Added info: the first and second times were (from the opinions of those with me) pretty good stuff… the third time was homegrown shit-weed. My friend (no names, obviously) was an experienced smoker, and he and I puffed down about 7 or 8 j’ before it hit us… and it hit us at the same time!
Why?
Just out of curiousity, does anyone have any experience eating the weed for their first attempt, rather than smoking it?
My wife’s one and only experience with weed was eating brownies, and it messed her up something fierce. She’s never touched it again because of that. Eating is definately a different experience than smoking - if the problem is technique (not knowing how to smoke,) rather than physiological, then logically, eating for the first experience should work fine.
Right?
You see there are two points in the Becker article:
This explains why some people feel nothing the first time. Some people may be fast learners. I think smoking pot is diferent than smoking cigerettes but if you haven’t smoked either before you are going to have a really hard time with it.
I’d guess that either you weren’t smoking it right the first and second times and the third time you figured it out or the weed was better the third time. I don’t buy the you have to build up THC in your fat cells before you can feel it theory. Renments of smoking pot are stored in fat cells and I suppose it is possible that that includes THC and that this THC is realeased during excercise, but it gets to your brain through the bloodstream either entering in the lungs when smoked, the GI track when eaten, or * maybe* when fat cells are metabolized wherever that happens. It doesn’t have to go through the fat cells to get to your brain. I’d like to see a cite that says otherwise.
This is why so many folks don’t like the feeling the first time.
Becker’s point was about the effect of social re-enforcement on behavior. I think this paper was an offshoot of the work he did studying jazz musicians’ improv jams to learn about social interaction.
IMHO, Pipeliner, right! IF the problem is in the aspect of how one ingests the THC…
Good thinking! Anyone else had their first experience via eating?? If so, what was it?
It seems that most people here do not have a good answer the question. Maybe that’s because the question itself includes an assumption that everyone who tries mj feels nothing the first time. This may be true for some and not for others. Why? Now, THAT’S a good question. One answer is that many of the effects are, in fact, somewhat subtle and you have to learn to recognize them. Then, when you do, you can then focus on them and that apparently reinforces them and makes them seem more intense. Remember, that a lot of these effects are in the MIND, and are, there for, powerfully SUBJECTIVE events. I’d recommend that AxeElf either actually try this “dangerous” substance, or read about it from an expert. But patently absurd assertions such as his notwithstanding, there is a lot that IS known about the drug. I don’t know how to include a link in a post, but I recommend Dr. Lester Grinspoon’s website, Rxmarihuana.com It provides us all with what would have to be called “facts” about this substance and the experiences associated with it, which may run counter to a lot of street beliefs about it. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go smoke a joint. xo C.
No, I’m pretty sure this isn’t it. The first time I did it i did not get high. I felt a few physical effects (my feet felt kind of heavy), and I really wanted to be high, but I was definitely lucid and annoyed at the fact that I wasn’t. So unless the brain has convinced me that I wasn’t, and falsified my memories, as you suggest, I don’t think this is what really happens.
My theory is something along the lines of the nicotine receptors that people supposedly form upon smoking cigarettes for awhile. These people get “high” off cigarettes, while those who aren’t addicted don’t (well, I guess you could argue that people who aren’t addicted to cigarettes feel kind of buzzed when they smoke one). Anyway, its probably either something like that, or merely a psychological conditioning to the effects.
Am I the only one here who figures that AxeElf was joking?
No. I thought it was fairly amusing, too.
Since I brought up the “fat theory”, which was only something I’ve heard, I poked around a bit for cites:
From a personal page by a faculty member at Viterbo University, which I never heard of, but does seem to have a legitimate nursing school:
http://www.viterbo.edu/personalpages/faculty/DWillman/p431_marj.htm
The first time I smoked weed was the most it ever affected me. Ever since then, I just get a little giggly then fall asleep.
That’s so cute!
–Tim
I still remember my first time… zowie. It was also my first time coming out to a person my age.
Well, I remember my first experience…sort of. It was my 14th birthday, and I got ripped. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that I was actually high! I kept trying to analyze what I was feeling, and how it differed from being normal, but of course at that point, I had forgotten what normal felt like. I do remember being fascinated while watching hot dogs cook, and also hoping that my parents didn’t bust me. My older brother figured it out, but kept quiet about it.
