Why Do Your Eyes Get Red When You Smoke Weed?

August 28, 2021
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Red eye from cannabis: why do your eyes get red when you smoke weed and what should you do about it?

Why do your eyes get red when you smoke weed? Red, bloodshot eyes are the stereotypical sign that someone has recently used cannabis. This side effect is so common that many cannabis users consider eye drops to be a necessary accessory if you are high in public. Surprisingly, there haven’t been any special eye drops for stoners or eye drops for weed invented that directly neutralize the effect of cannabis on your eyes. So, what causes high eyes or red eyes from weed?

Why do your eyes get red when you smoke weed?

Many people think that smoke is what makes their eyes red. While smoke may irritate your eyes, red eyes when high on weed is caused by a change in blood pressure in the eyes.Why Do Your Eyes Get Red When You Smoke Weed? Marijuana makes your eyes red because of the way the chemical compounds in the cannabis plant affect you. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays a role in modulating many different biological processes, and cannabinoid receptors are distributed in tissues throughout the body, including the eyes. When cannabinoids from weed bind to receptors in your body, your blood pressure decreases. As a side note, the reason why cannabis is used to treat glaucoma is that weed causes a drop in intraocular pressure. When you use cannabis, this drop in blood pressure can lead to dizziness and causes the blood vessels in your eyes to dilate or widen. This process increases blood flow into the eyes, creating the red-eye side effect from weed.

Do Edibles Make Your Eyes Red?

Weed edibles will make your eyes red because they contain THC, which will trigger the same effect whether THC enters into your blood stream through your digestive tract or your lungs. Do dab pens cause red eyes? Like edibles, dab pens will cause red eyes because they contain THC. Dab pens are usually extremely potent, so it is possible they will make your eyes redder than other product types.

Does CBD Make Your Eyes Red?

There is a discrepancy between anecdotal reports and clinical research. Many people have reported that CBD products have given them red eyes, even when it was a CBD isolate and there was no THC. There has been some research into how CBD affects blood pressure overall, which indicated that CBD may reduce blood pressure. However, another study indicated that CBD administration appears to increase intraocular pressure, making it unsuitable as a treatment for glaucoma. In general, CBD doesn’t produce red eye to the same extant that cannabis does, but some people may experience this side effect.

How to Mitigate Red Eye from Cannabis

Here are some general suggestions on how to mitigate side effects from cannabis, and then we will explore some specific suggestions about how to fix red eyes from weed. Try a new product Different cannabis products will contain different chemical compounds like cannabinoids and terpenes, which may exert distinct effects. Use Jointly’s Product Finder to discover new top-rated products. Try a new ingestion method Additionally, the way you ingest a product will change how it affects you. Smoking a joint of cannabis flower may produce slightly different effects from vaporizing it, although both ingestion methods involve heating cannabis and inhaling the active compounds. Each ingestion method has its own advantages and may produce different effects or side effects. To learn how different weed ingestion methods produce different effects, read our article The Best Way to Take Cannabis for Wellness Purposes. Add in a companion food Did you know that weed companion foods can enhance your cannabis experience in different ways? Mangoes, dark chocolate, green tea, and thyme are all weed companion foods. Chemical compounds in these foods may alter your cannabis experience, and potentially mitigate adverse side effects like drowsiness. To learn about these foods and how to add them into your cannabis wellness routine, check out our article Do These Foods Get You Higher? Find your minimum effective dose Most adverse side effects from cannabis are caused by ingesting too high of a dose of THC. While you cannot die from ingesting too much cannabis, a THC overdose is a real risk. The single most effective way to mitigate side effects is to microdose and titrate up your dose until you find the minimum effective dose of cannabis to get the effect you want. Turn the dials on 15 factors According to cannabis experts, there are at least 15 factors that can impact your cannabis experience and play a major role in whether a cannabis product is giving you the feeling you want, or producing adverse side effects like red eye. These 15 factors include your dose, the time of day you ingest, how much sleep you got the night before, and more. The Jointly app lets you to track the 15 factors that can impact your cannabis experience. As you optimize how you consume cannabis, your favorite cannabis products will perform better for you.

How to Get Rid of Stoned Eyes Fast

Now that we have answered the question, “why do your eyes get red when you smoke weed?” let’s move on to specific suggestions for how to mitigate red eyes when high on weed. Our first suggestion is tried-and-true, and a staple in any stoner’s cannabis toolkit: eye drops. What is the best eye drops brand for weed? We have our favorite brands, but many eye drops have compounds that constrict the blood vessels in the eyes, especially eye drops for allergies. Many cannabis users consider allergy eye drops to be eye drops for stoners.

Get Started on Your Cannabis Wellness Journey

Jointly is a new cannabis wellness app that helps people discover purposeful cannabis consumption so they can achieve their wellness goals with cannabis and CBD. On the Jointly app, you can find new cannabis products, rate products based on how well they helped you achieve your goals, and track and optimize your cannabis consumption so that you can enjoy your ideal experience every time. Download the Jointly app on the App Store or the Google Play Store to get started on your cannabis wellness journey today.
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