T-Break: What is it & How To Tolerance Break

This is our complete guide to T-breaks. What is a tolerance break, why do a tolerance break, and how exactly does it work? Read on below and we will answer all your questions about T-breaks!

CB1R are the receptors in your brain that bind to cannabinoids, making you feel high. Scientific research (this is more accurate than saying “science tells us”) tells us that chronic cannabis use reduces the availability of CB1R receptors, thus causing users to consume more and more cannabis. The good news is that these receptors have the ability to snap back to their original levels after just a couple of weeks without weed. Do you need to smoke three blunts in a row to feel stoned? Then you have probably developed a high tolerance to weed. Follow this guide to bring back the tolerance levels to your high-school days.

What’s a t-break?

No, a t-break is not the British equivalent of a coffee break. In fact, t break (or tolerance break) means abstaining from consuming cannabis for a period of time, in order to flush out the cannabinoids from your system. This is the simplest and most effective way to lower your tolerance levels and bringing them back to a baseline comparable to an occasional user. After taking a t-break, the quantity of cannabinoids that you need to feel stoned will, at least for a while, reduce drastically.

Advantages of taking a tolerance break:

Should you really be taking a t-break? If you are a regular heavy user, you will find that t breaks are hard to take, but extremely beneficial. This is what happens when you take a t-break:

• The tolerance goes back to acceptable levels, thus regulating your weed intake. As a result, you will save money and you will be able to stretch your stash longer.
• You can experience the world with a clean mind, and check what’s happening to the human species in our times, without being detached from it. Weed makes everything look better, but there are some things that we urgently need to assess.
• You break the habits and restore the pleasure of using weed. When tolerance levels are high, people tend to use cannabis more for the habit than for the pleasure. How many times are you waking up a little groggy after a night of sleep, only to realize that a wake and bake would make that feeling go away? The problem when you wake and bake is that then you’ll want to keep up the high for the whole day. Then, you will feel groggy the next morning, and so the circle repeats on and on.

Moon Rocks and other high-THC cannabis products are often the cause of a high cannabis tolerance

When should you do a tolerance break?

There are many circumstances in which you might want to take a tolerance break. The most obvious being when you want to lower your tolerance levels, but that’s not all. You might want to take a break from weed also for other reasons; here are some of them:

When your tolerance is too high

A good moment to consider taking a tolerance break is when you feel like you have to use a lot of cannabis to get high. For example, if you are a regular dabber (you frequently use concentrates such as BHO, rosin) or you tend to like bubble hash and other materials high in THC, your tolerance might be quite high. Joints and vaporizers simply won’t do the trick anymore, but they will after taking a short t-break.

When you need to pass a test

This is a kind of forced t-break. However, it’s important to distinguish between tolerance and cannabinoid half-life. Tolerance measures the ability to get high, while cannabinoid half-life represents the speed at which cannabinoids are degraded and excreted by the body. While tolerance can bounce back to acceptable levels in a matter of days, flushing all cannabinoids from the body requires more time. Check out the following paragraphs to learn how long cannabinoids stay in the body.

In saliva - approximately 1 day

Saliva is clear of cannabis after approximately 24 hours. So, if you need to pass a saliva drug test, you just need to stop using weed for 24-48 hours, and you should be fine. By no means these are medical advices, so there are no guarantees you’ll pass the test.

In the blood - 2 to 15 days

Blood tests are a very accurate way of detecting cannabinoids in a body. Depending on a number of factors, it could take from two to 15 days to flush cannabinoids from your blood (depending on your average cannabis intake, your diet, how often you exercise).

Urine - from 7 days to one and a half months

Cannabis levels in the urine can be minimal after just a week-long t-break, but they can also be present in amounts detectable by the test after more than one month. This depends on metabolism, daily intake of cannabinoids, exercise, hydration, diet.

Hair - 3 months

The hair follicle retains THC for 3 months or more. Cutting your hair short and using detox shampoos can help flush the cannabinoids faster. However, if you are facing a hair test, you’ll need a very long (three or more months) t-break to come up negative.

