The holidays are right around the corner, as hard to believe as that is. If you’re cannabis positive, you may be celebrating Christmas or another festive holiday while high. Perhaps you’re imbibing to soothe anxiety or stress. Or perhaps you get to indulge with your family (lucky!).
Regardless of the reason, navigating the holidays while on a high can be tricky. Here are a few tips to help you get your smoke on while enjoying the season.
1. Start in the Kitchen
If you enjoy cooking or baking, start the cannabis celebrations in the kitchen. Did you know you can take the classic gingerbread house and infuse it with various cannabis products? Snag some everyday gingerbread and use weed chocolate to put it together. Then decorate with weed gummies.
Or make cannabis-infused butter your new best friend. Put it in literally any baked good for delicious treats that will start you on your high.
Also, be sure not to store your edibles beside other holiday treats. It’s easy to mistake them for non-cannabis delicacies, meaning kids or even just people who don’t want to get high can get their hands on them.
Tell everyone in the house which treats are cannabis edibles and keep them on high counters or in cupboards where children and pets can’t reach. Even better is to clearly label the tub or container, or use a special locked stashbox to protect children from cannabis.
2. Plan Ahead
If you’re going to someone else’s house for the holidays, plan your high ahead of time. For those not driving, take an edible about an hour before you’re due to arrive. Staying the night somewhere? Pack some snacks to keep in your room so you don’t wake the house getting something from the kitchen in the middle of the night.
Fill a large reusable water bottle and keep it with you while celebrating Christmas with family and friends. Not only will this help you avoid alcohol (more on that below) but you’ll stay better hydrated. Depending on your product, this can help you avoid dry mouth.
3. Watch Your Doses
Especially if you’re new to cannabis products, be careful with your doses. Begin with a 20:1 ratio of CBD to THC for stress relief with very limited psychoactivity to get used to the sensation. A good starter dose of edibles is somewhere around 2mg of THC.
More experienced users should be careful, too. Especially if you’re using your products to help with family- or holiday-related anxiety, you may be tempted to overindulge. Nothing ruins a party quite like that one person who gets way too high.
If your family doesn’t know you enjoy cannabis products, it’s especially important to watch your doses. It’s probably not a good idea to get high in secret and try to pretend you’re not. Depending on your product of choice, you may think you’re 100% normal but are actually acting very strange. Watch your doses and your products to avoid awkward conversations.
Additionally, if you’re consuming an edible, the old adage, “When in doubt, wait it out” definitely applies. It can take up to two hours to feel the effects of an edible. If you’ve consumed one and don’t feel anything yet, give it time before taking another bite.
4. Be Respectful
If the ones you’re celebrating the holidays with know that you imbibe, be respectful and ask their permission to bring products to the gathering. You may be perfectly comfortable with your brand of herbal supplements; however, there may be other guests or the host themselves that isn’t a fan.
Additionally, you can’t know if someone at your holiday gathering has a particular allergy or condition. For example, smoke can exacerbate lung conditions like asthma. So always be respectful and ask permission before bringing goodies, whether or not you’re sharing.
5. Avoid the Alcohol
Occasionally consuming cannabis products and alcohol together (or “crossfading”) can work out okay. But unless you’re an expert at managing your intake of both substances, don’t use the holidays to figure it out.
Drinking before consuming cannabis products can enhance the effects of the THC, resulting in a stronger high than you may have intended. Consuming cannabis before drinking can minimize the effects of the alcohol, meaning you may be tipsier than you actually feel.
If you want to celebrate Christmas while high, try to stay away from adding alcohol to the mix. And this should go without saying, but never drive high, drunk, or crossfaded. Ever. Also avoid getting into a car with someone who’s impaired.
6. Be Careful with Your Gifts
If you’re giving cannabis-related gifts to someone, be careful with them. Don’t leave them unattended under the tree. Children can rarely resist the sight of presents and may not realize that the delicious jar of gummies is more than they think.
Pets, especially dogs, are also amazing at sniffing out what they hope is a tasty treat. The last thing you need for the holidays is an emergency trip to the vet. So keep the gifts out of reach and hand them directly to the recipient when it’s time.
7. Take it Digital
We’re supposed to be social distancing anyway, so consider celebrating Christmas virtually this year over a Zoom call. That way you can be even more relaxed about your cannabis consumption and not worry about driving anywhere. Just be careful about imbibing on camera if your family isn’t a fan of your product of choice.
Celebrate Safely
However you celebrate, stay safe and enjoy yourselves. Try these tips to sober up if you do get too high while celebrating Christmas or your holiday of choice!
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Tess is a freelance content writer for SMOKEA®, your number one source and one stop shop for the hottest brands in the smoking industry.
