Can I Build Up a Tolerance to Medical Marijuana?
If you’re a medical marijuana user, you may wonder about potential side effects. Yet, one thing that some patients don’t anticipate is the ability to build up a medical marijuana tolerance. In other words, as you use cannabis more, it seems that your cannabis just isn’t as “strong” as it once was. When this happens, what do you do? Is medical marijuana tolerance a good or bad thing?
Medical marijuana tolerance has its perks
A tolerance to high levels of marijuana can help patients adjust to the disorienting effects of THC. As you use it more regularly, you can become more functional while utilizing medical marijuana than when you use it occasionally.
Studies have shown that cannabis use can affect all of the following functions:
- Attentiveness
- Vigilance
- Perception of time and speed
- Use of acquired knowledge
- Tracking
- Motor coordination
- Visual functions
- Complex tasks that require attention
However, those with higher medical marijuana tolerances have been shown to have negative effects disappear. For example, chronic cannabis consumers drive just like those who haven’t used cannabis. This means that they receive all the benefits of medical marijuana but don’t demonstrate any impairment from the “high” that may inhibit them from daily activity.
In fact, not all patients want to feel “high.” Instead, they worry about their ability to function if the drug makes them feel sleepy and silly. If you don’t want to mess up your daily routine, building a tolerance may be the solution for you. When the disorienting effects disappear, you’ll be left with amazing pain relief and high functionality.
Another perk is crucial for medical marijuana users with certain conditions. For example, migraines require high doses (200 mg or more) of marijuana. Yet, patients can become overwhelmed by the disorienting side effects that accompany large amounts of THC. Having the ability to adjust to high doses over time and build their tolerances allow them to gain the benefits without diminished functional capacity.
Medical marijuana tolerance has its drawbacks
Now, it’s not all good. We won’t pretend that it doesn’t get expensive to have a high tolerance to marijuana. After all, if you need more to feel its effects, then you’ll need to purchase more. It does add up!
A high medical marijuana tolerance also means that you put more medicine into your system. While this isn’t always a bad case (i.e. in the case of migraine patients), it is something to keep in mind.
Final thoughts
Can you build up a tolerance to medical marijuana? The answer is yes! Medical marijuana tolerance is not only possible, but it can be a huge perk for a number of reasons. Whether you want greater functionality or more effective usage, a higher tolerance can ultimately help your condition. Talk to your doctor about increasing your dose to build a tolerance – you’ll want to take it slow and give yourself opportunity to practice.
