I’ve been wanting to write this blog post for some time, and since I’m currently on a tolerance break, I figured now would be as good a time as any. Have you taken a tolerance break before? Most everyday smokers have. I think there are many benefits to taking a tolerance break, and I just wanted to mention some of those now.
First and foremost, obviously taking a break gets your tolerance down, and you have to smoke much less to get you much further. But as anyone who has taken a tolerance break can tell you, you really don’t have to abstain for very long to decrease your tolerance. Even going all day without smoking and smoking at the very end of the day will give you some insight into just how easy it is to get your tolerance down. Which brings me to my next point.
Mini Tolerance Breaks
I’m an everyday smoker, and frankly it’s not a choice. I have a condition known as post-nasal drip, and cannabis is by far the best (and least side-effect-causing) solution for me, so I have to smoke every day. But I do go twenty-four hours without smoking often. As an everyday smoker that might sound confusing, so let me explain.
Let’s say I didn’t smoke weed yesterday until 7 p.m., and that was the only time I smoked for the day. Then let’s say I didn’t smoke until 8 p.m. today—well, that’s over twenty-four hours. While I may not go a waking period without abstaining, my body is still without the plant for that period of time, allowing me to get my tolerance down simply by smoking less most days.
Clearing Your Head / Hitting the Reset Button
I think this is probably the most important part of taking a tolerance break. When you consume every day, for a lot of people it probably seems like you don’t enjoy things as much when you are not high—be it a hike or watching a movie after a long day to unwind. But just quitting for a couple of days, you will not feel the need to smoke so much.
Now cannabis is not physically addictive the way, say, cocaine, nicotine, or even sugar is, because it doesn’t hijack our brain’s reward system the way those other substances do, producing excess amounts of dopamine—a process that is extremely physically addictive. But the everyday process of consuming and just getting used to doing everything high is very habit-forming, I will admit. So taking that time away from the herb and then coming back to it lends itself to a greater appreciation for being high and makes for a deeper, richer high in my opinion.
How Long Should You Take a Tolerance Break For?
So how long should you take a break for? Well, that is dependent on a few variables. When is the last time you took a break? How much do you smoke daily? I think the longer you have gone without smoking and the more you smoke, the longer your break should be to lower your tolerance to a level you are happy with. This really comes down to individual preference and biology. So I would do some trial and error and work toward a time frame that works for you.
My Personal Tolerance Breaks
I have taken breaks from twenty-four hours to a year. Now as a farmer, it’s hard to justify a year, but in the past when I did take a year, I was living in prohibited states, wasn’t growing, and black-market cannabis back in the day (legacy market) was pretty expensive. I also had no idea how it was grown, so putting something in your body that is a mystery is a really bad thing to do every day.
Twenty-four hours will get you higher, but that’s about it. Taking a year will really reformat the way that you look at leisure time, time spent with your friends (stoners or not), and how you work. Some people are more productive when they aren’t high and some more when they are. For me personally, I always love doing creative work high, like photography or video editing. Administrative work is the polar opposite—I like to be sober as a judge when formulating business strategies or making sales calls. So to each their own.
How to Go About It
Back in the day, I would take tolerance breaks because I had a big project coming up in college or I wanted to make sure I graduated on time. So in true ignorant adolescent form, I would smoke as much cannabis as I could, knowing I was going to have to quit soon, and as a result, I would go through the closest thing to withdrawals from weed as you could.
This pretty much presented itself as night sweats. I would get hot flashes when I was asleep, and since I was bundled under the covers and unconscious, I would sweat my ass off and wake up in a pool of sweat. I believe this withdrawal symptom is pretty innocuous compared to the withdrawal symptoms of many FDA-approved and USDA-approved products. It’s worth mentioning these night sweats would usually only last a couple of days, start to dissipate, and within a week be totally gone.
So I say take tolerance breaks often. In fact, if I had my way, I would probably only smoke on weekends. This keeps your funds right, your tolerance low, and your mind right as well. While I love cannabis, like anything, it can be overdone. I’ve mentioned this before, but cannabis can make you very introspective—which is a great thing if your mind is right. However, if your mind is not right, smoking and that introspection can cause you to get to a not-so-healthy place in your head.
So grow your own or find a farmer that you trust, don’t over-consume, and if you feel you have, hit that reset button—your body and mind will thank you for it.