I think some people just don’t realize what they’re feeling the first time, and may think that they didn’t get anything. The first time I ate hash brownies - I didn’t know what to expect, either. After an hour, I didn’t feel a thing, and figured I just didn’t eat enough. Ten minutes later, as my girlfriend and I were about to ring her parents’ doorbell, it hit us. Oh, man, did it hit us. We stayed for about 5 minutes, laughing at everything they said. I couldn’t tell you what happened after that.
Uh… I think we’re headed for IMHO, and QUICK. Anyone got anymore facts for us?
–Tim
Homer has a point! (and Horton Hears a Who! Don’t ask whay that phrase popped into my head as I wrote that, but it did…)
Anyways, Mods, if you feel a move is warranted, I won’t object… 
My first ever marijuana experience didn’t hit me a bit…of course, it was probably because I was using the pop-can “pipe” (which sucks). Right before I graduated high school, I went over to a friend’s house and had a few hits (joints)and I was feeling really good and giggly. In my infinite “wisdom”, I wanted to get some more so we hopped in my car and headed up to someone’s house (I remember it was in farm country and I blew a horn at a cow and startled it, and I swear it snuck out of the barbed wire…of course, that was the funniest thing at the time!). Well, when we got to this house, he was too kind and provided us some hits from his Hawaiian Punch bong. We bought the weed and went home…but while driving home, the bong REALLY, REALLY hit me and I paniced and someone else had to drive (the others were 15 and as baked as I was). Until the weed wore off (probably 3 or 4 hours later) I was utterly petrified. After that, I smoked a couple rare times in my freshman year (nothing too heavy). When I moved up here in 99, I had a roommate who was eating Ramen Noodles so he could afford to smoke pot (he did it NIGHTLY), and so I smoked a few times off of his superbong and didn’t feel a thing. One time it kicked on me suddenly and I was back into panic mode. I’ve only smoked 2 or 3 times since…both on joints and both w/o problems. So, in addition to frequency of smoking, the method of smoking is also important (ie, you’re gonna get a hell of a lot more THC in you with a bong than with a joint!)
This may have been covered, the 14 Rolling Rocks have me skimming these posts:
The first time using it probably is a little intimidating so most don’t take a lot into their system (keep in mind the social stigma and propoganda) because they fear the effect.
That said, most first time users inhale a small amount and exhale quickly, then observe the people smoking with them. The other people smoking hit the high, get the giggles, etc and the newbie, following social norms and natural human bahavior (i.e. when is the last time everyone around you had fun and you scowled) is convinced they too are having fun. All while straight and sober.
Upon remembering this (after all they’re sober) they realize that next time they’ll try enough to feel it seeing everyone else is still living (remember Reefer Madness?)
Of course, I only smoked pot twice while not on acid so I could be wrong
wastelands Reefer Madness??? Why bring that piece of tripe/Hollywood moneymaking/anti-drug nonsense into the discussion?? To do so only brings up other issues that are not germane to the topic…
Sorry, didn’t mean to be harsh there, man! Forgive me if I jumped on you a bit, but I just had a bit of a tiff with the fiancee… 
Thanks for the cite yabob!
That lends credence to the getting a buzz from excercizing for frequent smokers and the reverse tolerence effect for really heavy smokers. However I don’t think the fat storage thing is necessary to feel the effects so as far as the OP goes I still think the fat theory is a wash. I know plenty of very infrequent smokers (once or twice a year) who feel plenty when they smoke.
I have had lots of pothead friends in my time and they were split in two on this subject.
Most of them said they didn’t feel anything the first few times, the other bunch (not as many of them though) got ROYALLY fucked up the first time. This, as was stated before, brings us to the interesting question of “why some people and not others?”
My first couple of times were probably suspect because it was hash, not weed, and was heavily mixed with tobacco. I got sick from the tobacco (didn’t smoke ciggies) before I noticed anything else. When I got my first hit of a pure-weed joint it was another story though!
Of course, that was just during my irresponsible youth (seems everyone’s using disclaimers these days!)
Anyone have more info on the first time hash v.s. first time weed thing? I’ve lived in many places and it seemed to me that where there was mainly hash and no weed, people had a more negative view of the herb, citing stories of people throwing up and feeling like hell (obviously the tobacco and not the hash in my oppinion!). Also, the “first time don’t get you high” myth seemed to be especially entrenched in those “hash/tobacco mix” communities.
Like I said before, I merely have an academic interest in these matters nowadays, but that don’t mean I’m not interested 
Moderator’s Note:
We try to discourage things like people talking about their own personal experiences with illegal substances here. If you folks can discuss this matter without the personal annecdotes, then you can go ahead, right here in GQ. Otherwise, though, this thread is going to get closed.