It’s possible to use cannabis every day without compromising productivity levels. Here are a few handy pointers that will help you out!
Don’t Smoke Too Much!
OK, this is pretty obvious, but it’s wise to reduce your dosage during the daytime if you want to get stuff done. Experiment with dosage, and find out how much or little you need on an average day to take the edge off without causing too strong an effect. Then, dose in small amounts as and when required!
Be careful not to dose too regularly, as THC takes around an hour to reach peak concentration in the blood. You should wait for at least this much time between hits! Otherwise, you could cause your THC levels to accumulate and intensify the effects, ruining all your hard work of careful dosing.
Vape, Don’t Smoke For Daytime Alertness.
Many people report noticing a difference between the effect of smoking and vaping. Almost invariably, people say that vaping causes a clearer, cleaner high with less chance of a sedative effect. This is apparently true even when using the same strain.
When we vape cannabis, we expose it to temperatures hot enough to evaporate the terpenes and cannabinoids but not hot enough to cause combustion. When we combust cannabis, we inhale hundreds of potentially harmful compounds, some of which may have sedative effects.
Here’s what a recent study from the University of Leiden had to say about this:
Using cannabis plant material as the sample, vapors were found to consist overwhelmingly of cannabinoids, while the combusted control contained over one hundred additional chemicals, including several known PAHs.
As well as this, smoke contains carbon monoxide, and inhaling too much can cause tiredness, dizziness, and brain fog. So some of that sleepy, lazy feeling you get after smoking a joint could be due to all those extra unwanted substances. Try vaping over smoking to avoid this and achieve as clear a high as possible.
Pay Attention To Cannabinoid/Terpene Profile
If the information on cannabinoid and terpene profiles is available, use it. Even if it may not always be reliable, it’s usually better than nothing! Knowing what cannabinoids and terpenes are present in your weed will help you understand what kind of high it will give you.
Generally, weed with uplifting, cerebral, stimulating effects is what you’re looking for. You generally want to avoid the weed that provides a sedative, couch-lock, relaxing effect.
Most of the time, dispensaries, dealers, seed companies, and so simply state their products are indica, sativa or hybrid. They then explain that indica strains are sedative, couch-lock, and so on, while sativa strains are uplifting.
Simple, right? But actually not so much. There is so much hybridization that true indica and sativa strains are very rare for a start. Hybrid strains contain many variable characteristics inherited from their parents, and they can be extremely hard to classify in terms of “sativa-dominant,” “indica-dominant,” and so on. For example, they may look like an indica but have sativa characteristics distinctly.
Learn How Cannabinoids And Terpenes Work!
So the best thing to do is to learn how the individual cannabinoids and terpenes work together to produce their effects and go from there. We don’t have all the information yet, but what we know will lead you to make more educated decisions when purchasing cannabis.
One thing we do know is that CBD may not lead to sedative effects and may counteract them. The research is in its infancy, but studies show that small doses of CBD have a stimulating and alertness-inducing effect. As well as this, THC is known to have a sedative effect in higher doses, and CBD may counteract it. But, CBD may also be sedative in larger doses (160-600 mg, according to one study). Choose a variety with THC levels that are not too high and with some CBD for good measure.
We also know that the compound that’s probably responsible for the sedative effect of cannabis isn’t even a cannabinoid. It’s a terpene known as myrcene. This terpene is also present in hops and mango, and it interacts with THC to produce a sedative effect! So, make sure you choose a strain that’s as low in myrcene as possible. Another terpene that may cause a lethargic, sedative effect is linalool.
On the other hand, other terpenes may enhance the uplifting effects of some strains. Limonene and pinene are both associated with energetic, stimulating, and mood-uplifting effects.
Store Your Weed Properly To Avoid CBN Build-Up!
This applies across the board but may be particularly relevant to you if you have trouble staying focused during the day. Make sure your weed is properly stored and that it’s not exposed to excessive heat and light! If you store THC for too long or in hot, bright conditions, it will degrade to cannabinol or CBN, the most soothing cannabinoid of them all!
As well as this, terpenes can evaporate rapidly during storage. As we mentioned above, some terpenes positively affect mood and energy, so preserving them as much as possible is desirable. Check out our article on How To Dry & Cure Cannabis for more detail.
Some Extracts Are Better For Daytime Productivity
This depends on many factors and may not always hold true in every situation. But different types of extracts may have a more uplifting effect than others. For example, live resin may be more uplifting than other extract types. As we make it straight from freshly-cut cannabis, there will be little to no presence of CBN and plenty of volatile terpenes. As long as they are the right kind of terpenes, it could make for a very uplifting experience!
Or you can get technical and create your extract from THCA Crystalline, CBD Crystalline, and terpenes! If you experiment here, you could make the perfect daytime blend. With uplifting effects, you could try something like 70% THC, 25% CBD, and 5% terpenes, primarily of limonene, pinene, and others. Experiment to find your ideal blend, and let us know how you get on in the comments!
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