Just Relax: A Step-By-Step Guide to the Comedown

Time: This is the most important and reliable factor of the comedown process. How long it will take for the THC’s psychoactive effect to wear off can depend on many factors. For instance, did you overdo it on a high potency concentrate or just smoke too many blunts? Are you a petite 115 lbs. or 6’3 and 275? Are you an experienced 30-year cannabis connoisseur or are you a lightweight dabbling in it for the weekend? All of these factors will weigh in on how long the process will take for the effect to wear off. It could be 30 minutes, or it could be 12 hours. But one thing remains the same: time is on your side. Be patient, recognize and embrace your mind state, and eventually things will return to normal. 

Medication? Meet Meditation: A big part of embracing and managing your mind state is through relaxation. Once you realize that there is nothing to panic over, you’ll need to calm those racing thoughts. Meditation is a great way to achieve this, as this deep breathing exercise will help your brain move from high frequency waves to lower frequency waves, which will allow your mind more time to gather your thoughts, taking you out of panic mode. We recommend listening to the alarmingly soothing voice of YouTube’s Michael Sealey (https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelSealey), who offers guided meditation to help your mind and body relax, with sessions specializing in a variety of different subjects, from internal anxiety to obsessive ruminations.

Water + Snacks: No alcohol, no edibles, obviously. You don’t want to make things worse. Instead, sip on a glass or bottle of water and take in a light snack. The repetitive nature of these actions will occupy your brain and help calm things down, as well as keep you hydrated, which will help you avoid cottonmouth. 

Black Pepper or Peppercorns: This is perhaps one of our favorite methods to quickly counteract the effects of THC. It’s also a favorite of classic rock legend Neil Young.  
 
“Try black pepper balls if you get paranoid. Just chew two or three pieces,” Young told Howard Stern in a 2014 interview. 
 
It’s not a stoner’s tale, as the method really seems to work thanks to the entourage effect. We all know that cannabis plants are loaded with terpenes, which are the individual hydrocarbons that determine the plant’s scent and effect.  One of the terpenes that can counteract the THC-high is alpha-pinene, which is heavily present in black pepper / black peppercorns. 
 
As crazy as it sounds, repeatedly inhale the aroma of the black pepper and slowly your mind will begin to set at ease. If possible, we recommend using the solid peppercorns rather than the ground pepper, as the individual grains can also make you sneeze! 

Sleep It Off: Sometimes the best thing to do is just to call it a night and attempt to sleep it off. It may be challenging to calm your thoughts when paranoia has your brain racing.  However, combining this with some of the other steps listed above, such as meditation or the black pepper, you may be able to fall asleep. Bonus: Unlike alcohol, there’s no hangover when you arise the next day.

Engage Your Mind with Another Activity: Watch a movie, read a book, listen to music, grab an adult coloring book. Choose an activity that stimulates your mind and takes it off whatever has got you worried.

Call Your Stoner Friend: It sounds silly, but as long as you have a supportive, experienced friend that uses cannabis regularly, give them a call. They can help calm you down and talk you through it, as chances are they’ve been in a similar situation before. In fact, they are probably using cannabis right now. Don’t call mom, call Dave.  

CBD: There’s a popular theory that ingesting CBD cannabis products can actually counteract the psychoactive effect from the THC in your system. Other studies have seemingly disproved this theory, so proceed at your own risk.