How to not look high: 10 tips

While cannabis reform is now afoot across Europe, there are still many times when concealing one’s marijuana use is a required skill. Life’s little emergencies don’t stop for your toke.

Everyone has experienced a surprise visit (from the neighbour or even parents), a last-minute trip to the store (munchies or not), or another (fill in the blank) moment when the last thing you wanted to portray was that you just inhaled.

While experienced smokers may be old hands at this, everyone remembers at least once when it all got a little uncomfortable. With that in mind, below are 10 tips to help you relax and go with the flow while effectively concealing your cannabis consumption. Further on, we'll offer some advice on how to prevent getting high in the first place, without giving up the herb entirely.

How Can Someone Tell You’re High?

There are some tell-tale signs, no matter how cliché, that someone has been imbibing the herb. These are usually less pronounced in regular smokers, though still evident to the discerning eye.

Physical signs include red eyes, delayed reactions, and poor muscle coordination—not to mention the munchies. On the psychological front, a sudden shift in mood along with increased and sudden feelings of panic and anxiety are also signs someone has been smoking (particularly a newbie).

The smell of weed also lingers on, in both clothing and hair, far from the location where you lit up.

How To Hide Your High

There are several ways to hide the fact that you are high. Obviously, this also takes the self-awareness that you are both high in the first place and might need to conceal it.

1. Freshen up

The first thing to do is spruce yourself up. Splash cold water on your face. Shower and change clothes, if possible. Brush your teeth and gargle. Brush and freshen up your hair.

2. Freshen the room/smoke space up

There are lots of ideas here that fit every budget and contingency. Open windows to let in some fresh air; light incense or scented candles; spritz air freshener or cheap perfume; turn on the kitchen vent system and overhead fans. If none of this appeals or is possible, quickly and deliberately burn some food. Putting a ring of coffee beans around a small candle will quickly fill the air with the smell of coffee. In a pinch, boil some vinegar.

Remember that regular weed use means that the smell is likely to linger in carpets, curtains, and even furniture. Keep the room ventilated when you do light up to prevent a lingering odour. You may like it; your weed-unfriendly drop-ins may not.

3. Hydrate

Drink lots of water. This will flush your system. Beyond this, there are several go-to liquids you can rely on. Herbal teas (dandelion and chamomile) are good standbys. Lemon juice is also good for detoxing. Orange and cranberry juices are excellent if you just can’t handle drinking any more water. When hydrating your interior, however, do not forget to include eyedrops in this regime. Red eyes are often a result of lowered blood pressure. Give your eyes some oxygen.

4. Eat!

Whether you have the munchies or not, eating after toking is one way to bring you solidly back to Earth. High-fat junk food (pizza, burgers, chips, ice cream) may be the stereotypical stoner food, but remember to not indulge too often. Healthier options include fresh veggies (with dip), fruit, and yoghurt (including of the frozen kind). If you toke frequently, you may want to come up with a plan to deal with the munchies afterward in a healthy way. Calories, calories!

5. Take a bite of black pepper

One way to attempt to bring yourself down and hide your high is to eat some black pepper. Chewing on black peppercorns may sound strange, but it features compounds that interface with cannabinoid receptors in the brain. This is said to potentially help alleviate the feeling of anxiety and paranoia associated with consuming too much cannabis, although this is yet unproven.

6. Motivate yourself

When someone interrupts your high (or your plans while high), it can be tough to motivate yourself to interact or spring into action. However, the reality is, you can’t just get rid yourself of them (or any other interfering situation) by mere willpower. Suck it up. Breathe deeply, concentrate, and interact as best you can—and this too shall pass. Need a little jolt to get you there? Hop in an ice-cold shower, and your affect will soon change!

7. Put on sunglasses

Wear shades. Even at night if necessary. It is a bold fashion statement that also covers a lot of sins—starting with those bloodshot eyes.

8. Hide your stash

It stands to reason that you should ensure your stash is well out of the way when guests drop in. Generally, storing cannabis in an airtight glass container is the best way to keep it fresh. However, putting that container safely out of sight is another requirement for maintaining your privacy. If you have kids in the house (or around), consider storing this in a tough-to-reach, out-of-the-way spot, preferably with a lock on it.

9. Stay in the background

Generally, it is a good idea to be as unobtrusive as possible around other people, particularly if you are the only one who has just smoked a fat one. This can be difficult for those of whom cannabis loosens tongues. Talking a lot (or laughing at innocuous things) is a dead giveaway that you have just indulged in the “devil’s lettuce”. However, this can be a difficult line to walk. Sometimes, it is all too easy to drift away and pay no attention to the conversation, until surprised by someone eliciting a response.

10. Relax

Nervous energy is also a dead giveaway. Make sure you sit still and do not fidget. Remember that any anxiety will pass, and if you act more or less normally, nobody will be any the wiser.

Take deep breaths. Think of something that you really love to do. It's not all that serious.

How To Not Get High From Cannabis

Of course, the best way to not look or act high is to not smoke weed at all. However, not everyone wants to give up THC. That said, certain medical users, for instance, might want to avoid the high associated with weed, while still benefiting from the plant’s other attributes. The same goes for those who don’t want to quit getting high, but have to limit their intake for personal or professional reasons.

Here are some ways to not get high from cannabis, without giving up the plant altogether.

Microdose

Taking small doses of marijuana—either orally or inhaled—is one way to benefit from cannabinoids without getting properly high. Fine-tuning your microdose will take some experimentation, but once you find the right amount, you’ll be able to reap the rewards of THC without the giggles or the munchies.

Take some CBD

CBD is a non-psychotropic compound that displays some effects without causing euphoria or intoxication. The cannabinoid is also widely believed to interact with THC in a way that limits the latter’s psychoactivity.

CBD can be taken orally or sublingually (under the tongue) in the form of an oil, or you can smoke, vape, or otherwise ingest CBD flower, concentrates, and edibles to avoid getting stoned while still enjoying cannabinoids.

Use cannabis topicals

Another way to avoid getting high while still using THC and other cannabis constituents is to apply weed topically. That’s right; cannabis salves and creams can be applied to areas of the body to exert local effects, without penetrating the bloodstream.

Eat raw cannabis

There are numerous nutritional benefits offered by raw cannabis. As fresh green cannabis leaves are not decarboxylated (activated by heat), the cannabinoids inside exist as acid precursors that do not cause a high. In other words, you can benefit from the nutritional profile of the "greens" without getting stoned like you would when consuming edibles.

Raw cannabis leaves and flowers are packed with vitamins and minerals such as iron, folate, calcium, and vitamins C and K. Raw cannabis also contains terpenes, which display their own unique physiological effects.

To Be Or Not To Be (High)?

There are many options available for the smart cannabis consumer. “Getting high”, just like having a few drinks, is a choice for many—and further, one that is increasingly recognised as having fewer adverse effects than other social relaxants. For some, uninhibited use of cannabis is not an option, and so finding ways to minimise the stoned effect becomes paramount.

Moreover, finding ways to ameliorate the unwanted effects of smoking weed is necessary to a fruitful relationship with the herb. Luckily, it becomes much easier with experience, and given the generally good safety profile of cannabis-derived cannabinoids, you can rest assured that any adverse or inconvenient effects will soon dwindle.