What is a “Cannabis Overdose”?
A cannabis overdose is not acutely fatal, although if you consume too much cannabis it can be a horrible mental and physical experience.
This uncomfortable experience is known as a “Cannabis Overdose” or “Green Hell”.
Most people who have had a “Cannabis Overdose” will tell you that it was an intense and uncomfortable experience.
What are the Symptoms of a Cannabis Overdose?
The symptoms of a cannabis overdose will vary from person to person and from situation to situation. Experiencing even one of these symptoms can be a dreadful experience and can cause an immense amount of psychological or physiological distress.
Legend has it that an ancient African tribe used cannabis overdoses as a means to punish criminals and that many of these criminals would become so distressed that they would rather obey the law than to go through Green Hell again!
Below are some common symptoms that can occur when you consume too much cannabis:
- Fainting
- Dizziness
- Increased heart rate
- Nausea
- Sweating
- Paleness in the face
- Anxiety
- Vertigo
- Paranoia
- Hallucinations
- Vomiting
- Trouble or inability to move
- Disorientation
- Uncontrollable trembling or twitching
- Shortness of breath
- Extreme Drowsiness
Even though it is unlikely that you will experience all of these symptoms at the same time, experiencing even one of them can be extremely unsettling and can unfortunately turn people off of medical cannabis quickly, especially if they are newcomers to medical cannabis therapy.
The best way to avoid these symptoms is to be responsible and accurate with your medical cannabis dosing routine. Patients must be extra cautious with their dosing routine when orally consuming cannabis products. It is best for inexperienced patients to start dosing small and then slowly increase the amount of cannabis consumed until you find your own individual “sweet spot.”
We also recommend that experienced users should also take their time when trying new products, consumption methods or strains.
To learn more about oral dosing, we invite you to visit our "Oral Dosages - A Guideline" article.
A Kanteeva “Green Hell” Testimonial
Below is a testimonial from one of our team members who has experienced going to “Green Hell:”
Three things cause me to take too much cannabis and have overdose symptoms:
1) I am irresponsible and push my dosage limit too far
2) I do not properly measure the cannabis concentrate when dispensing it for oral administration
3) I take too much of an edible product and the strength is unknown
I have had a few very uncomfortable experiences with cannabis. These experiences caused me to have a variety of overconsumption symptoms like: intense nausea, hallucinations, anxiety and disorientation.
Each of these experiences were caused by high amounts of RSO (over 100 mgs of RSO that had a 75% THC content). I would not recommend this experience to anyone! It was a very scary experience and extremely psychologically disturbing.
Can Oral Consumption Increase the Chances of a Cannabis Overdose Occuring?
“Cannabis overdoses” often occur when people take cannabis orally because unlike smoking, it is easy to consume too much even if you are an experienced user.
The biological pathways are different when ingesting cannabis when comapred to other consumption methods.
Cannabis overdoses often occur when people take cannabis orally using edibles or cannabis oil concentrates because it is easy to consume too much of a product even if you are an experienced cannabis user.
8 Tips so You do not Experience a “Cannabis Overdose”
Read our Kanteeva article on Oral Dosages - A Guideline to help manage your dosing routine- Do not consume oral cannabis products that are homemade unless you completely trust the chef, have an estimate of how potent the product is and know what method was used to make the product. This information will also help you understand what types of cannabis products work best for you.
- Know the cannabis strain that the product is made from. This is not always possible because many products include a mixture of strains or do not include the strain information. At a minimum you should know if the strain is an Indica, Sativa or a Hybrid.
- Ensure you wait at least 45 minutes before consuming more product if you are orally consuming cannabis. Waiting longer is recommended, 1.5 to 2 hours, especially for inexperienced users.
- Build your tolerance up; start with low dosages and slowly increase the amount consumed. After a few weeks you will start to figure out approximately what your effective dose is.
- Consider trying High CBD Strains if you are inexperienced with oral cannabis consumption. CBD is known to help alleviate and counteract the psychoactive effects of THC.
- Get your cannabis products from a reputable and legal source. You can use our Kanteeva Product Directory as a tool to help you find the best medicine.
- Take your oral cannabis with fat or plant based oils. These oils act as a medium for the activation of cannabinoids. Many people will drink milk or dairy when ingesting oral cannabis products, while other patients use MCT Oil, Coconut Oil or other plant based carrier oils.
Now that you have these great tips to help mitigate the chances that you will have a cannabis overdose yourself, the next question is, What do you do if you or someone you know is having a cannabis overdose?
8 Tips that May Help You Cope with a “Cannabis Overdose”
- Find a safe and relaxing place to rest for the next few hours with few distractions and little noise. Depending on the person’s disposition, adjust the lighting as needed.
- Ensure someone you like and trust is there to comfort you and to check up on you constantly. One of the biggest concerns is that if you vomit while laying on your back you could suffocate. This is why we suggest having a chaperone if you are a novice when it comes to orally consuming cannabis. Being alone when in this condition can be potentially dangerous.
- Hydrate - Drink Water or other hydrating drinks!
- Do not ingest more THC or other drugs or alcohol
- Eat something with sugar in it since your blood sugar may be low. Fruit or flavoured drinks can work well. Try and avoid chocolate or sugar that has fat or plant oil attached to it.
- Consider using a CBD cannabis product with little or no THC content to reduce the psychoactive high from THC.
- Take some deep breaths. Try to relax and calm down. The severe symptoms of a cannabis overdose should lessen after an hour or two, even though it can feel like a lifetime.
- Remember that these symptoms are caused by the overconsumption of cannabis and they will naturally recede over time. Within a few hours your experience of “Green Hell” will fade away.
Remember, the best way to avoid a “cannabis overdose” is to be responsible and to do your due diligence when consuming medical cannabis.
Hopefully this article and these tips will help you either avoid a cannabis overdose or at least mitigate the symptoms of the one that you are experiencing.
Have you ever experienced a “Cannabis Overdose”? What was it like? How did you cope with it? Do you have any advice? Please share your story with us by commenting below.
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