Marijuana interacts with the body’s physiology. There are mechanisms put in place by nature for the elements in marijuana to work in tandem with the ones in the body or full benefit.
However, that does not take away from the fact that marijuana is still a foreign element. As such there is need for the user to be precise, meticulous and most of all careful with how much they take.
The body is on a constant endeavor to achieve homeostasis.
This is an almost perfect balance of functions and conditions.
This need to achieve an optimum agreement of conditions leads the body to adapt to the marijuana.
Marijuana becomes the new normal. It is like, it has been around for long enough might as well get used to it.
The result is a need for a higher dosage of marijuana than previously required to experience effects. This is called cannabis tolerance.
It is not a good thing as with time, the body requires unusual and unhealthy amounts.
High Tolerance is Not Terminal
The good news about tolerance though is that it is reversible and preventable.
A study in 2012 involving users and non-users of marijuana was conducted to determine whether this tolerance idea hold any water and whether anything can be done to alleviate.
It was found that the frequent users had lower density receptors than the non-users or the occasional users. After a four week abstinence, it was found that the density of the receptors had started to normalize.
The same study also found that some symptoms were still effective abated by the lower dosage of marijuana administered after the break while others were only mildly affected. This was evidence that different parts of the physiology developed tolerance at different rates.
Some developed higher tolerance than others. However, it is possible to assume tolerance when it is merely a compromise on quality of strain or potency. You should struggle to ensure tolerance does not develop. Here are a few pointers.
Tolerance Break
That study is proof enough that once the body is deprived of marijuana the endocannabinoid system can reset and require lower doses of marijuana.
The tips given herein will be directed towards the medicinal users. The recreational users are typically just left alone.
There are two ways to do this break, the first is cold turkey.
Ensure to set a specific date on which the break is to happen. This makes the plan more tangible than just imposing a range of dates for the break.
Now the duration of the break is a little tricky because there are many factors to consider. The first being how long you have been using marijuana. The other is how much is consumed on each session.
Also, how long has it been since the last break? If you are an occasional user, 3-4 days should be enough as the body begins to regain normalcy in the ECS (endocannabinoid system) after two days. A heavy user has to go for at least one week.
The last very important question is the reason for wanting to lower marijuana tolerance. This is more of a psychological thing. If the reason is not solid enough then you can easily talk yourself out of the break. Which brings on the net concern.
Over time, the body will have started to relate marijuana with relief from pain or whatever reason. Once you decide to go cold turkey, your brain will realize what is happening and try to do everything to make you think you cannot live without the herb.
You will suffer many moments of weakness.
This is why the reason for a tolerance cannot be something wishy washy like you are broke or you want someone to like you. It needs to be a well thought out reason.
The other way is to gradually wean the body off of it. This is better for people who suffer chronic pain. Take two days with half the normal dosage then the next three or however long with nothing at all.
In the two preceding days, the body will have received sufficient notice and warning that something will be going down.
Once your break is over, do not plunge back in. Start with a low dosage. Take it easy. Your body will no longer need the huge amounts of marijuana you were shoveling before.
The key to ensuring that the tolerance break blues do not break you is to keep busy. Find hobbies and fun things to occupy your time.
This is especially important for times when you would regularly consume the herb. Exercise a lot and stay hydrated. Exercise will increase endocannabinoid activity. Ensure to let your friends know that you are on a break.
It is not ideal to be trying to quit but have your mates wake and bake everyday thus feeding you second and smoke. That is no way to survive a tolerance break.
In the same respect, get rid of all your marijuana products. No edibles or vape juice anywhere in the vicinity.
Mini-breaks
To prevent tolerance from building, you can take a break of a few hours.
After how many hours do you consume the marijuana? How about going double that amount of time without using it for a day.
Let your body know that it can go without the marijuana. This is a great way to train for the major tolerance break.
The body is already use to being denied every once in a while so the temptations o break the break will not be too immense to handle.
Micro-dosing
Say you take 25mg a day every day. Cut back a fraction today, maintain that for about three days then cut back another fraction.
The fraction does not even have to be a whole milligram. Slow but sure is the way to go. Ensure you stay consistent until you get to a point where you start to feel pain even after taking the dosage.
Go back to the last dosage and maintain that for a while. You can try the cutting back again after a few days.
If cutting down a fraction feels too aggressive for you, how about try a lesser concentrated product. You could try a cannabis oil with a concentration of 10% instead of the 15% you are used to.
Or you could switch from sublingual delivery to edibles. It is all about training the body. This would also train the system not to go into a mini-shock every time things are changed up a little.
You are therefore able to build a stronger tolerance for the tolerance break.
Cannabis cycling
The most impressive thing about marijuana is the many elements contained therein. The many cannabinoids, terpenes, enzymes and other chemicals are what make it possible for marijuana to treat and prevent s many illnesses.
So you can switch the cannabinoid. If you were using a THC rich cannabis product change it up and go for one with CBD prominence.
The product will still interact with the endocannainoid system and calm things down a bit.
Reverse Tolerance
The best way to explain this is by using alcohol. Once you become a drinker, at first you get drunk on a very small amount. Over time with consistent use, your body is able to take copious amounts without as much as a stagger.
You will even brag that you can drink a sailor under the table. Then the liver damage sets in and you become a lightweight again. In fact, this is a sure sign that alcohol has started to damage your insides.
That last part is reverse tolerance. You have been using it so long that your body only needs a little bit to feel the effects.
The same case applies to CBD though not so dramatically.
CBD reverse tolerance does not spell doom either. The reverse tolerance of CBD is said to be due to the struggle for homeostasis.
CBD works so well to balance things in the body that only a little is need to alleviate pain or prevent skin break outs. This is mostly experienced in children according to a 1981 study.
Epileptic children were found to require less and less CBD to abate the seizures. The study attributed this to enhance endocannabinoid action.
Thus, if you are CBD user you can take your own little tolerance breaks where you adjust downwards. There are no known adverse effects to taking more than you require but why do it.
Is that not the definition of greed? Hypothetically, with time you will only require a CBD dosage every few days for your symptoms.
This surprising effect makes CBD a great candidate to help with THC tolerance.
A study in 1993 where people with THC tolerance were picked and administered a single dose of 10mg CBD. Later it was found that the previous low receptor density had now gone up by 13% in some areas and 19% in others.
This reiterates the position about different parts of the brain experiencing tolerance differently. This is license to use CBD during our cannabis tolerance break. It would not be cheating just helping the endocannabinoid system recover better and faster.
