Is It Better To Take Big Or Small Hits When Smoking Weed?

There are still plenty of cannabis smokers who believe that gigantic hits from a bong or blunt are a one-way ticket to getting higher than high. But is it true that more smoke means more THC? Let's take a look at what separates the huge hits from the small. It’s likely that you’ve heard the old myth about how you’re supposed to smoke weed the “right” way. How exactly is that done? Well, some say that you must take extra-large hits and hold them in the lungs for as long as possible to achieve maximum effects. If you’re in this camp, we hate to break it to you, but this is not doing what you think it is. Here’s why you don’t need to take huge hits to enjoy your weed.

WHY YOU DON’T NEED TO TAKE BIG HITS

To get a better perspective on things, let’s take a look at how our lungs function. When we breathe, we are actually not very efficient at absorbing oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide. Although our lungs can hold about 6 litres of air with one large breath, we’re expelling a good portion of that oxygen when we exhale. If our lungs absorbed oxygen super-efficiently, we could potentially take in these 6 litres in one go and wouldn’t need another breath for a while. Instead, we breathe more often and with shorter breaths.

The fact is, your lungs can only absorb 5–6ml of oxygen per minute, and the same principle is true when you smoke weed. Or said differently, it's not possible for you to force more THC into your system when you’re holding smoke in your lungs.

“TAKING BIG HITS MAKES ME HIGHER!”

You may indeed “feel higher” when taking larger hits and holding them in, but this is because you’re depriving your brain of oxygen. The lightheadedness or dizziness that you feel will be compounded further by carbon monoxide in the smoke. Simply by inhaling a larger hit of smoke, it may trick you into feeling as though the quantity of THC being received is also higher. Point blank, this is not the case.
OUR BODY ABSORBS THC INSTANTLY

Our lungs transfer oxygen from the air (or THC from smoke) almost instantly. As soon as you have taken a hit, almost all the THC from your weed (95%) has already entered your body. This means there is no point in holding your smoke for an extended period, or at all for that matter.