Can I Overdose on Cannabis?
Everyone has something called an endocannabinoid system (ECS). This system is important for maintaining homeostasis, which refers to various processes that stabilize our internal environment. The ECS contains cannabinoid receptors throughout the body that THC binds to. Some of these receptors are abundantly present in three main parts of our brain—the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and hippocampus regions. None of these three regions play a large role in basic life functions such as breathing and heart rate. This is why cannabis users don’t overdose like opioid users do. Unfortunately, opioid receptors are plentiful in the brain stem which results in users becoming more susceptible to sudden death. Of course, it’s not impossible to die from marijuana, but extremely difficult. It’s predicted you’d have to smoke about 1,500 pounds of cannabis in fifteen minutes for it to be lethal. The lack of oxygen in trying to do so would probably asphyxiate you first though.
Although cannabis users are not prone to suddenly dying from too much THC intake, other unpleasant symptoms could occur. Some refer to this as “greening out.” I’ve only experienced this once in my ten years of using cannabis. I made chocolate chip cookies infused with way too much granddaddy purple distillate and endured a night of anxiety, sweats, nausea, increased heart rate, and paranoia. I had convinced myself there were monsters in my closet and laid in bed frozen so I wouldn’t catch their attention. I woke up for my opening shift at work the next morning and realized as I was driving that I was still terribly high. Unfortunately, you just have to ride the wave until it’s over. Taking CBD to dilute the high can help. You can also try eating black pepper or drinking lemon juice, both of which have terpenes known to calm you down.
