Why Don’t Edibles Get Me High?

You may have tried experimenting with cannabis edibles like cannabis gummies and wondered why they never made you high. So does this mean that if you prepare cannabis in an edible form, it will not make you high?

Depending on your desired outcome, getting high from cannabis is either a great thing or is seen as an unwanted side effect. Regardless, understanding why edibles do or do not make you high is helpful information when you are making your own cannabis gummies or edibles at home.

What are edibles?

Cannabis edibles are food products or supplements, such as cannabis gummies that contain cannabis or extracted cannabis compounds like CBD or THC.

Cannabis edibles are a simple way to consume cannabis. A common way that people consume cannabis is by making cannabis gummies. However, other cannabis edibles include:

• Baked goods like brownies or cookies.
• Chocolate.
• Candies.
• Drinks.
• Supplements.

CBD and THC are the two most common cannabis extracts added to edibles. Different ratios of CBD and THC can be added to your edible products. For example, you may decide that you prefer CBD and not THC. Or, you can try combining CBD and THC and experiment with the amount you add to your gummies.

Making your own cannabis gummies is a delicious and simple way of consuming cannabis. You are in charge and get to decide how much THC and CBD are needed.

Before making your own cannabis gummies you might be curious as to whether this product will make you high. Or, you may have already made some gummies and wondered why they have not made you high.

What is the difference between CBD and THC?

First of all, it is important to discuss the major difference between CBD and THC. That is, THC does make you high and CBD does not make you high (1).

What is CBD? 

CBD or cannabidiol is the non-psychoactive compound of cannabis. This means that CBD will not make you high. Many people consume CBD for its beneficial effects on health and it is most commonly used for:

• Inflammation
• Pain
• Convulsions
• Muscle tension
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Vomiting and nausea

What is THC? 

THC or tetrahydrocannabinol is the psychoactive compound of cannabis. This means that THC will make you high. THC is commonly used to get high. However, despite this, it also has beneficial effects on your health. Therefore, THC is also used for:

• Inflammation
• Pain
• Muscle tension
• Vomiting and nausea
• To increase appetite

There is a common misconception that the entire cannabis plant makes you high. However, statements around cannabis are usually quite general and do not consider the individual compounds that cannabis consists of.

Over 400 compounds have been identified within the cannabis plant. Different plants also contain different quantities of these compounds. For example, some plants contain more THC, while others contain more CBD.

So far, THC is considered to be one of the only psychoactive compounds found within cannabis. Therefore, it is not the entire cannabis plant that can make you high. Instead, it is just one type of compound found within the plant that does.

Therefore, if you have only tried edibles that contain CBD, then this is why you did not experience a high. Or if you plan on making edibles with CBD only, you will not get high.

Should you add more THC for a greater effect? 

But what if you have already tried THC and still noticed no effect? Here are some key things that you should consider first.

Combine CBD and THC

Although CBD is not the psychoactive compound from cannabis, some evidence suggests that CBD can enhance the effects of THC (2). Therefore, if you are only trying THC on its own, then combining it with CBD might make it work better.

However, beware that there are no exact guidelines for which ratios of CBD and THC you should try. You will need to experiment until you find the perfect balance that’s right for you.

From this, you do not need to necessarily add more THC or eat more gummies. Instead, you can simply add some CBD.

Give it time

If you are reading this article a short while after trying one of your edible cannabis gummies, you may need to give it more time. This is because edible products take longer to work.

Experts say it can take between 30 and 60 minutes before feeling the full effects of edibles (3). In contrast, when cannabis is smoked, the total effect can be felt within 10 minutes. Therefore, it takes longer for cannabis to get into your bloodstream after it has been ingested because your digestive tract needs more time to absorb it.

You should allow at least one hour for it to work. If you eat more cannabis gummies before that hour is up, you could be unnecessarily adding to it. From this, when you eventually feel high, the effects could last with you much longer than intended.

You may not need extra THC if you allow it more time to work first.

Adding more THC

If you have started with a low dose of THC, there might be some room to increase your dose. However, you should do this cautiously and increase the amount of THC slowly (4).

Medical THC, dronabinol, is prescribed in 2.5 mg, 5 mg, and 10 mg doses (5). Starting at 2.5 mg and then slowly increasing your doses from here could be a safe way to go if you are unsure about how much to take.

Other possibilities

But what if you have tried all of the above and it still does not make you high? Here is some further insight as to why this may be happening.

You have developed a tolerance

Tolerance is a term used to describe a situation where a person is no longer sensitive to a particular substance, such as THC, because they have used it frequently (8). Some people can develop a tolerance quickly, while for others, it may take longer or may not happen at all.

Because of this, you might not be noticing the effects of THC because you have built up a tolerance to it.

But does this mean that you should try more THC to counteract the tolerance you have developed? You should only increase your dose if it is safe because taking higher than normal doses can have other effects that you cannot predict.

Some people just can’t get high from edible cannabis

There could be a number of reasons as to why edible cannabis doesn’t get some people high. However, the main reason why scientists think this happens is due to differences in how the liver metabolizes THC (9).

THC just doesn’t have the same effect on you

Some people respond to THC differently because of their genetics or other factors that influence how THC interacts with their bodies (10). Unfortunately, there is not a lot you can do about this.

Summary 

THC is the main component of cannabis that makes you high. If you have tried THC in your cannabis gummies and noticed no effect, there are some possible reasons why this has happened including the dosage and your tolerance.

If you want a greater effect from your THC, try combining your dose with other cannabinoids like CBD or increasing your dosage.