Mixing your cup of joe with a few puffs is bound to intensify the effects of both caffeine and compounds like THC in cannabis. Let’s learn what these effects look like, why users blend the two, and the potential risks of the combination.
Many THC-infused coffees exist, whether that be pre-made versions of DIY recipes using cannabis products like tinctures.
If you choose to combine your caffeine with cannabis products, the effects you can feel can vary depending on how much of either you consume, the cannabis strain used, and the amount of THC levels present.
When blending caffeine and THC-containing weed, you may experience:
Amplified alertness
Increased feeling of energy
Increased anxiety or paranoia
Enhanced focus or scattered thoughts
Mood elevation or potential mood swings
The effects of combining these two substances on humans aren’t widely studied, so we must rely on animal studies.
A 2012 study demonstrated that combining THC and caffeine affected rats’ working memories. Surprisingly, a lower dose of THC was found to make this memory impairment worse than a higher dose of THC combined with caffeine.
Other studies shed light on how mixing the two might result in the desire to get higher. In a later study, researchers found that monkeys gave themselves more THC after they got a high dose of a substance similar to caffeine called MSX-3.
If you decide to explore the effects of caffeine and cannabis, consider starting with smaller doses of each to see how they’ll impact your body and mind.
While there aren’t widespread reports of severe side effects from mixing caffeine and cannabis, that doesn’t mean the combination is risk-free.
Blending these two can heighten anxiety and paranoia, as well as speed up your heart rate and elevate blood pressure, putting stress on the cardiovascular system. The duo may also disrupt sleep patterns and impair cognitive functions like memory and focus.
Plus, there’s a chance caffeine could intensify THC’s effects, possibly leading you to use more of both, which might increase the risk of dependency.
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