Ravon Williams

As I’ve been writing these pieces, I’ve tried to give readers an inside look on what goes on within the cannabis industry. Not this month. I recently ran into an issue with weed and I’d like to share my story and hopefully help someone who might be in the same predicament. 

Most consumers have some sort of routine that they follow. For some, it’s that smoke after a workout, or snacking on some edibles before a work shift, or smoking while dog walking. No matter what it is, if you have a routine where you consume the same thing in the same place and time everyday, have you run into an issue where you feel like you don’t get as high in that routine anymore? 

This has been my dilemma. My typical smoking routine is me sitting in my smoke room, in the same chair, at the same times, everyday. I’ve been doing this for a few years now and I’m noticing that I don’t get as high in that spot as I used to. What was once a great and lasting high, was now lackluster and seemed to fade away quickly. 

The most common solution is to just take a tolerance break. But I’ve taken my fair share in the past and have mixed feelings on them. The first high after a T-break is phenomenal, but that feeling fades away by day three of smoking again. Therefore, I don’t see them as a way to solve the issue. I needed a different solution.

Plus, I noticed that when I smoked practically anywhere that wasn’t my usual smoking spot, I had a more enjoyable high, using the same amount of weed. This made it clear to me that my tolerance issue had more to with more than just the weed I was smoking. 

Now is this just a guy who’s overthinking how he gets high or is there some sort of science to back this up? Answer is both! I remembered I had heard about how we can develop somewhat of a tolerance to consuming in the same environment. I took a deeper dive into the idea and found studies in psychopharmacology (what a mouthful) that say our environment plays a huge part in our tolerance to drugs. 

When we consume in the same setting over and over, our bodies start to associate certain environmental cues with the effect of the weed. This leads to us feeling less of the effects we uses to as we develop a conditional tolerance to our surroundings. Knowing this, I changed my routine. 

I moved my morning smoke to a fish bowl (some call it a hot box) in my driveway and I look at it as a top 10 decision I’ve made so far this year. The change in environment has worked wonders for getting me violently high again. It pushes me to try smoking in different places which I find pretty cool. 

Whether or not you’ve experienced this problem like I have, keep in mind that the tolerance we develop to weed isn’t solely a biological response from the body. It’s also influenced by your environment and, something I didn’t discuss, your method of consumption. I didn’t dive into that side too much as I haven’t had an issue with it. But if you think blunts don’t hit the same anymore, try joints. If that doesn’t work, try smoking out of bongs or ripping dabs or trying edibles. There’s a handful of ways to consume cannabis, you just have to be open minded to changing your routine!