First-time cannabis guide: start here

If you’re trying cannabis for the first time, the goal is simple: a comfortable, low-stress experience. That mostly comes down to choosing the right format and starting small. Not sure what to expect? Here’s what a cannabis high feels like.

Pick a format

• Edibles: discreet and long-lasting, but slow to kick in. Easy to overdo if you’re impatient. Start at 2.5 mg THC.
• Pre-rolls / flower: fast onset, easy to control because you feel it quickly. Take one small inhale and wait.
• Capsules / oils: predictable, measured doses; good if you want consistency.
• Vapes: fast like flower, with less smell.

Start low, go slow

This is the one rule that matters. Whatever you choose, take the smallest reasonable amount and wait before having any more. For inhaled products that’s a few minutes. For edibles, a full two hours, no exceptions, no matter how little you feel at the 40-minute mark. From there the effects build and fade over a predictable window, a couple of hours for a puff and up to eight for an edible.

Set yourself up

• Be somewhere comfortable, ideally with someone you trust.
• Have water and a snack nearby.
• Don’t mix with alcohol your first time.
• Never drive. See our cannabis and driving guide.

If it’s too much

It will pass. Find a calm space, breathe, hydrate, and wait it out. You can’t fatally overdose on cannabis, but you can feel unwell, which is exactly why you start small. If it does happen, here’s what to do when you green out.

For dosing detail, see our edibles dosage guide.

Sources

• Health Canada, Cannabis: what you need to know