Can you overdose on cannabis? This question is controversial, even among people who frequently use cannabis. Some people believe cannabis is as dangerous as opioids or stimulants, while others believe it’s completely harmless and has no side effects.
You can’t overdose on cannabis in the way that you can overdose on, say, opioids. To date, there have not been any reported deaths resulting solely from cannabis use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t overdo it or have a bad reaction to cannabis.
How much is too much?
There isn’t a straightforward answer here because everybody’s different. Some people seem to tolerate cannabis well, while others don’t tolerate it well at all. Cannabis products also vary greatly in their potency.
Edibles, however, seem to be more likely to cause a negative reaction. This is partly because they take a long time to kick in.
After eating an edible, it can be anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours before you start to feel the effects. In the meantime, many people end up eating more because they mistakenly believe the edibles are weak.
Mixing cannabis with alcohol can also cause a negative reaction for some people.
Cannabis products containing high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical that makes you feel “high” or impaired, can also cause a bad reaction in some people, especially those who don’t use cannabis often.
What does a bad reaction look like?
Cannabis can have quite a few less-than-desirable side effects, including:
- confusion
- thirstiness or a dry mouth (aka “cotton mouth”)
- concentration problems
- slower reaction times
- dry eyes
- fatigue or lethargy
- headaches
- dizziness
- increased heart rate
- anxiety and other changes in mood
In rarer cases, it can also cause:
- hallucinations
- paranoia and panic attacks
- nausea and vomiting
These side effects can last anywhere from 20 minutes to a full day. In general, cannabis that’s higher in THC is associated with more severe, long-lasting effects. And yes, it’s possible to wake up with a “weed hangover” the following day.
Can You Overdose on Marijuana?
Despite rhetoric from one side or another, one thing remains an objective reality: overdosing on marijuana alone is unlikely, if not entirely impossible. Unlike other drugs that are notorious for binding to areas of the brain that control vital functions like breathing, marijuana mostly affects memory and coordination.
According to reputable sources such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there have been no overdose fatalities linked to cannabis alone.
Is Too Much Marijuana Dangerous?
Some more recent recreational trends have shifted the danger conversation slightly. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or commonly referred to as THC, is the main psychoactive component found within cannabis.
Over the last decades, THC levels have increased exponentially across marijuana strains the world over. This, paired with newer means of ingestion such as dabbing and edibles, means that marijuana use has become somewhat less predictable than the otherwise benign methods of smoking.
Dabbing involves smoking a high concentrated hash or wax to attain an instant, intense high. As the name implies, edibles involve the creation of food products such as candies or desserts with THC baked in.
The true problem resides in dosages. To this day, many states still lack regulations of THC levels for edibles. Approved sellers are left to mostly play a guessing game when it comes to advertising THC content of their products. For the novice, this can have hazardous effects. Edibles also have a slower absorption time, so a person could ingest large amounts of THC without realizing it before the effects begin.
Take Colorado, one of the very first states in the country to legalize recreational marijuana use. A chief issue facing Colorado dispensaries revolves around marijuana tourists coming from outside states. These people then consume dabs or edibles while incorrectly assuming that these products contain the same THC levels they are accustomed to.
While the term ‘overdose’ may be too extreme even in these instances, there have certainly been many documented cases of people needing medical attention after getting too high, too quickly.
Other Risks and Dangers
The term ‘gateway drug’ is often used as a trope when discussing marijuana use. This is because using marijuana does leave people susceptible to unknowingly ingesting other substances. Experts have long warned of the dangers of cannabis being laced with harmful drugs such as PCP, crack or cocaine. Any drug purchased off the streets can come with more than what one may have bargained for.
Marijuana Overdose Symptoms
Though not necessarily symptoms of an overdose, there are without a doubt signs of marijuana overconsumption. Such symptoms may include:
- Escalated heart rate
- Headache
- Pale skin
- Paranoid thoughts or hallucinations
- Confusion or panic attacks
Symptoms like the ones described here should not be ignored under any circumstances. Do not let the fact the symptoms originated from cannabis prevent you from seeking help. Always seek medical intervention if it becomes necessary.
Marijuana Overdose Treatment
Treating marijuana intoxication is typically a waiting game. Seeing as paranoia or psychosis may occur in the most extreme scenarios, it is important to soothe, reassure and put the affected individual in a comfortable environment, preferably with medical professionals nearby to help.
While not necessarily addictive on its own, marijuana use may lead to the consumption of more addictive drugs. If you or someone you know is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, The Recovery Village is here to help. Reach out to us with questions or for more information.
Other Adverse Effects
Marijuana is a strange drug in that it contains a lot of active ingredients. Although scientists cite different numbers, in addition to THC, there are thought to be over 100 other cannabinoids in cannabis. Not all of these act the same way.
Get too much THC and you may have a psychoactive reaction that is not unlike that of a stimulant. Cannabidiol (CBD) is associated more with sedative effects.
The effects of marijuana use are all over the map. There have been cases of heart arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrest while smoking weed. There are reports of both seizures and the reduction of seizures, which seems to be based on which type of cannabinoid and at what amounts are used.