When you need to boost productivity

We like to think of ourselves as productive stoners. However, we have to admit that weed has a great ability to make us postpone the things we don’t really want to do. Sometimes we cannot allow ourselves to postpone. In these cases, a t-break will help you find the energy to charge into the duties and get them done, so that you can have that well deserved fat J afterwards.

When you travel to a place where you know you won’t find weed

Stoners face a big dilemma every time they go on holiday abroad. “Will I be able to find weed there?” it’s the existential question that every holiday stoner formulates in the mind. While in most cases the answer is yes, it would be limiting to choose the holiday destination based on cannabis availability.

How to do a t-break?

To take a t-break, you essentially have to abstain from using cannabis. For a stoner, though, that’s easier said than done. However, the benefits of taking a t-break every now and then are undeniably significant. Read the paragraphs that follow to plan your t-break for maximum efficiency and minimum annoyance.

Preparation stage – how to plan your t-break

1. Define how long your tolerance break should last. It could be anywhere between 24 hours and several months. Keep in mind that, to lower the tolerance, a one-week t break is more than enough. Different story is if you need to pass a test.
2. Hide your stash, or have someone you trust (someone you really trust!) hide it somewhere. This is just to prevent from feeling tempted. You know… going to the cupboard to check the jars, then opening the jar to check the smell, etcetera.
3. Tell your friends and weed buddies. Inform them that you’ll be taking a tolerance break, so that when you are hanging around together, they won’t pass you that juicy fat blunt they are smoking.
4. Set the dates and commit. Write the dates of your t break on your agenda or calendar, then stick to them. Writing some set dates down will help you to commit to them. If you don’t, you might end up postponing the t-break forever.
5. Decide whether you want to quit cold turkey or progressively. Quitting cold turkey means stopping usage all of a sudden. While generally regarded as the best way to initiate a t-break, that’s not the only option you have. You could, for example, progressively reduce the usage throughout 3 or 4 days before stopping totally.

Managing the tolerance break - tips and tricks to navigate through ascetic times

Are there any ways to make going through a tolerance break easier? Read the paragraphs that follow to learn a few tricks that can make your t-break much more enjoyable.

1. Mind over matter. Weed thoughts can be quite intrusive for a regular user. “Oh, how much I’d like to smoke a joint now”, “am I smelling weed?”, “let me quickly check my stash” are thoughts that pop in the mind of cannabis enthusiasts all the time. Try to mentally take note of how many times during the day you find yourself thinking about weed. Also, try to let the thought go away by thinking about something else, for example what to eat for dinner.
2. Matter over mind. You can also physically do something else every time you find yourself thinking about weed. Even better if it’s something useful or pleasant. For example, drink a glass of water every time you find yourself thinking about weed. While you drink, try to focus on the water and on the feelings you get from drinking it (is it cold, refreshing, does it have a taste?).
3. Have a beer every now and then. Some types of beer, such as IPAs, contain lots of aromatic hops. Hops share many terpenes and aromatic compounds with weed, and has many of weed’s properties. One above all, hops tend to have a relaxing effect. If used with moderation, beer can be a fantastic ally when it comes to going through a t-break.
4. Fill your time with activities. No, sitting on the sofa watching Netflix series will not help you go through a t-break. What will help you instead is filling up your time with interesting activities that keep you busy. Do some sport, take long walks in nature, spend time with your family, do some gardening, cook, go shopping in a farmer’s market.
5. Vape e-liquids (better if without nicotine). We’d never advice you to smoke cigarettes instead of joints. However, if you have a butane vaporizer (yes, they can be used to vape e-liquids) or an e-cigarette, you could use some good quality e-juice to take a puff every now and then. Just to satisfy the urge to inhale some clouds.
6. Drink an herbal infusion and relax before going to bed. We’re all used to having that “goodnight joint/vape”; without it, bedtime wouldn’t be the same. Not during a t-break though. Instead, try to drink an herbal infusion such as chamomile, or even a warm cup of milk, before bed. Then, enjoy an extra-restorative night of sleep.

