While marijuana overdoses will never kill you, according to The British Journal of Psychiatry, it is still possible to experience serious negative side effects as the result of imbibing too much THC. Most often, this doesn’t occur from smoking – it’s the edibles, and people eating too many without realizing that edibles take longer to produce the high they are looking for. Emergency room visits for marijuana-related symptoms have definitely increased since Colorado legalized bud.

A marijuana overdose, or “green-out,” as we like to call it, can cause symptoms such as:

• Severe anxiety and paranoia
• Lack of mobility
• Cottonmouth
• Trouble breathing
• Accelerated heart rate
• The shakes
• That horrible feeling where you’re so hot you’re sweating, but also shivering from the cold
• Disorientation
• Nausea

Fortunately, green-outs don’t typically last long, but depending on how much THC you took in, you might be in for an unpleasant few hours.

To treat a marijuana OD, first, realize that the anxiety you are feeling is in your head. You will be fine. Relax – breathe deeply – put on some music. Dim the lights and distract yourself, with TV or videogames or whatever it is that makes you feel at peace. Drink some water, with some lemon or lime, or perhaps some fruit juice. In some situations, your panic is due to an imbalance of THC and CBD in your product, so if you have some CBD-dominant products like tinctures or a transdermal patch, you might be able to restore balance to enjoy your high the way you wanted to.

We must stress this – if you believe you are in genuine medical trouble, of course you should seek medical attention. However, the vast majority of marijuana ODs will fade away on their own, with no lasting side effects other than maybe forcing you to reconsider your weed intake.

Our Denver DUI-D defense attorneys have had much success getting marijuana DUI charges reduced or dismissed.