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I smoked my head off and can't feel anything. And my friends can get high just by breathing all the smoke in the room :)

Someone told me that I need to try more and get used to it, and it will happen at some point. On Yahoo Answers I read that there's a small percentage of people who are immune to THC.

So which one is it? Will I ever be able to get high?

Edited to show notability: Here are some of the places the question is being asked (and often answered without the rigour we expect here): A B C D

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  • erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_effects.shtml
    – Sklivvz
    Oct 10, 2011 at 12:30
  • Erowid is a great resource, but I don't see the specific claim addressed. If you found it somewhere on their site, can you direct us there?
    – John Rhoades
    Oct 10, 2011 at 14:05
  • No - I take that as a sign that the claim is wrong. Not good enough for an answer, though.
    – Sklivvz
    Oct 10, 2011 at 15:18
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    @Sklivvz How would data on the typical results shed light on a question about atypical results? Or are you referring to the "Caution : Reactions and experiences may vary dramatically from person to person." which would indicate that the claim is possible?
    – John Rhoades
    Oct 10, 2011 at 20:05
  • @JohnRhoades I was merely suggesting that erowid was a good place to start.
    – Sklivvz
    Oct 11, 2011 at 0:04

1 Answer 1

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There is evidence that cannabis sensitivity varies considerably:

CONCLUSIONS: Genetic variation in AKT1 may mediate both short-term as well as longer-term effects on psychosis expression associated with use of cannabis, possibly through a mechanism of cannabinoid-regulated AKT1/GSK-3 signaling downstream of the dopamine D(2) receptor.

Whether one can sensitize oneself has not, as far as I can tell, been studied, but generally repeated exposure to a substance will desensitizes you.

Incidentally, cannabis is thought to be correlated with psychosis risk and other mild but measurable cognitive deficits (even when not high):

Compared to controls, cannabis users showed significant impairments on quality of decision-making (Cambridge Gamble task), and executive planning (One Touch Stockings of Cambridge task).

In the absence of evidence that all negative side-effects depend on the ability to get high (psychosis: yes; executive planning: I don't know), and in the absence of evidence that one could gain sensitivity, it might be prudent to avoid taking large doses for long periods of time in an attempt to achieve an enjoyable psychoactive effect.

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2
  • How does this answer whether or not there are a subset of people who are biologically unable to feel the effects of THC?
    – WakeDemons3
    Mar 16, 2021 at 19:56
  • @WakeDemons3 - See the first sentence (it "varies considerably") and the link. That contains research on the variability in how people feel THC. I don't recall that they found anyone who was completely unaffected. Unfortunately it's behind a paywall that I'm now on the outside of, so I can't comment further.
    – Rex Kerr
    Mar 23, 2021 at 23:08

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