If you’re a habitual smoker, you may notice that after some time of extended consumption, your reactions to cannabis start to change. Maybe the effects aren’t as noticeable, or you realize that your mind feels a bit foggy. There are plenty of reasons to take an occasional t-break. Maybe you feel like it’s starting to take up time over responsibilities. Maybe you’re finding that too much of your time is being spent indoors and you’re not getting enough fresh air. Maybe there’s a little part of you that feels guilty; this is usually a strong sign that taking a break might be right for you. Maybe it’s become a crutch for enhancing your creativity or sex life, or maybe your tolerance has simply increased to the point that pot is no longer having the awesome effects that it once did for you. Maybe you have a job interview coming up in a state in which marijuana is still illegal. Whatever your reason, taking a break might be a good plan.
A tolerance break is what it sounds like; a short break from consuming cannabis in order to clear the mind and body of THC. According to a study conducted at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the effect of cannabis on tolerance is dependent on dose, and time of exposure. The result means that that the more you use the less sensitive you become, but that you can also easily reverse the effect through taking a break. This can be done either through reducing the amount of consumption or through abstaining altogether. An example of reducing consumption might be choosing to abstain part of the day, like the morning, to have a better experience in the evening, if you choose to smoke.
Tolerance breaks should last about as long as they feel right. Every person’s body chemistry is different; you may be fine with after a few days. Fine in this case meaning that your tolerance will start to decrease to the extent that you start feeling effects again, or your mind feels clear. If you feel like you need to truly shake up your routine a bit, then a week or two is best. It’s recommended to exercise, which can take a variety of forms. Going for a hike or run, hitting the gym, or just getting out might be great. THC takes about 30 days to fully leave the system of a regular user, so if you want to completely hit the reset button, we recommend going the fully 30 days and drink plenty of water.
Once you’re done and you’d like to use cannabis again, a lower dose will be way more effective, so start small.
