# not getting stoned your first time **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-getting-stoned-your-first-time/566955 "2011-01-09T06:32:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-getting-stoned-your-first-time/566955/21 "2011-01-09T14:39:14Z")
My one and only experience gave my no high, nothing. I was an experienced cigarette smoker and did inhale and hold it. But the pot was grown in a pot in a Cambridge, Mass. apartment with no grow lights, so it may have very little of the active ingredient. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-getting-stoned-your-first-time/566955/22 "2011-01-09T15:53:56Z")
I don’t have a good answer to the OP, although I’ve read the same cannabinoid receptor hypothesis already mentioned. I can’t find any good studies on the matter. That is, cannabinoid receptors most definitely do exist, but I don’t know if more of them develop with repeated use or if having more receptors means more (or less) subjective or objective intoxication. Prolonged breath holding while smoking marijuana will \*\*not \*\*get more THC into your system, unless you’re smoking ditch weed \*or \*primo schwag (and even then, the effect is so slight as to not be statistically significant, and not worth the extra tar and carcinogen exposure). The middle ground, which is what most people are smoking, is largely unaffected by breath holding. There may be a small, temporary subjective feeling of a greater “rush”, but this is probably caused by, well…holding your breath. Next time you smoke, try smoking normally, then holding your breath for a minute or two. You’ll get the same rush, especially if you’re fighting off a cough at the same time. The THC absorbed by the alveoli is dependent on the amount of THC in the weed and the number of puffs you take. You’ll get about half the THC in the bud, no matter how long you hold your breath. Excellent summary of the research here, but it’s a pro-marijuana site, so if your employer is watching you, think twice about going here: [Marijuana Research: Dose and Absorption](http://www.drugscience.org/Petition/C2D.html) Abstract of just one study on a neutral medical website: [http://www.springerlink.com/content/p9770h7r77534377/](http://www.springerlink.com/content/p9770h7r77534377/) ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-getting-stoned-your-first-time/566955/23 "2011-01-09T16:06:21Z")
You have to get Jesus to drop by after they catch you committing adultery. Otherwise, you’re screwed. ---
**Author:** ![automagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a698b9/32.png) [@automagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/automagic)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-getting-stoned-your-first-time/566955/24 "2011-01-09T21:46:35Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I don’t have a good answer to the OP, although I’ve read the same cannabinoid receptor hypothesis already mentioned. I can’t find any good studies on the matter. That is, cannabinoid receptors most definitely do exist, but I don’t know if more of them develop with repeated use or if having more receptors means more (or less) subjective or objective intoxication. > > Prolonged breath holding while smoking marijuana will \*\*not \*\*get more THC into your system, unless you’re smoking ditch weed \*or \*primo schwag (and even then, the effect is so slight as to not be statistically significant, and not worth the extra tar and carcinogen exposure). The middle ground, which is what most people are smoking, is largely unaffected by breath holding. There may be a small, temporary subjective feeling of a greater “rush”, but this is probably caused by, well…holding your breath. Next time you smoke, try smoking normally, then holding your breath for a minute or two. You’ll get the same rush, especially if you’re fighting off a cough at the same time. > > The THC absorbed by the alveoli is dependent on the amount of THC in the weed and the number of puffs you take. You’ll get about half the THC in the bud, no matter how long you hold your breath. > > Excellent summary of the research here, but it’s a pro-marijuana site, so if your employer is watching you, think twice about going here: [http://www.drugscience.org/Petition/C2D.html](http://www.drugscience.org/Petition/C2D.html) > > Abstract of just one study on a neutral medical website: [http://www.springerlink.com/content/p9770h7r77534377/](http://www.springerlink.com/content/p9770h7r77534377/) I had no idea that such a study was ever conducted. I totally change my view now. I always believed that the time the smoke was in your lungs was a huge contributing factor in the amount of THC that your body absorbed. Since all of my “research” has been done while under the influence I can see where my prejudices might have skewed my beliefs. Thank you for bringing this to light. I wonder if this also applies to vaporized marijuana smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-getting-stoned-your-first-time/566955/25 "2011-01-09T21:57:47Z")
I did not get high the first time I smoked. High school and college, sure. But I never smoked hardly any pot. MMJ is AFAICT way better than what went around college, in terms of the ‘highness’ achieved. But still, I never smoked hardly any pot. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-getting-stoned-your-first-time/566955/26 "2011-01-09T22:37:27Z")
> [@automagic](#): > > Would you know if these effects are permanent? What I mean is if a person develops more THC receptors due to marijuana usage and then they stop, for an extended period of time, will the receptors stay active or does it go back down to their original levels? This could make for an interesting experiment I might try on some friends of mine. Since the receptor activation theory is just a theory to begin with (there are many clinical studies that show THC and other chemical receptor counts rise and fall with the presence or absence of those chemicals, but none that I can find to study this first use of marijuana phenomenon specifically) any answer to that would be a theory too. But in theory, yes they would go back down. Start the tests! In the quest for knowledge sometimes we must… what were we talking about again? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-getting-stoned-your-first-time/566955/27 "2011-01-09T22:49:10Z")
I didn’t get high the first time I smoked pot (way back in the Stoned Age). Until I stood up and tried to move. Until that point I was only mildly aware of any effects. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-getting-stoned-your-first-time/566955.md?page=1)