Cannabis Tolerance Break Guide for Patients
A cannabis tolerance break or “T-Break” is a regimented treatment for lowering an individual's tolerance of weed. This break is usually done voluntarily and preferably under the supervision of an experienced medical marijuana doctor.
Understanding the optimal dosage, frequency, and time it takes to lower your resistance to cannabis will help you ensure a successful T-Break. It's also important to consider any accompanying mental or physical health issues you have so that you can plan another treatment strategy for these with your doctor and avoid a relapse in symptoms.
What Is a Cannabis Tolerance Break?
A cannabis tolerance break is a temporary period of abstinence from cannabis that allows the body's endocannabinoid system to reset, lowering your cannabis tolerance. Think of a T-Break as a "refresh button" that clears your body of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). A T-Break will naturally help medical marijuana patients who have a strong cannabis tolerance experience the plant's full effects again when they resume their treatment.
How Long Does it Take for THC to Leave Your System?
THC can linger in your urine for up to 30 days, 12 hours in your blood, or 24 hours in your saliva. That’s why it often takes a few weeks to reset your tolerance to cannabis. Medical marijuana patients who only consume cannabis from time to time may recognize a difference in as little as 48 hours.
When you consume recreational marijuana or medicinal cannabis frequently, your body adjusts by making the CB1 receptors in your brain less sensitive to THC. You may find yourself having to consume more cannabis to experience the same effects that you did at first. This process can be reversed by allowing the CB1 receptors to return slowly to their baseline sensitivity levels.
Is Tolerance to THC a Bad Thing?
Regularly consuming cannabis doesn't necessarily lead to adverse health effects as long as you are taking doses that are appropriate for your medical condition. In fact, many medical marijuana consumers report less pain, better sleep, lower anxiety levels, and a better quality of life. While some studies show adverse health effects, these are usually connected with very heavy marijuana use.
That said, there are a few signs that indicate a tolerance break could be helpful. These signs don't mean you have a cannabis addiction; they are just indications that you may need to reset your body's response to THC:
You need to consume more marijuana to achieve the same effects that you did with a smaller amount before.
You feel minimal effects from THC, no matter how much marijuana you consume.
You experience anxiety, insomnia, or loss of appetite when you spend long periods consuming weed.
You find yourself physically and mentally unable to go about your day without consuming cannabis regularly.
A licensed physician who understands how to take a THC tolerance break can guide you on tapering your dose safely. Medicinal cannabis providers may also offer strategies on how to manage secondary symptoms that could develop from T-Breaks.
Anyone can see a doctor for guidance on how to take a T-Break. However, medical marijuana cardholders with qualifying conditions will often receive ongoing counsel from doctors who are more specifically familiar with medical cannabis treatment.
What Are Some Effective Tolerance Break Strategies?
Your T-Break strategy should be carefully crafted together with a licensed physician who works with MMJ patients. You should be wary not to self-medicate with cannabis or try to take a T-Break alone. In Arizona, patients who have a medical marijuana card can work with an MMJ doctor to implement the following strategies:
Control the frequency and amount of your doses. Try to abstain for 48 hours and then slowly taper your dose over the next few days to reduce withdrawal symptoms.
Experiment with consuming cannabis differently, such as switching to edibles or cannabidiol (CBD) oil.
Manage withdrawal symptoms with natural remedies that produce similar therapeutic benefits as cannabis, such as meditation, exercise, and herbal supplements.
When you resume consuming cannabis, try cannabis strains with higher CBD-THC ratios to keep your tolerance levels in check.
Every once in a while, a T-Break may lead to a patient deciding to stop consuming cannabis altogether. If this is the case, ask your physician about alternative treatments for your medical symptoms. If a T-Break is just a matter of decreasing the potency of your medical marijuana, a longer duration could be needed to achieve the desired effects.
Other Factors to Consider When Taking a T-Break
You should consider several other factors before undertaking a T-Break:
The amount of time it takes for cannabinoid receptor function to return to its pre-use levels will be largely dependent on how long and how often the MMJ patient has been using cannabis.
Chronic daily cannabis smokers are likely to have THC receptors that are downregulated. This downregulation may require a longer break from cannabis to reset tolerance.
Each individual processes cannabinoids differently, so there is not a one-size-fits-all recipe for T-Breaks.
Maintain a Healthy Cannabis Tolerance With T-Breaks
Taking regular tolerance breaks is an effective way to restore the sensitivity of the cannabinoid receptors in your brain. This temporary pause from marijuana will help you lower your tolerance and heighten the effects of cannabis once you resume consuming it. If you do need a T-Break, you should seek a physician's advice to go through the process safely.
MMJ doctors will monitor your cannabis doses and give you suggestions on strategies to reduce withdrawal symptoms—if any occur—and bring you back down to a healthy tolerance. A typical T-Break can take anywhere from 48 hours to a few weeks. Tolerance breaks are a great way to preserve a positive relationship with cannabis and continue to benefit from the therapeutic properties of this powerful plant.
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