Why Does Weed Make You Cough?

For marijuana smokers, especially first-time users, coughing is not uncommon. There are fours possible reasons why weed makes you cough.

1. Marijuana smoke contains more than just cannabinoids.

Weed smoke is made up of a number of unburnt particles. While this smoke carries many of the essential chemical compounds we need to feel the effects of marijuana, it also contains carbon, tar, oils and ash.  These additional particles and fumes can create enough of an irritation to your breathing passage and lungs to cause your body to reflexively cough in order to expel the foreign matter.

2. Marijuana smoke is hot…smoking hot.

When smoking marijuana in the form of a joint or a blunt, the average combustion point lands somewhere between 500-700°C.  As you can imagine, the smoke generated from such a process can have a less-than desirable affect on your breathing passage, throat and lungs.  Your body will react accordingly by fixing the perceived issue.

When vaping, on the other hand, the user can apply a more controlled form of heat in order to achieve the same results.  Tetrahydrocannabinol(THC) has a boiling point of approximately 200°C, and most vapes on the market have a thermostat control.  Water bongs may also aid in cooling the smoke prior to inhaling it.

3. Smoke at your own pace.

No need to be a hero- smoke at a pace that your experience and tolerance level dictate. Taking too big a toke can cause coughing. The amount of smoke your lungs can hold depends on your lung capacity. If you take too much at a time, our lungs will be compelled to expel the excessive smoke.

4. Quality control.

The quality of marijuana you are smoking plays an undeniably important role in how your body and lungs will react to it. Low-quality marijuana can contain pesticides and other additives, along with mildew, dust or even mould. Not surprisingly, these act as irritants, and the body will reflexively look to expel them.

Always source your marijuana from a reputable licensed producer.  Acting under the guidance of the ACMPR, Canadian licensed producers perform a series of tests to ensure that the product they produce is as safe as possible to ingest.

To reduce the possibility of coughing, be conscious and take smaller hits to avoid irritating your lungs too much. You can also switch to edibles, which do not require smoking. If you prefer smoking, you can try some add-ons for smoking devices such as a diffuser or percolator.

With a diffuser, the smoke reaches the water in smaller portions, thus more surface area of the smoke makes contact with water. A percolator is an additional water chamber that is added to a bong tube. It allows for a higher smoke to water ratio. This helps cool down your smoke so that it is easier and smoother for inhaling. A vaporizer also works, as it uses heat to turn your marijuana product into water vapor, which means no burning is required.