Is the Weed Hangover Real? These Tweets Show What It's Like to Wake Up After 420
As many people can attest, alcohol hangovers are real and unpleasant experiences. Since Thursday is April 21, this smoky post-420 celebration glow begs the question: Are weed hangovers real?
According to Urban Dictionary's top definition, a weed hangover is "the morning after a huge smoke session where you wake up after sleeping for 12 hours and feel groggy and lazy. The sheets are extra warm, and there's really no point in getting out of bed. This is a bad thing if you have work or school the next day."
Anecdotally, people seem to agree, reporting on Reddit feeling "dull," "socially anxious" and that it's "harder to wake up" the next day. Scientifically, the research is lacking, but one 1985 study — in which 13 male participants were given either marijuana or a placebo before completing behavioral tasks right after and then the next morning — said yes too.
Read more: The Next Frontier of Medical Marijuana Is in Our Schools
How much you need to smoke to experience a "hangover" or why it happens is yet to be determined. Marijuana reduces saliva secretion, aka "cotton mouth" but this isn't necessarily dehydration, a symptom and cause of alcohol hangovers. A poor night's rest (since marijuana can mess with your REM cycle) may also contribute to the tired and groggy feeling. These things could lead to a tougher morning-after.
As experienced by these poor Twitter users:
Thursday is going to be rough.