How to Sober up Fast after Edibles

Perhaps you just ate some edibles, and then your family phoned to say they’re coming over soon. Whatever your reason might be, there are times when you need to sober up from edibles fast. While most effects only disappear with time, you can try some things to ease the situation. 

Edibles

The term “edibles” refers to a range of cannabis products that you can eat or drink. Most of these products are made with THC or CBD oil. 

Cannabis gummies are a type of edible that you can make from home. With this product, you can experiment with different flavors and ratios of CDB and THC. 

Although these gummies are a delicious way to consume cannabis, sometimes you need to sober up fast. 

Perhaps you’ve taken a little too much and the effects are bothering you. Or you might need to sober up because an unexpected visitor is about to come to your house. 

Regardless of the reason, being prepared for moments like these will certainly put your mind at ease, and you can relax knowing you have a plan in place. 

Unlike other forms of cannabis, edibles take longer to work. It can take up to 60 minutes for some people before they notice any effects from their edibles (1). 

Because onset of the effect is delayed, it can kick in when you least expect it. Also, due to the late onset of effects, it takes longer to sober up. 

While waiting for the time to pass, there are certainly some things you can try to speed up the process or ease the effects. 

Stay calm and relax

The first thing you should do is stay calm and relax. Getting nervous only makes the effects feel much worse. 

If you find it challenging to stay calm in a situation like this, try distracting yourself. For example, you can turn the TV on or take a quick walk outside in some fresh air. 

Drink some water

Once you’re calm and relaxed, drink some water and boost your hydration. 

As mentioned, it can take up to 60 minutes before you notice any effects from edible cannabis. It can take this long because the THC or CBD you’ve added to your gummies needs to leave your digestive tract before making it to your bloodstream. 

If you’ve just taken your edibles, then there’s a good chance that the effects haven’t started yet. 

By drinking some water, you can move those edibles along your digestive tract. Alternatively, the water might help clear any compounds from your blood more quickly. 

The added benefit of water is that it hydrates you, and hydration greatly improves how you feel. 

Eat a big meal

Eating a big meal also prevents some of your edibles from leaving your digestive tract and going into your blood. 

However, you should opt for foods dense in carbohydrates instead of foods high in fat (2). 

Foods with a high fat content can potentially facilitate the absorption of your edibles. Hence, fatty foods might help your edibles go into your bloodstream faster. 

Foods dense in carbohydrates soak up your edibles and block some of your edibles from leaving your digestive tract. 

You can try eating some bread or a bowl of cereal. Many people also use these foods to help them sober up from alcohol. 

Take a shower and freshen up

Take a quick shower or brush your teeth to freshen yourself up. Doing so helps you to feel more awake and invigorated. 

You might have more energy after taking a shower, which will help you feel better. 

Use eye drops

If you’ve used THC-infused edibles, then your eyes might look red. Using eye drops might alleviate your red eyes, which will at least make you look sober. 

Remedies that have no proven effect

You might have seen various remedies on the internet that claim to work.

You can certainly try these ideas if you like. If the remedies sound safe, they certainly won’t complicate your situation further. 

However, the take-home message is that you can’t rely on these remedies to fix everything. It’s best to try the previous suggestions first as they’re more likely to help. 

Black pepper

A popular antidote that some people believe might work is black pepper. One study looked into the use of black pepper and, theoretically, it may help by blocking the effects of cannabis to some extent (3). 

However, the evidence is insufficient to suggest whether this actually works in terms of helping someone sober up. 

If you’re desperate, sprinkling some black pepper on your food won’t do any harm. Or, if you can handle the bitter taste, you can pop a pepper kernel straight into your mouth. 

Lemon

Another popular remedy that many people turn to is lemon (4). 

Again, if you’re desperate to try something extra, some lemon won’t do you any harm. 

You can try a lemon, honey and ginger drink as the honey and ginger might have a soothing or relaxing effect. 

Caffeine

More often than not, caffeine makes you feel jittery. If you feel agitated or nervous after taking your edibles, caffeine will only make this worse. 

Many people claim that caffeine is great for a hangover, whether it be caused by alcohol or edibles. 

However, recovering from a hangover is very different from sobering up. Hangovers usually occur the following day, when your body is in recovery mode, whereas sobering up refers to when you’re trying to become less intoxicated. 

Therefore, caffeine is only good when you feel a bit run down or tired. Using caffeine to sober up from edibles could make your situation worse if you already feel anxious or agitated. 

Avoid alcohol 

Alcohol is known to enhance the effects of THC and CBD. 

For the best chance at sobering up quickly, don’t drink alcohol. Or if you’ve already been drinking, stop immediately. 

If you’ve been drinking alcohol alongside your edibles, the first five suggestions mentioned above for sobering up from taking edibles will also help you to sober up from alcohol. 

Don’t hesitate to call for help

If you suspect that you’ve had a little too much and you can’t sober up, then you might need to call someone for help. 

If your symptoms are mild, you can call a trusted friend or family member to support you. If you feel that your symptoms are severe and are only getting worse, then it would pay to seek medical advice. 

You know your symptoms are bad when you experience (5): 

• vomiting
• hallucinations
• paranoia 
• motor impairment 
• difficulty breathing

If you find yourself in this situation, try not to panic. Just call for help so you can get treatment if you need it. Thankfully, edibles are one of the safest ways of using cannabis. Adverse reactions from edibles are very rare.

However, if you feel that the effects are a little too much, you can try reducing your dose next time. 

Summary 

You can try a range of things to sober up quickly from edibles. If you’re worried about a situation like this occurring, you may want to have a plan in place. If you’re new to edibles, start with low doses first and increase it slowly.