Beginner’s guide from pot

For those who are well versed in being high, feel free to skip this article. For the dozen of you who waited until cannabis became legal before trying it, here are some helpful tips from a fellow newbie.   

Munchies 

Thanks to pop culture tropes, everyone is aware that the munchies are a thing; people who are stoners like to eat food. If movies are your only frame of reference it would seem like munchies are a direct result of being hungry. So it makes sense then, in preparation for an inaugural stoning to have a lot of food on hand.  

Individual experiences may vary, but munchies have nothing to do with being hungry. Eating while high just seems like the right thing to do. Even if you’re full, your brain and stomach just tell you to eat.  

And then eat some more.  

Being uncomfortably full while high is not the most pleasant of experiences. For munchies it’s a good idea to fill your house with fruits and veggies (generally having healthy snacks in your home is a good all-around idea).  

A glass of water at hand is also a must. 

Low and slow   

For someone just starting out, the slightly-too-thin-to-be-a-filter advisory card, tells new users to go low and slow. Meaning smoke a little and see how you’re feeling before smoking more. 

Rolling a loose underfilled joint – which is likely for first timers – is good if you’re a beginner. It’s advised that people pick a strain that has low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content and has a relatively close cannabidiol (CBD) to THC ratio. A close THC to CBD ratio means the CBD will help mellow the high caused by THC.  

Pot and booze intoxicate backwards. When drinking, being drunk ramps up as you drink more and your body starts processing the alcohol; after a certain amount of drinks, everyone has a point where they realize that even if they stop drinking now, they will be drunk for the rest of the night. 

But when smoking, the high happens almost right away and slowly starts to peter off. After smoking initially, the high starts to wear off, or at least seems like it.  

But it doesn’t wear off.  

It just kind of waits. If you smoke later on in the same evening – even if it’s at the same low and slow rate used on the first tokes – it’s easier to get higher than intended. The second smoking of the night has a lower threshold to get too high since the THC is still in your system. 

If the weed of the night is low THC, it’ll get you attempting to scroll up on a screenshot of a tweet level high, which is fine. If it’s high THC, it could be the-world-is-ending-and-the-cops-are-after-you level high, which is not fine. 

It’s possible – but unlikely – that no matter how many precautions you take the high might be bad. That’s why it’s important to have a trip sitter. Someone experienced with the high who can help you through it if you’re having a bad time. Other than that, watch some cartoons, listen to music, look at a lava lamp. Enjoy your time in Canada’s new greener pastures.