Cannabis, no doubt, is an amazing substance with some incredible medicinal benefits. However, the herb surely isn’t devoid of drawbacks. And one of the major ones is that you may easily develop tolerance toward it, which means you won’t be able to feel its effects unless you increase your dosage. You certainly don’t want this to happen to you, right?

So, is there any way to turn it around? Or maybe a trick or something to increase the effects of the herb every time you consume it?

Well, you might be in luck, my friend!

In this article, we are going to talk about a very simple trick by medical marijuana doctors in New York that you can easily employ to keep your marijuana tolerance to the minimum. Now, if you are not a very frequent smoker, you may not have to worry about it for at least around a month. But if you consume it on a daily basis, you should dive into it right now.

Can’t You Just Quit Cannabis for Some Time for this?

Well, of course, if you go cold turkey on your cannabis entirely for some time, you may get your tolerance toward the herb down again. In fact, a lot of regular cannabis users apply this trick and see a significant improvement in their cannabis tolerance within a week or two. 

However, it obviously isn’t as easy as some people think.

You may have heard that cannabis isn’t an addictive substance. But it isn’t actually the complete truth. You may not form physical reliance on the plant. But the chance of developing some psychological dependence is definitely there. And given this, you’ll surely see some withdrawal symptoms surfacing if you leave cannabis entirely.

Furthermore, we need to think about medicinal users too. A lot of people use cannabis on a daily basis to treat some serious medical conditions, which include pain, inflammation, anxiety, stress, etc. And considering this, they cannot afford to quit cannabis even for a couple of days, forget weeks.

But then how to maintain a low cannabis tolerance along with using it as a medicine on a daily basis?

Well, it turns out the answer to the above question lies in the chemical profile of cannabis and what strain you are consuming. You just need to understand how each strain affects your body on the molecular level. And once you know how different strains work, you can easily switch them at the right moment. And as a result, you may avoid the development of the dreaded cannabis tolerance.

Let’s see how.

THC Vs. CBD Dominant Strains

We all know that CBD is an amazing cannabis compound that offers many therapeutic benefits to our body. However, for those who don’t know, even THC is no less in any way. In fact, THC and CBD both offer almost the same effects in terms of appetite, pain, anxiety, and many other conditions. Having said that, if you frequently switch between a CBD dominant and a THC dominant marijuana strain, you may be able to keep your cannabis tolerance to the minimum. 

The reason for this is how the two cannabinoids work with your endocannabinoid system (ECS).

See, when THC enters your system, it primarily interact with the CB1 receptors in your body. And this makes you feel the psychoactive effects of the compound. However, the problem starts when you consume it regularly. When you consume a THC dominant cannabis strain regularly, after some time, your ECS may start becoming ready for the excessive THC. And thus, it makes very few CB1 receptors available for the THC to bind with. Your body is always working actively to maintain the level of normalcy (or homeostasis). And this is what we call increased cannabis tolerance.

However, it’s important to note that this effect is usually seen with THC only. CBD works in a completely different way.

Rather than binding itself physically to the endocannabinoid receptors, CBD actually stimulates the production of new endocannabinoids. This way it doesn’t deviate the homeostasis. And thus, your body doesn’t need to increase its tolerance toward the substance.

Given all this, by swapping between THC and CBD dominant strains from time to time, you may give your body a necessary physiological break. And thus, your body doesn’t develop any tolerance toward THC.

How to Switch Between CBD and THC?

If your state allows the use of cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes, you may easily find a strain with high CBD in any nearby cannabis dispensary. And since they have a high amount of CBD, and very low THC, they may get your body to produce and release more CB1 receptors. Then, when you’ll again switch back to a THC-rich strain, this abundance of CB1 receptors may enhance the psychoactive as well as medicinal effects of cannabis.

However, you should note that there are no scientific studies available to back this theory. Though switching CBD and THC strains may help you avoid the formation of cannabis tolerance, there’s no clinical guarantee.

What is the Right Time to Switch?

Now, if you have decided that you want to give this method a try, you probably want to know when should you switch from a THC-rich strain to a CBD one or vice versa. Or to put it simply, for how long should you consume each type. 

Well, medical marijuana doctors in New York say that there is no single answer to this question. Switching between THC and CBD strains can actually be a quite individualistic process. And you’ll need to listen to your body, and carefully notice the changes happening within. 

For instance, for one person, it may take up to six months to develop tolerance toward a strain. While, for another, that may happen within 2 weeks for the exact same strain. It all comes down to the individual body structure. Having said that, you need to see for yourself how your body reacts to the cannabis. And then make a decision accordingly.

Conclusively, you should try to detect when you stop experiencing the effects of a particular strain. And as soon as you see yourself requiring more of it, make a switch to a high-CBD strain. 

Final Tips

The first thing you should keep in mind is that your shift doesn’t need to be very drastic. A slow and small shift in the cannabinoid profile may also be enough to keep your tolerance low. But again, it all comes down to your body’s biochemistry. 

Another thing that medical marijuana doctors in New York suggest is that you should get an MMJ card, if you don’t have it already. When you are buying cannabis, you can’t know its cannabinoid profile beforehand unless you are buying from a trusted source, like a cannabis dispensary. And in many states, you cannot buy from a cannabis dispensary without a valid medical marijuana card.

In the end, we would like to remind you that though this method may help you keep the dreaded cannabis tolerance at bay, there is no clinical evidence to support the supposition. Having said that, if you are considering giving this a chance, make sure you do an in-depth research and talk to your primary health care provider beforehand.

Source: https://www.nymedicalcard.com/blog/how-do-i-prevent-developing-marijuana-tolerance/