As with many things, smoking weed is something that you learn more about the more you do it. Usually the people that you smoke with are pretty helpful when it comes to teaching you basics like how to smoke from a pipe, load a bowl, etc. Sometimes things are left out though, like how long it might take an edible to kick in, how to hit a joint, etc. There are some things that every greenhorn should know before they take their first smoke.

You Don’t Need Keep Up With Everyone

When I first started smoking weed, I thought that I had to smoke as long as everyone else was. I thought for some reason that it was considered bad manners to refuse a hit before the bowl was cashed. I figured it was similar to getting up from the table before everyone was done eating. So I’d be smoking long past the time that I should have been and I’d usually end the night by passing out way early. I’m sure I was a super entertaining to be around then.

Different Strains Do Different Things

I wish that I’d known that indicas and sativas affect you differently. I knew that there were different strains, but I didn’t know that sativas were the strain that gave people paranoia, and indicas were great for going to sleep. In my early days I remember getting nice and baked before going to parties, smoking a bowl of trainwreck and then losing my desire to go out. Not to mention all the times I would smoke a bowl to help me go to sleep, then staying up all night because it turned out I was smoking sativa.

Smoking Weed And Drinking Do Not Mix All That Well

When I say smoking weed and drinking, I don’t mean smoking a bowl after having one or two beers; I’m referring to downing three bong bowls at a party after taking shots of whiskey all night. You have to choose one or the other. Once you’ve been drinking, it’s best to stick to that because nothing will give you the spins faster. Save for the couple times where I coughed so hard I puked, I’ve never gotten sick from smoking cannabis itself. Booze on the other hand...

Sometimes It Takes A Minute To Get High

I definitely wish I’d known this with regard to edibles. The first time I ate an edible I didn’t believe the person who gave it to me when they told me to wait before eating the other half. I waited for a grand total of five minutes before chowing down the other half. I was high for about two days. Then there’s creeper weed. We all remember the first time we got high off of creeper weed, you know the stuff that takes a minute to kick in. You smoke a bowl, you don’t feel anything, so naturally you smoke more. Then you start to really feel it and you think, perhaps I overdid it? All strains are different, so no two strains will affect you in exactly the same way. Some you feel immediately, some take time.

A Joint Is Not A Cigarette

A joint is not a cigarette, so you should not drag on it like one. This is something that a lot of people who smoke cigarettes tend to do simply out of habit, and then end up hacking their guts out. This is not only not fun for you, you’ll also end up pissing off the people that you’re smoking with if you decimate the joint in one drag. Take puffs, not drags.

Today’s greenhorns have it a lot easier than I did when I first started smoking. The internet was around, but there wasn’t nearly as much useful information about smoking weed on there as there is now. I learned about weed mainly through trial and a lot of error.

Featured Image Source: WorldCannabis.net
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What things did you wish you knew before taking your first hit? Tell us in the comments!