Are Contact Highs Real?

Are Contact Highs Real?

contact high real or no

The concept of a “contact high” has been around since at least the 1970s and it’s a term that is meant to represent a “psychogenic trip” or a tripping without taking drugs. While the concept has been around for over a half a century – science simply didn’t give a shit.

The sheer lack of research papers on the subject matter is actually quite shameful. Leafly recently did a piece on the Contact High and referenced a 1999 study in “The British Journal of Anesthesia” where they reported, “Approximately 50% of the THC and other cannabinoids present in a cannabis cigarette enter the mainstream smoke and are inhaled. The amount absorbed through the lungs depends on smoking style. In experienced smokers, who inhaled deeply and hold the smoke in the lungs for some seconds before exhaling, virtually all of the cannabinoids present in the mainstream smoke enter the bloodstream.” - Source

However – this was debunked in 2005 with another study called “Pharmacokinetics of Cannabinoids” when they found, “the variability of THC in plant material (0.3% to 30%) leads to variability in tissue THC levels from smoking, which is, in itself, a highly individual process. THC bioavailability averages 30%.” –Source

For those who aren’t science-oriented people – this essentially means that “the smoke from cannabis may have THC content from anywhere between .03% to 30% depending on a wide variety of conditions. However, even this isn’t an indication that someone will get high because of the “bioavailability factor”. THC-Bioavailability essentially means – “How much THC is available to be used for the body”. If you have a low THC-Bioavailability of a product containing 100% THC – you won’t consume 100% of the THC. Rather, as much as your body can take.

This is a very rudimentary explanation – but I’m not trying to science you to death.

So can you get a contact high?

The short answer is yes. The longer answer is – yes, but only under certain conditions.

Conditions? Yes Conditions!

What conditions you ask? Well – pretty much hotboxing is the only condition where a contact high is possible. A 2015 study entitled “Non-Smoker Exposure to Secondhand Cannabis Smoke II” placed cannabis smoking and non-smoking people in a room.

In room one – they had ventilators. In room two they didn’t. The cannabis smokers lit up – the non-smokers sat near them. In the room with ventilators – insignificant to no behavioral changes and little to no THC in the blood stream. Not even enough to trigger a blood test.

In room two – the hotbox room – everybody got high. It turned out – that while the high was far less present than the people smoking – there was presence of THC in their blood streams, they did have a slightly elevated heart beat and they were behaviorally different.

This means – that the science of hotboxxing is only now seeing just attention it deserves. We know now what stoners have known for decades – but simply didn’t have the evidence to convince the masses. “I wasn’t smoking…I got a contact high!”

Stoner Etiquette

The fact that contact highs are scientifically possible – it brings us to another point in cannabis consumer ethics. It’s never okay to force someone to experience something they didn’t want to experience. This means that if you’re in a car – and a non-stoner friend is there with you – hotboxxing without asking for permission is a dick move.

Whether you’d like to get everyone high is irrelevant – a savvy consumer will never force an experience. However, in a ventilated area – you actually don’t have anything to worry about. You simply have to step back a few feet and even if the person is trying to get a contact high – they will not.

Psychological Contact Highs

Then there is also the psychological contact high. It doesn’t happen with many people, but there are some people who do mimic the behavior of other people. Emotional states are contagious. Have you ever seen an angry or depressed person walk into a room? The vibe completely changes.

This can also happen when people are high, euphoric or overly joyous. Hell – you can even induce a laughing frenzy if you can tap into the right psychological energies.

Thus – some people might experience a “contact high” when in reality they are only “placebo high”. If your friend is “placebo high” – don’t steal it away from them. Let them experience it, it’s real for them and that’s all that matters.

Final Words

Contact Highs are real. You can physically get high from smoking in a closed environment for a prolonged period. Thus – the we only ask to be considerate to those who don’t smoke. Other than that – if you have enough ventilation in a room – you can pretty much smoke without the fear of getting unsuspecting people high against their will.