Everyone who has ever smoked marijuana knows what it’s like to cough and cough and cough long afterward. This coughing is our respiratory tract’s response to inhaling cannabis smoke, and is perfectly normal, even if it is irritating.
However, many people also feel that in the moments after they have finished coughing, they suddenly feel very high (see also “How To Boost Your High“). This begs the question, does coughing make you higher?
In this article, we will tell you all you need to know about the connection between getting high and coughing. So, if you’re interested, read on for more!
Does Coughing Make You Higher?
Does coughing while smoking result in an individual getting higher? The answer is no. Coughing while smoking cannabis will not increase your high.
The high from smoking cannabis actually comes from consuming more THC, tetrahydrocannabinol. This is the key ingredient in marijuana that is responsible for making you feel high because it is psychoactive.
When you smoke marijuana, you absorb THC into your body. The THC then causes an increase in your endorphins, which makes you feel high.
Coughing does not have any impact on how high you become while smoking cannabis. However, it does serve a purpose!
Why Does Smoking Cannabis Make You Cough?
When you inhale marijuana, you are briefly depriving yourself of oxygen. This engages your body’s cough reflex, which is what causes you to cough. The longer you hold the smoke, the more likely you are to cough.
Not only that, but marijuana smoke is an irritant to your throat that dries up all of its moisture and makes it more susceptible to pain. Coughing is an indication of throat pain.
On top of that, while inhaling smoke you can also inhale other irritants such as dust, and this will result in your body trying to expel these irritants from your body to regulate your breathing, and it does this by forcing you to cough.
However, other factors result in an individual coughing from smoking marijuana, such as:
Smoking and laughing at the same time
Smoking more THC
Consuming weed strains that are considered irritating, such as caryophyllene and terpenes
Smoking low-quality cannabis.
Coughing as a result of throat pain due to irritating marijuana smoke
How To Avoid Coughing Caused By Marijuana Smoke?
Even though it happens often, coughing while trying to enjoy your high is not nice. However, the good news is, is that it can be avoided! Here are some solutions to stop you from coughing so you can enjoy smoking marijuana!
1. Take Smaller Hits Of Cannabis
The first thing you can do to help relieve your coughing is to take smaller hits of cannabis. Everyone who smokes weed has a different lung capacity, and taking smaller hits ensures you stay well within the limit of your lungs.
This will help you to avoid coughing because you are taking in less irritating substances.
Now, many of you will be concerned that you won’t feel high by doing this, since the more smoke you inhale in one gom the higher you get, right? Wrong.
If you smoke too much in one inhale, then you are more likely to cough and not absorb any of the THC you need to feel the high. So, take smaller doses of marijuana at the time – you will be far more likely to enjoy your weed-smoking experience!
2. Take In Plenty Of Oxygen
When you smoke weed, you need to ensure that you are still taking in fresh air. The best way to do this is by taking in a lot of oxygen.
It is important to do this to ensure you are still taking in oxygen, and oxygen deprivation is one of the main causes of coughing.
So, it is best to inhale sharply as you breathe in marijuana smoke, not only will this allow you to take in a lot of oxygen, but it opens your lungs to more THC, which will allow you to feel higher.
3. Don’t Hold The Smoke
Okay, you can hold the smoke in for a little bit, but try not to do it for too long. Holding in smoke for longer periods does not actually make you feel higher.
All it does is deprive you of oxygen, which is bad news if you want to avoid coughing.
4. Drink Lots Of Water
When your throat is dry, you will cough more. Smoke marijuana causes a sore, dry throat because smoke is an irritant that can dry out the moisture in your mouth (see also “Can Smoking Cause Sore Throat?“).
So, it is a good idea to keep drinking water while smoking cannabis to ensure your throat has plenty of moisture and you can avoid it becoming sore (see also “How To Cure Sore Throat From Vaping“), and therefore avoid coughing.
If you don’t want to drink water, herbal tea is another excellent option that serves a similar purpose.
5. Avoid Joints
If you are really struggling with coughing while smoking cannabis, then you do not have to smoke joints. There are other ways you can enjoy cannabis, such as using a bong.
Bongs are water pipe tools made specifically for marijuana use. Hits of weed from a bong are a lot smoother and therefore, friendlier for your lungs and throat.
Final Thoughts
Coughing while smoking marijuana happens often, and it is due to many things.
This includes a lack of oxygen in your lungs, throat pain from irritating smoke, inhaling irritants such as dust, smoking low-quality cannabis, smoking certain strains of weed, and more!
However, coughing does not make you feel higher. The cause of feeling high when you smoke marijuana is THC, which is a psychoactive component that engages with your endorphins.
The more THC you smoke, the higher you will feel.
However, there are many misconceptions about how to smoke more THC, which results in coughing.
For example, many people think that holding in smoke will allow you to absorb THC faster which means you will get higher faster, but all this does is deprive your body of oxygen, causing you to cough, and absorb less THC.
For relief from coughing, you can try techniques like taking smaller hits of weed, or solutions like drinking plenty of water.
Hi, I’m Zack Finch and I work as a Budtender for a Health & Wellness center here, in sunny California. I have been using marijuana recreationally for around 6 years now, and have many a time enjoyed the benefit that weed has to offer.
Whether you’re looking for informational guides about edibles, vape oil, CBD, how to roll a cross joint, the best blunt wraps, anything you can think of, I’ll cover it here.
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