weed and help bring it under control.
#1 Get out of the room
If you start tripping out or feel dizzy and nauseous, then it’s a good idea to try and change your surroundings as the situation you are in may be causing you to have a bad trip. Finding somewhere you can be alone is a good idea too as this can help you to quickly feel relaxed. It’s also a good idea to get your legs elevated as this can help fight against the effects of a drop in blood pressure.
#2 Have some sugar
Whether from a sugary drink, a bag of sweets or some chocolate, it’s a good idea to get some sugar in you if you start having a bad trip as it will help to boost your blood sugar levels. If often drink coffee you could also try having a cup to wake yourself up, but this can make some people feel more anxious. If you keep feeling bad, don’t give up after the first attempt and tuck into some cake or some cookies to give yourself a real good boost.
The good news is some studies (https://www.healthline.com/health-news/policy-marijuana-use-helps-with-blood-sugar-control-and-bmi-051613#1) have found marijuana users tend to be slimmer than non-users even when accounting for other behavioral characteristics so you don’t have to worry about piling on the pounds if you usually try and avoid things that are high in sugar.
#3 Turn down the volume
If you start feeling crappy, then it’s a good idea to try and limit your sensory engagement so you can relax better. This means turning off the TV or any music you’ve got playing and turning the lights down low is a good idea too. You can also try shutting your eyes to really block everything out, but for some people, this can make them feel nauseous and dizzy.
#4 Don’t panic
This is actually the most important thing to remember when you start to feel too high. If you’ve ever been in the position where you’ve said ‘I got high and felt like I was dying’, then this will probably be easier said than done but it’s the key way to keep a bad trip at bay. Take deep breaths, remember that no one has ever died from cannabis, and remind yourself that what you are feeling is temporary, and you will soon bring everything under control.
What can you do to help others?
With the steps above, and always remembering to try and stay relaxed, it should be within your grasp to keep bad trips at bay and make them pass quickly if you do find yourself feeling too high. However, it is also useful to know what you can do to help others when you notice they might be feeling they seem to be having a bad cannabis trip. Knowing you’re looking out for each other is a good way to make sure your group feels comfortable smoking together too.
To start with, it’s a good idea to talk with them, but don’t repeat obvious things or repeatedly tell them to calm down. It’s better to ask them questions about how they are feeling than tell them something they probably already know but are struggling to implement in practice. If they say they are feeling bad you can offer them help to find somewhere to chill out on their own for a bit, offer them something sugary to eat or drink, and turn the music down or the telly off.
What are the best cannabis strains to avoid bad trips?
As already explained, having a bad trip depends on more than just the weed you are smoking. Nevertheless, a good way to prevent a bad trip can also be the careful selection of the weed you smoke. For example, some people have argued that a bad trip can be caused by using cannabis that has traces of pesticides or fertilizers on it so growing your own can be a good way to avoid this.
You can also choose strains with low THC or that are predominantly CBD if you find you are often negatively affected by the psychoactive cannabinoid. The next section outlines some of our favorite strains that are low in THC and a few that are high in CBD, which is a non-intoxicating compound with a range of health benefits including reducing anxiety levels.
#1 (Editors’ Choice) Best High CBD Cannabis Seeds: Crop King Seeds’ CB Diesel Feminized
If you are looking for a strain that provides almost entirely CBD and, therefore, barely any THC, then you’ll love this Sativa strain. These seeds produce plants with up to a whopping 20% CBD content and that will not have more than 0.25% THC. This means these plants will not produce buds that will get you high at all and you should not smoke what you grow but instead turn it into oils and concentrates.
The good things about these seeds are that: the CBD content is insanely high making it a great choice for medicinal use; CBD has a range of benefits from anti-anxiety to pain relief; it is very easy to grow on a personal or industrial scale, and; it can be grown indoors and out. The downsides of these seeds are that you will not get high, you can’t smoke what you grow, and the yields are not huge.
#CBD_Seeds #Medcinal_Cannabis #Low_THC #Feminized_CBD_Seeds #CB_Diesel
#2 Best Cannabis Seeds with medium CBD and Low THC: CBD Blue Shark Feminised Seeds
CBD Blue Shark has equal parts CBD and THC content at around 6.5% per plant and produces a relaxed, focused high with mild feelings of euphoria and an uplifted sense of wellbeing. This one-to-one blend ensures this plant actually prevents feelings of nausea and the high level of CBD works to relax the mind and prevent feelings of anxiety.
The great thing about this strain is that the low levels of THC mean you still get a bit of a high but are not really at risk from finding yourself having a bad trip. This makes these seeds a great choice for beginners or people wanting to smoke weed even if they have to put themselves into a situation that may usually make them feel less relaxed. It is also quite an easy strain to grow as it flowers after just 8-9 weeks and doesn’t need an expert to grow it.
