In all areas of life, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. When cannabis is the good thing you’ve had too much of, you may experience several rather unpleasant sensations. Although the cannabis itself won’t kill you since it’s impossible to overdose fatally on cannabis, if you’ve taken too much, either recreationally or for medical reasons, you can experience effects like dizziness, sweating, nausea and a sense of panic. This usually happens when eating cannabis as opposed to smoking or vaping it, because the cannabis effects in edibles take longer to kick in, which means that you can eat too much at one sitting, thinking that it’s going to have no effect on you. Then, the effects do kick in and it’s too late. So what can you do if you realise you’ve taken too much?

Firstly, don’t panic. Avoid driving, operating heavy equipment or similar tasks.

Many in this situation suggest simply going to bed and sleeping it off. Others suggest eating something really quickly, like a glass of milk and some cookies.

Black pepper (freshly ground) and lemon peel or lemonade is said to counter the effects. Lemon peel contains Limonene, a terpene that calms the jitters. Black pepper has lots of Caryophyllene, another terpene in cannabis that can fight depression and anxiety.

CBD rich products like tinctures and patches also have a history of counteracting unwanted psychoactive effects of THC.

If you can’t sleep or your mind is racing, distract yourself from paranoia by trying some exercise such as stretching, Thai chi, shadow boxing or even a walk or run might help. Eat a meal of natural, whole foods, if possible.

Stay hydrated, drink plenty of water. Orange juice is said to help with hydration and the natural sugar in the juice is said to help.

The effects of ingesting too much marijuana can be felt for several days afterwards, in fact, some people liken it to the effects of binge drinking. It may be necessary to see a medical professional if you continue to have a fast pulse or fluctuating blood pressure.

Remember that researchers have never been able to cause death in the animals they’ve experimented on in trying to determine a lethal dose of marijuana. Scientists have not been able to determine how much cannabis is deadly, so the only thing that will kill you is irresponsible behavior while high, such as driving.

Sources:

//www.allaboutcounseling.com/library/marijuana-overdose/

https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/8-ways-to-counteract-a-too-intense-cannabis-high

//theleafonline.com/c/science/2014/10/terpene-profile-caryophyllene/