Can You Get A Tattoo While Stoned?

Can You Get A Tattoo While Stoned?

I got my very first tattoo two weeks ago. It took me almost 32 years to get my first because – well, I have an extremely low tolerance to pain. That is me and the tattoo in the picture above.

I thought long and hard about getting a tattoo… I hesitated for several years until I found an artist online who specialized in water color tattoos, and she was able to make me a design that I knew I wasn’t going to regret and which would be worth the pain. I decided to put on my big girl panties and just go for it.

A few days before our session, I emailed the artist and told her that I have a very low threshold for pain. She advised me to take an over-the-counter painkiller an hour before, to eat several bananas because they’re high in potassium, which increases your threshold for pain, and to have a really big meal beforehand. I did everything diligently, including ensuring that I got 8 hours of rest the night before.

But I did have one question in mind – would it be ok for me to smoke pot before the session? I mean, I’m a recreational user after all, and cannabis IS known to reduce pain, right?

Right.

However, after doing some research and talking to professional tattoo artists, they all advised me NOT to smoke pot before my session. Apparently, getting a tattoo is one of the few things you just have to be sober for.

And so I decided not to medicate before my tattoo session.

CANNABIS BUD

Why?

Using cannabis before a tattoo session can actually INCREASE the pain, instead of dulling it. This is a common sentiment based on feedback that I found online during my research. Despite my in-depth knowledge and long history of using cannabis, it never even crossed my mind that getting a tattoo was one of those experiences wherein cannabis can actually heighten your sensations – causing you to feel more pain than you really need. This is particularly because of the THC content in cannabis, which studies show can actually increase one’s sensitivity to pain.

Another study I found online revealed that the pain-relieving properties of THC is dose-dependent, because this cannabinoid has biphasic responses in the human body which translates to the fact that it can help reduce pain only to a certain extent, until after which it will probably be less effective. It was too little time for me to source a strain higher in CBD which might be more effective for the pain I was going to endure, so yeah – I decided to skip it.

This alone was enough for me to solidify my decision not to smoke beforehand, and to wait until afterwards.

It’s not only rude to show up at the artists’ studio high, but I could also face a chance of being turned away. Tattoo artists have all the right to turn a customer away if they even show a slight hint of being inebriated by one thing or another.

So when I got my tattoo, I embraced the pain. This was an important milestone in my life, after all. The artist was nice enough to make the experience as pleasurable for me as possible, and she actually admitted that she herself enjoys a toke once in a while but she wouldn’t have recommended for me to medicate while stoned primarily because of reason number 1.

The session lasted less than an hour, and it actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. A friend was nice enough to accompany me so I was distracted even more. I have to admit I think that getting a tattoo gives you an adrenaline rush – once the needle hit me, I felt a surge of strange sensations that made me feel a little high throughout the session. Ah, the wonders of the human body.

Once the session was done, that’s when I decided to medicate then grab some beers to celebrate my first tattoo. The pain was so tolerable and worth the beauty of the design that I decided it was NOT going to be my last; but I definitely am sure that this is one of the few experiences in life that you have to be sober for.

Have you gotten a tattoo while stoned? What was your experience like?

Can You Get a Tattoo While High on Cannabis?