Many of us who frequently use cannabis have at least considered smoking weed after arising from sleep, known as wake and bake, at some point.
Cannigma defines “wake and bake” as consuming or smoking some form of cannabis shortly after starting the day. Although many might believe “wake and bake” is terrible for you, there are several reasons why many cannabis consumers do it.
Why People Choose to Wake and Bake
Contrary to popular belief, a good proportion of cannabis consumers like to wake and bake. A survey by the Global Drug Survey in 2017 found 22 percent of United States cannabis consumers like to smoke joints within an hour of waking up. This is because many consumers believe that inhaling cannabis smoke or ingesting edibles will produce a stronger high during the day than at night.
However it is unclear why many cannabis enjoyers believe getting high in the morning is stronger. It is also not clear if consuming cannabis during the daytime actually produces a stronger high or not.
People probably do it to feel the effects longer and because they see it as medicine.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) suggests that many consumers of cannabis associate wake and bakes with a greater dependence on cannabis, following a six-week-long study of 409 young adult participants who practice waking and baking.
Researchers from the NIH concluded, “On wake-and-bake use days, participants were high for more hours and had greater odds of driving under the influence of cannabis, but did not experience more negative consequences, relative to non-wake-and-bake cannabis use days.”
Mike Adams, a writer for HighTimes, believes cannabis users get a stronger high in the morning due to a lack of nutrients in the body.
“In the morning, the body has been without nutrients for several hours. This makes THC appear more potent. Why? Nothing else has yet been consumed for cannabinoids to compete with. Think of it in terms of other medications. If taken on an empty stomach, these drugs are stronger than usual,” Adams wrote.
Consequences
There are a few ways to minimize the negative consequences of waking and baking to get the most benefits. Cannigma shares a few tips to avoid waking and baking from impeding your daily routine.
One advice I particularly follow is to consume Sativa strains over Indica strains. The strains suggested include Jack Herer, Green Crack, Dutch Treat, White Widow, Sour Diesel, and Durban Poison.
I can’t speak for every single strain, but I have frequently smoked Jack Herers, Sour Diesels, and Durban Poisons. Those were some of my favorite strains to smoke when I wanted to complete tasks while being high.
Although waking and baking may feel better due to a stronger high, there are more risks associated with this practice. Dr. Leah Zuroff, a researcher for the anti-marijuana organization Weedless.org, correlates waking and baking with social anxiety. She suggests conducting more studies confirming whether or not cannabis usage influences daily performance. This includes academic and work environments.
The YouTuber ItsCBDBro does a very good job explaining Wake and Bake without citing the science behind it.
“I personally got to recite every inspirational Rocky Balboa quote to muster up the strength to get up in the morning, and if you are high, it is 10 times harder. It’s proven by most of these dudes who claim they like waking and baking. Dudes get high and just stare at the wall and watch the day go by,” he said (1:31 – 1:45).
Waking up every day and getting high is nice. However, most of us do not have the luxury of waking and baking every morning without facing consequences of getting a little too high.
For most people who do not know how to dose themselves properly, it is not feasible to wake and bake every single morning when there are tasks at hand.
With that being said, I do like to treat myself with a morning joint whenever I can relax. Typically, I like to watch sports programs or a TV show I thought about finishing. I know that as long as I don’t do this every day, waking and baking is great.
