Does Weed Dehydrate You?

One of the symptoms associated with smoking marijuana includes feeling dehydrated.

While many believe dehydration occurs after smoking or ingesting high amounts of marijuana (also referred to as experiencing symptoms of a “weed hangover”), it’s important to note that feeling dehydrated may occur even if you haven’t consumed a substantial amount.

This happens when the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) in marijuana binds to the receptor of the salivary glands located on the floor of your mouth. When THC binds to these receptors, you will temporarily stop creating saliva, resulting in an extremely dry mouth.

However, marijuana doesn’t actually cause dehydration, but rather accelerates the rate of dehydration.

Because the human body is constantly using and disposing of water, it naturally becomes dehydrated if we don’t replenish our water loss with fluids. Dehydration is typically caused by sweating, vomiting, prescription drugs, diarrhea and diuretics. Diuretics cause an increase in the frequency of urination (and, therefore, the loss of more water). The most common diuretics are fruits, vegetables, coffee and alcohol. Alcohol actually acts as a diuretic and it blocks the release of the antidiuretic hormone, which is needed for your body to reabsorb water. As a result, drinking alcohol not only causes us to lose water, but stops us from replenishing what we have lost.

The symptoms of varying severities of dehydration include seizures, confusion, fainting and organ damage. With that in mind, it is not recommended that you combine smoking or ingesting marijuana with things that cause dehydration, such as prescription pills or drinking alcohol.