Learning Cannabis Lingo – The Degrees of Being “High”

Marijuana Words - Learning the Language of Being High from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

The euphoric effects of THC, is one of the reasons so many people love to smoke weed. A quick toke will send you to cloud 9 for a while. People call this being “high”. However, a cannabis high is much more layered than one might think.

Today, we’re going to be defining some more cannabis lingo for you folks. Of course, this is a subjective list of definitions and I encourage people to help define these terms. However, over the past 20 years I do believe I have a firm grip on the sensations of cannabis and the lingo associated.

Thus, from an old stoner to the new generations…allow me to define the Degrees of High under the influence of cannabis.

While stoners interchange the following terms I believe that there is a bit more nuance to the entire euphoric experience of cannabis.

The First Degree: A Cannabis High

A cannabis “high” is typically associated with happiness. It’s an energetic burst of sunshine breaking through your soul and illuminating a world of interest. I believe that the cannabis “high” is on the first level of euphoria.

You can achieve the degree of “high” with a single toke. You don’t need much. In fact, if you were to toke up more than once you might find yourself in another degree of high. A high can also be considered a ‘light buzz’. The cannabis is merely tickling your brain.

You feel jolly!

The Second Degree – Stoned or Baked

Let’s say, you didn’t stop at just one hit. You took maybe three or four hits from your bowl. Perhaps, you smoked the entire bowl by yourself.

The “high” now warps into something a bit more intense but still equally pleasurable. Being “Stoned” or “baked” means that you are enveloped with cannabinoids. Your brain and body will feel differently. Your hearing might be slightly altered in the sense that you can hear that “bass line in a song you’ve heard a million times” and appreciate it on a different level.

Being stoned is definitely an enhancer. Stoned and Baked could also mean the munchies. When you’re high, you can get away with eating a muffin and drinking some water. However, when you’re baked or stoned…you’ll want to pillage your fridge.

Getting to the second degree of high is fun if you want to kick back and watch a movie, play some video games or binge watch something on Netflix.

However, what happens when you decide…”Let’s pack another bowl!”

The Third Degree – Faded or Couch Locked

Okay, you over did it a bit. You’re totally zonked! You can feel gravity pulling down on you. You’re chilling in the couch – THE MOST COMFORTABLE PLACE ON EARTH – with a bag of munchies to your left and tall glass of your preferred drink on the right.

You’re comfortably cocooned on your couch watching whatever. You may even find yourself dozing off every now and then.

Getting Couch Lock, while not desired by everyone, is necessary sometimes. Couch Lock is the place where you go to recharge your batteries. You’re taking a vacation from life for a tad bit. You’ll be good as new after a good night’s rest…but this Degree of high is meant for serious R&R.

The Fourth Degree – Tripping Balls!

While this is one of the more difficult states to achieve, you can trip balls on cannabis. You have to understand that cannabis is a psychoactive plant. Meaning, when you get enough THC in your system…you can start seeing thing.

The most common way of achieving this state is through the path of edibles. For those of you who know, edibles are one of the more potent forms of consuming cannabis.

This is because when you eat cannabis, the THC is processed differently by your body. Your liver breaks down the compound and turns it into something else.

When you’re smoking weed, you’re consuming delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol whereas when you’re eating it, the liver turns it into 11-Hydroxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol.

The difference between these two is that 11-Hydroxy-THC is roughly 10 times more potent than delta-9-THC.

When you’re eating an edible, it might take an hour for it to hit you. Newbies often make the mistake of eating another one or five more brownies, only to find themselves in the belly of a psychedelic trip.

It’s intense, you’re not necessarily resting and you might see some crazy shit. Some people freak out; they think they are going to die.

Don’t worry…you can’t die from weed.

Nonetheless, this is the deepest of the cannabis highs there is. Many people go their entire lives without ever experiencing the “tripping balls” aspect of weed, however it is there for those who have had “one too many edibles”.

Final Thoughts

While this list is subjective in terminology, I believe it does provide some insight for newcomers to know what to expect when their toking up. If I misrepresented or forgot a state, publish your comments on the post and let’s start talking about it.