Remember that first time smoking and getting really freeking high? And the few times after that too? Just indulging in the euphoria that some strains can bring and having a great time while smoking. For some of the more active smokers, that time seems to be forever ago.

Taking a T-Break

Whether your use is recreational or medicinal, after a while your body will build up a tolerance for cannabis. This means you’ll either have to up your dosage or take some time away from it. The problem with upping your dosage is that at one point or another, there will be a time when you just don’t seem to be getting high at all, but your body still craves the sensation. Some of you may have heard the word “T-Break” tossed around the smoke circle. A tolerance break is just that, a break from marijuana so that when you return to smoking – it’s like the first time getting high all over again.

A tolerance break is just that, a break from marijuana so that when you return to smoking – it’s like the first time getting high all over again.

There are a couple main reasons why someone might want to take a tolerance break from cannabis. Those are:

• Lower your tolerance to save money and be able to smoke less with the same effects
• Prepare for a trip to a place where cannabis is illegal
• Detoxing before a job interview to flush your system
• Personal health and wellness reasons

The Science Behind Cannabis Tolerance

Taking a tolerance break is like a reset button. The CB1 receptors in your brain latch onto cannabinoids and induce the psychoactive effect. But when cannabis is used every day, your body gets inundated with too much THC for the receptors to handle, causing them to stop working as well because your body is an amazing temple and recognizes that this is its current natural state (constantly high, my kinda state). The only way to reset the receptors is to stop clogging them up with more THC and instead, take a break.

The only way to reset the receptors is to stop clogging them up with more THC and instead, take a break.

Cannabis Tolerance Break Side Effects

Once you stop consuming cannabis, your body goes on a journey to burn off the leftover THC and other cannabinoids, leaving you feeling stripped and your threshold dose is lowered. This is not without its hardships, however. It’s kind of like drinking a cup of coffee – if you drank one cup in the morning for a whole year and then all of a sudden stopped, you would get headaches and a slew of other issues because your body is withdrawing from caffeine. Same goes for cannabis.

THC get’s locked in our fat cells so if you’ve got a lot of junk in your trunk like me, chances are it’s going to be a bit harder to ween off of it. Now I’m not saying that the withdrawals are anything like opioids or the harder drugs side effects, but it’s still there.

Things to look out for are:

• Insomnia
• Irritation
• Anxiety
• Depression

But, these symptoms should only last for about 2 weeks. At that point, your CB1 receptors should be fully restored and your brain ready to get ZOOTED again.

Decided that you’re ready to take a tolerance break? Stay tuned as we divulge the best ways to successfully complete a T-Break.

Tolerance Break Series

• What is a tolerance break? (You are here!)
• Best ways to successfully complete a T-Break (coming soon!)
• My experience on a tolerance break (coming soon!)

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Have you heard of T-Breaks before? Planning to try one yourself? Let us know in the comments below! — Olivia 💚