#High_CBD_Seeds #Low_THC_Seeds #Indica #Blue_Shark #Cannabis_Seeds
#3 Best Cannabis Seeds with high CBD and Medium THC: Seedsman’s CBD OG Kush
If you are looking to get a little bit high, but are interested in trying a high CBD blend to help ensure you keep bad trips at bay, then these seeds will rock your world. The THC to CBD ratios can range anywhere between 1:2 and 1:5, or between 5 and 12% of each. This means you get to enjoy euphoric highs alongside real relaxed emotions and improved wellbeing without feeling at risk form a bad trip thanks to your high CBD safety blanket.
Other pros of these seeds are that: they grow plants that don’t grow too big so you don’t need a huge grow space; it has huge yields and are designed to be grown indoors with up to 600 grams per meter squared of space with just 600-watts of lighting power, and; the CBD content means this weed is particularly good for people suffering from high levels of anxiety. The downside of these seeds is that they take a long time to flower, being ready after around 12 weeks.
#High_CBD #THC_Seeds #Cannabis_Seeds #Indica_Seeds #Relaxing_Cannabis
#4 Best Cannabis Seeds with High CBD and High THC: Seed Supreme’s Afghan Kush Feminized Seeds
If you love getting high and don’t want to lose that buzz, but have found yourself having a few bad trips in certain situations even after implementing the strategies above, then giving a strain that is high in both CBD and THC content a try could be worth it. These seeds produce plants with up to 10% CBD and easily 20% THC content, so you will definitely get high and the CBD should help prevent against a bad trip.
Oher great things about these seeds is that: the plants they produce are suitable for indoor and outdoor grow spaces; their height can be controlled; they flower super-fast at just around 7 weeks, and; if you like getting high you’ll love this cerebral buzz. The downside of these seeds is that their yields are not huge and because they might not be a good choice for beginner growers.
#Afghan_Kush #Cannabis_Seeds #High_THC_Seeds #High_CBD_Seeds # Feminized_Cannabis
#5 Best Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds for Outdoors with low THC: Marijuana Seeds’ Auto Blue Dream Feminized
https://www.marijuana-seeds.nl/auto-blue-dream-feminized
If you are a beginner to growing cannabis but have a decent space outdoors and want to grow plants that have some THC but not too much as well as a reasonable level of CBD, then these seeds could be for you. This strain is really sturdy so even if you make a few mistakes when you are growing it you will still be likely to succeed and get decent yields as it is naturally resistant to many common pests.
Other pros about these seeds are that: they grow reasonably quickly and can be ready after between 9-10 weeks; the high is a cerebral one that is not linked to feelings of anxiety or paranoia; it tastes deliciously fruity, and; they have great yields when grown outdoors but can be grown indoors if you need to. The downside of these seeds is that they are quite pricey.
#Cannabis_Seeds #Cannabis #Autoflowering_Cannabis #Auto_Blue_Dream #Mellow_Highs
#6 Best Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds for Indoors with high THC and CBD: Seedsman’s Cream and Cheese CBD
https://www.seedsman.com/en/cannabis-seeds/cultivation/grows-indoors
if you are looking for a pack of seeds that is easy to grow and produces good yields indoors, then you’ll love these seeds. They also happen to have an astonishing amount of both CBD and THC in them. This means you probably shouldn’t choose these if you are not used to smoking strong weed and are worried about a bad trip. However, for those who are regular users, the high CBD content will help to stave off a bad trip whilst allowing you to get really high.
Other pros about these seeds are that: they produce yields of up to 600-grams per meter squared even when grown indoors; they grow quite quickly and will flower after around 8 weeks; they produce plants that will give you a calming and soothing high, and; you get to enjoy the benefits of both THC and CBD. The downside of these plants is that grow huge even indoors so you will need plenty of room.
#Cream_Cheese_Cannabis #CBD #THC #High_CBD_Seeds #Indoors_Seeds
Conclusion
Having a bad trip is never fun, however, it’s important to remember that by taking a few precautions you can make them easier to avoid or recover from. Perhaps the key thing to remember at all times when you find yourself feeling a bit too high is that if you can breathe slowly and find a relaxing space to be in, then you can control how the experience goes.
Remember too that no-one has even been recorded to have died from cannabis so what you are experiencing will be temporary. Having a bad trip is not something that can always be prevented against, but testing what you are using in small quantities first can help too and opting for lower THC and higher CBD strains can also be a great way to ensure you make bad trips a thing of the past.