Sex, driving a car, joining ISIS by mistake – there’s a first time for everything, and the same goes for weed.
What can you expect the first time smoking weed? That depends on a lot of factors, but there are some basics that are pretty consistent across the board.
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1. Forget everything you’ve heard (except for this article)
Chances are, you’ve heard more than a little about marijuana before you got to his point. If you’re a middle-aged person just now smoking for the first time, then you probably remember the anti-marijuana propaganda that you were spoonfed in grade school during D.A.R.E., back when cocaine was everywhere and weed was too weak to be that interesting anyway.
If you’re in your late teens or early 20s, then you grew up in an era of greater acceptance of cannabis. Nonetheless, you’ve probably been exposed to warnings about weed without your own frame of reference to dispute them. (And if you’re in your early teens, then why are you reading this site? Get out, and come back when you’re old enough).
However old you are, a good idea is to put all your preconceptions to the side and head in with an open mind. (But seriously, our lawyers want us to tell you not to smoke weed when you’re under whatever the legal age is where you live.)
2. Find a chill spot
Someone who is smoking for the first time in their early teens most likely doesn’t have much control over the circumstances. The weed came from a friend of a friend or an older sibling and smoking in the privacy of your parents’ home was probably not all that appealing. Instead, the opportunity presented itself and you went with the flow, smoking and hacking your way through a couple hits from a bamboo bong behind the Dart Bowl in north Austin, for instance.
If you’re an adult though, you have the ability to call the shots exactly as you see fit. Set up a chill spot in the comfort of your own home or at a friend’s place, get some iced water or some other refreshments and snacks ready, and dig in – you might be here for a while.
3. Clear your schedule
For your first time smoking weed, it’s best to go into it with a relaxed, worry-free mind. Make sure that the first session isn’t an hour or so before your work shift, or before you have to officiate a wedding or give a eulogy at a funeral. You think it’ll be chill but trust us, it won’t be.
Clear the rest of your day before you take that first toke, and you’ll be a lot more likely to have a chill experience.
4. Don’t rush it
If you’ve never gotten high before then your body won’t have tolerance for THC and you’ll be much more sensitive to the effects. Don’t get the wrong idea – this is a good thing! Countless potheads would love to trade places with you in that regard (though not enough to where they’ll abstain until their tolerance goes down).
Your lack of THC exposure means that you don’t need to use much at all, nor do you need to go for the really potent stuff. That means no 30%+ THC strains, edibles, and certainly no dabs. And if someone offers you a MoonRock for your first time, delete their number from your phone, go home, and call it a night.
Basically, you gotta walk before you run, and that pretty much applies to weed, too. That first time, take an easy toke or two and give it a few minutes to kick in. If your first time is with an edible, then take it very slowly. Nibble a bit and give it a couple of hours to kick in. A common rookie mistake is to wait 5 minutes, think the weed doesn’t do anything and eat more. An hour later you’ll be lying on the floor melting into the carpet.
Once you’re more used to getting high, you can experiment with different strains of weed and methods of consuming, but there’s plenty of time for that. At first, keep it simple and take it slow.
5. Whatever happens – just go with the flow
There’s no one-size-fits-all reaction when you get high for the first time. A lot of people report not feeling anything the first time smoking weed (a lot of them just aren’t inhaling correctly) and there’s a chance this could happen to you, too.
Chances are though that you’ll feel a strong effect once the THC kicks in. A feeling of euphoria and a giddy, “things seem funnier than they actually are” vibe that you really like. You may also feel a bit anxious and your senses of perception could be heightened. Music and TV could become more interesting, reggae could sound good, the 7-11 near your house could suddenly be the most fascinating museum you’ve been to, and so on.
You could also have a somewhat unpleasant reaction. You could feel a sense of paranoia kick in, perhaps even panic, or find yourself gripped by the troublesome thought that you don’t remember how to breathe and how does my heart know to beat? And was that an earthquake?
If this happens, keep in mind that this is all temporary. You won’t stay over-high forever! You’ll come down and be back to your normal, sober self in a matter of a couple of hours so just go with the flow and let yourself drift with the current and see where it takes you (there’s cookies on the other side).
Welcome to the party
It goes without saying that when it comes to getting high, you won’t be alone. More than 45% of all Americans over the age of 12 have smoked marijuana, and the plant is more socially acceptable and legal than ever before in the modern age.
Your best bet is to just go into this with a relaxed vibe, in a setting of your choosing, with people you like and the right music, snacks, and couch. Chances are you might wonder what the fuss is all about, or you just might think ‘hmm… I kinda like this.’
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