Here are some examples of THC toxicity that have been published:
- Heart arrhythmias: Some doctors believe that heart disturbances are under-reported in marijuana use. Since smoking weed and taking other drugs often go together, it’s really hard to isolate the cause when the heart starts doing crazy things. Even drinking alcohol intensifies the effects, which means you can’t say for sure whether it was the pot or the booze that caused a problem.
- Psychosis or paranoia: Users report severe psychotic episodes with hallucinations and negative associations. In some cases, the psychosis can last significantly longer than the amount of time it should take to metabolize the THC.
- Uncontrollable vomiting: Although THC often has anti-nausea properties, it can rarely be associated with a syndrome of persistent vomiting. More often associated with chronic cannabis use, uncontrollable vomiting is sometimes relieved with a hot shower.
I had a crazy experience with this gummy edible. I’m weigh pretty light and took a bite out of a 20mg THC gummy at around 8:30pm After an hour or two, I felt very high. I decided to get in bed and just chill out. I finally was able to sleep. I woke up around 6:30-7am and I felt fine, went into the bathroom, then 30 seconds later that’s when it all went downhill. I was able to alert my family in the other room to come and help me, and that’s when my stomach went in pain, I lost my bowel movement, my vision went spotted then blind, I lost all control over my body (I was basically deadweight). I was drenched in sweat and shivering, I was barely able to hear properly, felt nauseous, could barely keep my eyes open, could barely talk, it was literally a whole mess. I felt dissociated and felt that my hands went numb or my face, I didn’t feel real. I thought I was dying. After 3 hours later I was able to sleep it off and felt better.
However I am considered with what has happened, is it possible for this gummy to have effected me on this level many hours later??
Thank you!
If anything like this happens to you again you should see a doctor. You may even want to go get checked out now to be honest. If 10 hours passed between eating the gummy and this happening, then it’s extremely unlikely that the edible caused it especially if it was only 20 mg regardless of your tolerance. At least not directly. Do you have a history of gastrointestinal disorders that may cause delayed digestion or something of that sort? Do you have severe anxiety that might cause an episode like this to occur? Do you have any allergies to any of the ingredients in the gummies (or anything else you ate that day)? Had you taken any sort of medication that night/morning? As someone who has overdosed on edibles more than once, these symptoms seem far, far, far more extreme than any symptoms I’m familiar with. Nausea? Absolutely. Vomiting? Very possible. Numbness/sensations? Totally. Anxiety and a sense of impending doom and death? For sure. Dissociation? Maybe. But bowel incontinence, loss of motor controls, and loss of vision/hearing are all very concerning symptoms that seem like they’d only be caused by cannabis if you ate an EXTREMELY high dosage (several hundred mg or more). Plus, you’d feel it much much sooner than 10 hrs after consumption. I could be wrong. Maybe this was just some very strange, rare, flukey thing that only happens to certain people. But I’ve certainly never heard of or experienced anything like what you’ve just described and I’ve been smoking for over a decade and have tons of experience with edibles, both homemade and store-bought. Hope you’re able to sort it out.
Thank you for this response back. I find it highly unusual as well after 10 hours since my consumption, to feel all that. I would assume at peak at most, I would feel those things. Do you think a possible partial seizure may of happened? Now that I think about it…
Peak effects are usually around the 2 hr mark for most people. And even a really strong high won’t make you experience those symptoms unless you simply overdo it from a dosing standpoint.
I hadn’t thought about a seizure but that’s certainly a possibility. I actually have a friend who had a seizure once when we were hot boxing his guest bathroom when we were in high school lol. He fell off his chair and then he kinda groaned and came to. Seemed like he just fainted really. After he snapped out of it he was obviously freaked out and went into a bit of a panic and started sweating, hyperventilating (which causes numbness in the hands/feet btw), and seemed very paranoid. He was (and still is) totally fine 10 years later but he did go to the ER that night to get looked at. Nobody can really be sure if it was weed related though. I’m no medical professional though so I’m only speculating with my comments here. If you have any doubts at all, please, seriously, discuss it with your doctor. Playing guessing games when it comes to your health is risky to say the least.
Im sorry you experienced that. I’ve eaten my fair share and I’ve never had that happen. At first I would say that you just got way too high, but the symptoms you listed doesn’t really make it come off that way.
Sounds like you got waay too high, but again this shouldn’t happen.. some of the effects are effects of when you green out like the nausea, barely talking, numbness, dying feeling i guess.
I’m not saying it’s not a reaction to the edible, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone having that kind of reaction.
Did you eat a lot of food before taking it? Did you drink any alcohol? Those are the only things that have made me sick when I take eddies. Idk how else you would’ve had this bad of a reaction unless you just had food poisoning too.
I guess I didn’t have as much food as I could’ve. I did eat prior then during the high I had half a pizza slice, I made sure to hydrate as well. My confusion is why did this happen many hours later when in the morning I felt fine for 2 mins then it hit me out of nowhere!