This is how to avoid going to the emergency room for a marijuana overdose

It seems that every time a state officially launches its legal cannabis market, reports showing emergency rooms filling up with people unable to handle their weed are bombarding the internet. This took place across Illinois earlier this year, which launched its taxed and regulated cannabis trade in January. In Chicago, Doctors claimed an increase in emergency room visits due to an overdose of weed.

Look, this madness may or may not happen. The purpose of this article is not to discuss whether legal marijuana is causing a riot in freakouts who send people to the hospital. It is intended to serve as a kind of guide to prevent these terrible events from occurring in the first place. Because if you understand this, it is possible for a weed consuming population to consume marijuana without needing emergency medical assistance. It’s a novel concept, we know that. But we swear that people can use cannabis products safely and responsibly.

Here is how.

Photo by Nicole De Khors via Burst

The first thing to keep in mind is this: Any report that appears in the media that suggests that people are running to the emergency room because the weed has come over them can almost always be traced back to edibles. We’re not going to lie, these popular cannabis products sold at pharmacies in states where marijuana is legal can be tricky and the source of great misery if not consumed properly.

RELATED: 4 Ways To Avoid The Emergency Room Because You’re Too High

We have seen these things turn adult men into weeping lumps of drool and remorse, crouching in the fetal position begging for someone to call 911 or bring them an oxygen bottle. If you’ve never ingested too much THC, there is no way to understand the intense fear that comes with it. It can make breathing extremely difficult and mess up your senses in ways that are just plain scary. But there is no need for a person to walk that path if they don’t have to.

Avoiding a moment of panic is as simple as understanding the dosage and timing. But that in itself can be difficult enough to put cannabis newbies in a dire situation. Unlike smoking marijuana, which comes with an instant high, cannabis edibles can take a while to work properly. It’s nothing to sit around for an hour and wait to feel the effects.

This is where some people make a tragic mistake. They think, “Man, these edibles won’t do me any good,” so they take another dose and maybe another after that. Then, within hours, they are higher than ever in their life and there are no signs of decline. So if there is any advice we can give to someone new to trying edibles, it is a little damn patience.

RELATED: Marijuana Overdose: Don’t Freak Out, It’s Just Cannabis

The other shouldn’t be a hero. Seriously, most edible products that you can buy at your local pharmacy contain 100 mg of THC. Fair warning, this is not a single dose. Unless you happen to be an elephant. So much THC has the power to cause levels of panic you don’t even want to think about. Will it kill you Well, science says it doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean you won’t spend several, long hours fully convinced that grim death is looming over you.

Photo by Flickr user Thanks Depot

In fact, the fear of dying from a marijuana overdose (note: an overdose doesn’t necessarily mean someone has to die; it just means they’ve taken too much) is why so many people storm the doors of an emergency room. In our experience, there is a certain learning curve in using edibles. Beginners should probably see how they fare on 5 mg of THC and move on from there. Although Budtender usually tell customers they can start with 10 mg, we’ve found that even that amount can be a bit much for some people.

Remember, you can always take more if the starting dose is not quite enough (give it an hour first). But you can’t back off from a pot overdose once it’s on track. There is no Narcan-like reversal for this. All you have to do is come to terms with getting super stoned, paranoid, and fearful.

And forget about all those articles you can find on the internet about how to calm yourself down after consuming too much THC. Most of these suggestions won’t work on someone who is really kidding and believing that their life is about to end. So it’s probably best not to overdose in the first place. And the only way to avoid this is to start low and slow.