THC tolerance happens to everyone. Your body is an incredibly adaptive and complex system designed to maintain equilibrium in any regularized situation. You can adapt to living in a very cold or very hot place. You can adapt to eating spicy foods or living on small amounts. Your body also adapts to constant exposure to THC.

If you start to notice that it takes more and more cannabis to achieve your desired level of "high", it's time for a T-break.  If you've started to experience negative symptoms from cannabis that have never been a problem before, a T-break is usually the answer. And if you just want to experience your next bowl, joint, or vape as if it were your very first, a T-break is the perfect way to do it.

What is a Weed T-Break?

A T-Break is the popular way to talk about taking a break from THC. For most, it's a way to reset your cannabis tolerance. This will allow you to return to enjoying smaller amounts of weed for a stronger high effect. 

T-breaks can be cold-turkey, a gradual reduction in use, or the application of rules to your smoking so that you take significantly fewer hits per day for a while. You can completely stop your cannabis use or just slow it down. Either method will help you reduce your THC tolerance and can also help deal with any side-effects you may have been experiencing.

Why T-Breaks are Useful and Healthy

Tolerance is something that is normal for the body. THC tolerance is the same as developing a caffeine tolerance so that it takes more and more coffee to stay awake during the day.

Taking a T-Break can help you reset that tolerance so that a single bowl or puff of vape can get you to your ideal level again. In fact, a truly successful T-break can reset you all the way back so that you're over the moon on just a little bit of high-end cannabis, making it easy to stay warm and fuzzy all weekend again.

The negative side effects of high tolerance are also similar. You may start to notice that you are coughing more or having trouble staying hydrated because you are smoking more bowls than is normal for your routine.

A high THC tolerance can also hit your wallet, as no one wants to keep heading back to the dispensary for more when a few vape carts or a half-ounce used to last you much, much longer for the same amount of enjoyment.

How to Take a T-Break

Taking a T-Break can be done in three ways. Each method may be appropriate for different people and routines.

1. The Cold-Turkey T-Break

Many people take their T-breaks cold-turkey. T-breaks of this nature can be paired with a general detox to help you focus on cleansing your body and staying healthy during this otherwise trying time. You'll need to prepare to go without all the usual benefits of cannabis like aches and anxiety management. But this is also a good opportunity to practice your self-care and coping skills for situations where cannabis can't come with you.

Going cold-turkey, empty your house of cannabis so you're not tempted to toke. Give your stuff to a friend or have one giant smoke-up on your last day. Then prepare to sleep, distract yourself, and take plenty of showers while your body adjusts to an intense tolerance reset and life without cannabis for a while.

2. The Slow Reduction T-Break

The slow reduction method is the favored approach for medical marijuana patients who need cannabis, but whose tolerance has risen too high. The reduction method suggests that you smoke one-hitters, roll pinners, and intake a lot less overall cannabis each day.

You can reduce your cannabis by one-third the first week, by one-half the second week, and so on until you barely need any to feel the beneficial effects that you rely on.

3. The Ritual T-Break

The ritual method is popular when you don't have to quit, but you want to reset your tolerance and spending. Ritual T-breaks mean that you only smoke at specific times of day, and only a small pre-determined amount. So, you might have one joint at the end of your work day, or only smoke a few bowls on the weekend. This way, you still get to unwind with cannabis when you really need it, but you will spend most of your day and week sober and resetting that tolerance.

Tips for T-Break Success

We're not going to kid you, T-breaks aren't easy for most people. Your body adapts to the benefits of cannabis, and with it removed, you're likely going to feel some negative things. Most people get cranky, achy, and have trouble eating regularly when they quit weed or just seriously reduce their use. Here are a few tips to help you make it through a T-break intact:

Inform Your Friends

Let your friends know that you're taking a break. This will help them remember not to offer you joints or start wafting the sticky-icky around while you're going through this challenging debacle. In fact, now might be a good time to reconnect and have a few movie nights with your non-stoner (or weekend-only) friends who won't have it around or smell like weed when you're hanging out. 

Forgive Your Crankiness Ahead of Time

Warn your friends - and yourself - that you will be cranky. Cannabis is an anxiety regulator and mood lifter, so creating a deficit in your adapted body can do the opposite. You may have a hard time feeling friendly during this time, so pre-forgive yourself and ask your friends for grace. Your grumpiness won't be personal.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Sleep it off. One of the best ways to get through a few days to a week of T-breaking is to get plenty of sleep. Your body needs it, and when combined with lots of water, it can help more quickly flush your system.

If you start dreaming again and don't want to, put on peaceful nature documentaries before bed. The ones about whales and penguins, not the ones about lions.

Exercise and Sweat it Out

Did you know that you can sweat out cannabis? Drinking water, exercising, and sweating - then showering off the sweat - can help you get through the detox phase a lot faster. Plus endorphins from exercise will help you feel better about the cannabis-free time.

Plan Easy, Palatable Meals

Many people find that their appetite is also out of balance during a T-break, especially the first few days. Plan meals that are easy to make and to eat - like canned soup and freezer foods - so that you don't have to think too much about food you don't really want, and still feed yourself.

Take Showers for Aches & Pains

If you feel achy during T-breaks, take hot showers or even soak in a hot bath. Use homeopathic remedies for body aches instead of relying on the pain and inflammation benefits of cannabinoids and terp blends.

Prepare Distractions

Lastly, distract yourself. Treat this like the flu and set up a movie playlist or a marathon of your favorite TV shows. Play a few hours of video games each day and lose yourself in a fantasy world for a while. It will help the time pass until the detox phase is over and you start to feel better. 

The Perfect Return to THC with VESSEL

When you're ready, the best way to end a T-Break is with a delicious bowl or vape of fresh cannabis in a beautifully clean, perfectly-hitting device. There's nothing quite like that first hit after clearing your tolerance where weed affects you the same way it did when you first got started. At VESSEL, you'll find nothing but the finest engineered vapes, dry herb pipes, and fine accouterments to make your return to THC a heavenly experience.