Dose & time

How long does THC stay? You smoke. When does it hit hardest? Drag the marker to your guess.

Minutes. You feel it almost at once. It peaks in fifteen to thirty minutes, and fades over two or three hours.

Now you eat it. Same molecule. When does it peak? Guess again.

Most people guess about that. It's later. It goes through your liver first.

Good guess. It goes through your liver first.

Thirty to ninety minutes before you feel anything. The peak comes two or three hours in. And it can last up to twelve.

This is where people get into trouble. At one hour, they feel nothing. So they take more. Tap to take a second dose.

Now both doses land together. That's how people end up far higher than they meant to.

Now, dose. In 2017, researchers gave forty-two adults a capsule, then a stressful public-speaking test. Pick a capsule.

Placebo. The speech was as stressful as you'd expect.

Seven and a half milligrams. Less distress after the speech. The test felt less threatening.

Twelve and a half. Not even twice as much. Worse mood before and during, and a worse performance.

It's the same molecule in the same lock. More of it made things worse.