How to improve body’s ability to flush out cannabinoids?

The human body’s ability to eliminate cannabinoids depends on a number of factors. For example, metabolism and the body’s general conditions determine how quickly it is able to rid of THC and other phytochemicals. In addition to this, the factors mentioned below play a major role in this process:

Hydration

The more hydrated the body is, the better its ability to rid of cannabinoids. Drink plenty of water; two litres a day is the golden standard. Prefer mineral water over reverse-osmosis water.

Exercise

Exercise makes you sweat those THC metabolites out. A good program that includes cardio, strength training and stretching works best. Add some breathing and relaxation exercises if you can. Saunas too can help you sweating out cannabinoids.  

Detox drinks and juices

Don’t underestimate the power of fruits and veggies. Those vitamins and minerals are just what your body needs to boost its excretory functions. Although high in sugars, orange juice has helped millions of stoners worldwide to stay in shape. Squeeze half a lemon together with the oranges for extra potency. Cranberry juice works great too. If you like smoothies, try this detox recipe:

• 1 apple, peeled
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 1/2 stick of celery
• 2 dice-sized pieces of ginger
• Juice from half a lime
• A pinch of cayenne pepper

Drink it once or twice a day for at least a week.

Herbal infusions and teas

Herbal teas and infusions are a great way to boost the body’s detox functions. Herbs have been used since the beginning of times, and have proven their effectiveness and minimal side effects. The best detox infusions, according to us, are:

• Green tea. Full of natural antioxidants and other beneficial compounds, green tea is the drink of choice if you want to detox from cannabis.
• Ginger tea. Ginger can be grated, squeezed, and its juice can be added to all infusions. Alternatively, you can boil a piece of ginger for 5 minutes in water for a more traditional ginger tea. Freshly grated and squeezed ginger, though, makes for a more potent detoxifier.
• Mint tea. Boil some mint for 3 minutes in water, then add black tea and let it infuse for three to five minutes to make Bedouin-style mint tea. Strain, add your sweetener of choice, and drink while still warm. Mint tea keeps you hydrated while boosting the body’s excretory functions.

Greens

Needless to say, veggies are good for you. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale work best for detoxing, but we shouldn’t underestimate the power of broccoli, sprouts and cabbage.

Zinc/vitamin supplements

The body spends a great deal of energy just to get rid of toxins. Provided you already follow a healthy diet regime, you can add some supplementation to improve your body’s ability to recover from almost anything. Try to choose good quality natural supplements and add to your nutrition plan vitamin C, zinc, and omega 3.

Other ways of handling a tolerance break

If you are planning to take a t-break to lower your tolerance levels, you should know that t-breaks are not the only way to achieve this. As a matter of fact, most stoners (by stoners we mean people that use weed daily) can significantly reduce their tolerance by following the simple tips mentioned below:

Avoid wake and bakes

You may not like what we’re saying here, but one of the things that mostly affect tolerance is waking and baking. That first J in the morning sure feels fantastic, but let’s face it, it will screw your tolerance big time. Take the habit of leaving the first joint for after lunch, or even after 4.20 pm, as per tradition.

Change strains often

Terpene and cannabinoid profiles greatly affect how a strain hits compared to another. You will notice that the first joints from a new strain hit harder than the following ones. Change strain often to keep tolerance levels at bay.

Change your intake method from time to time

Smoking and vaping are two of the fastest hitting methods to consume cannabis. It seems, though, that changing the intake method could help with tolerance levels. If you are a smoker, try vaping for a while (you might not go back to smoking, be warned!). If you like vaping, stick to edibles for a couple of days. If nothing works, boofing is an option????‍♂️.

Do a THC-only t-break

And use other cannabinoids instead. CBD is the most sought-after non-psychoactive cannabinoid, but Delta8 is on the rise, as well as CBG.

Do a THC-only tolerance break by smoking some (legal) CBD weed or hash