Smoking Weed For the First Time? Follow Our Quick Guide

Despite all the advances in cannabis technology in recent years, the traditional method of smoking weed is still popular. Go to any party or late night get together and you’ll probably find someone rolling a joint and kicking back to enjoy the evening with friends.

If you want to try smoking weed for the first time, there are a number of things to consider, not least the type of cannabis you are going to buy and where you are going to do it. There may be questions you haven’t even considered:

• Is taking small hits from that joint better than long draws?
• How do you roll a joint in the first place?
• What happens if you overdo it?

Here, we’ll try to answer all these questions so your first-time smoking weed goes according to plan. Our main piece of advice is to pick a safe location you know well and smoke with friends you trust.

Which Weed to Choose?

Whether you get high or not, the strain of cannabis you choose is going to be influential. If this is your first time, you want to avoid very high THC strains simply because you’re not experienced enough for them.

Most people’s introduction to smoking weed is when they are with a group of friends and a joint or blunt is passed around. You have no choice and are just hoping your friends aren’t trying to blow your socks off. This is fine but make sure you don’t overdo it. Take small tokes and pass the joint on rather than hogging it and trying to get as high as possible.

If you are planning to use cannabis for medical purposes, smoking weed may be your first introduction and the easiest to try. Make sure you do your research on the right choices in your community and always start small when it comes to dose. If you don’t actually want to smoke weed, vaping is a healthier alternative.

Where to Smoke Weed?

If you want to stay ultra-safe, we suggest that you try smoking weed for the first time under pretty controlled circumstances. That means you are more likely to enjoy the experience and appreciate what’s going on at the same time. You will want to avoid taking any other substances such as alcohol beforehand as this can affect your reaction and your experience.

Our top tip is to choose a familiar and safe place with a few friends you know well. If you’re at a party and people are taking cannabis, avoid things like gravity bongs as they can deliver an intense high that you might not be quite ready for.

How to Roll a Joint

If you can already roll a cigarette, you’ll find this easy. For novices, rolling a joint isn’t always that simple which means you might want to practice beforehand – the last thing you want is for your newly bought cannabis bud to end up on the floor.

Other methods of delivery such as a bong can be okay if you know what you are doing but may deliver a big high if you take in too much vapor in one go. A similar thing can be said of dabbing, where you take a small amount of concentrate and vaporize it.

Is it Best to Take Small or Big Hits?

One of the questions newbies often ask is whether it’s best to take small hits of a joint or take a deep breath, draw plenty of smoke into your lungs, hold it and then exhale slowly.

Many people are going to tell you that a big hit is the quickest way to get yourself high. It makes sense. You’re taking more of the cannabis into your lungs and more THC is swimming around your veins. So-called experts will also tell you that you need to hold that cannabis smoke in your lungs for a good while before exhaling.

Actually, the truth is a little different when you are smoking weed.

First off, our lungs aren’t that efficient at absorbing stuff like oxygen as well as, in this case, THC. Take a deep breath, hold it and breath out and you’ll find that the air you expel still contains a good deal of oxygen. Holding your breath doesn’t really improve absorption. That’s essentially why we breath in an out regularly rather than breathing once in a while when our body needs it.

You cannot force a greater amount of THC or CBD or any other product into your lungs. Breathing normally, therefore, is just as efficient. Part of the sense of feeling higher may actually come down to depriving your brain of oxygen when you are holding your breath. Of course, there’s also probably a placebo effect – you’re expecting to get higher so you feel higher, irrespective of the level of THC in your system.

The level of THC that is absorbed in each breath is probably decided within the first second which means there’s really no need to hold it in your lungs for an extended period. If other people are doing it and you don’t want to stand out, there’s no harm in holding your breath. It just won’t do that much for you, it certainly won’t get you higher.

It’s the quantity that you smoke and the level of THC in the strain you are smoking that will dictate how high you get. This shouldn’t be your primary motivation when smoking weed for the first time, however. Indeed, you may be disappointed. Some people try cannabis for the first time and discover it has no effect initially for one reason or another, either because of the strain or their own personal biology.

What To Do If You Smoke Too Much

As a novice, of course, there’s the possibility that you might overdo things. We would advise that you stop, once you feel yourself getting high, but that probably will go by the way once you are sat down and lighting up with friends.

Overdoing the weed can do a number of things to you. It can make you feel way too euphoric and out of control but it can also make you feel paranoid. The thing to remember is that these feelings are going to pass with time. Stop smoking the weed and find somewhere quiet to sit where you feel safe and secure. Drink plenty of water and eat something to take the edge of the high. If you’re with a friend, you can step outside with them and get some fresh air (don’t go off wandering on your own).

Just remember that no one ever died because of taking too much marijuana and in a few hours’ time the effect will be wearing off.

What Are The Alternatives to Smoking Weed?

One of the problems with smoking weed is that it’s pretty unhealthy as we all know. Those burning carcinogens are not particularly good for us. If you’re looking for an alternative there’s plenty to choose from, especially if you are taking cannabis for medicinal purposes. Smoking a joint or a blunt is a reasonably safe introduction but there are other good options.

Popular choices are a weed pipe or even making your own cannabis vessel out of fruit or even a tin can. The possibilities are virtually endless here.

Once you’ve decided you want to explore the world of cannabis, you may like to take a look at vaping, buying a bong or playing around with concentrates and processes such as dabbing. A bong is one of the cleanest ways to take cannabis because the smoke is filtered through water first and gives you a much more flavorsome hit.

Getting the Munchies When Smoking Weed

One thing you will most definitely notice is that you’ll get the munchies at some point. Many cannabis regulars have a fast food app downloaded onto their phones so they can call up a pizza or hamburger when they get hungry. Another option is to get supplies of chips and other munchies in before you start your session.

Don’t Plan Ahead

Another thing to bear in mind is that, if you are high, you’re not going to be much good for anything else, at least for a while. That means you shouldn’t have anything scheduled for the evening or the day after, just in case. Keep your itinerary clear and you won’t have to worry about turning up somewhere high as a kite.

Know Your Limits

Finally, even if you have never tried smoking weed before, it’s important to be aware of your limitations. If you find yourself tipping over the edge of euphoria, stop and wait until your head clears.

Once you’ve tried weed for the first time, you may want to take things further and grow your own plants. At Seedsbank.ie, we’ve got a big catalogue of different seeds and strains available for sale, suitable for beginners and experienced growers.