A new study reveals that high-potency weed won't actually get stoners any higher than regular weed

While the generally held assumption is that high-potency weed — say with a lofty THC count — will produce a higher high, a new study suggests that isn’t actually the case.

Researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder looked to see if physical and cognitive impairment among regular cannabis users varies based on THC blood concentration. Touted as the first study to assess the acute impact of cannabis among real-world users of legal market products, it involved randomly assigning higher- or lower-THC products to 121 users.  Participants used weed they had bought on their own and consumed it in their homes before being tested.

Beyond drawing participants’ blood, their mood and intoxication levels were assessed, and their cognitive function and balance tested before, directly after and an hour after they had consumed weed.

The findings?

Smoking high-potency marijuana will boost blood levels of THC more than twice as much as conventional weed, but it doesn’t get you higher.

“Surprisingly, we found that potency did not track with intoxication levels,” said lead author Cinnamon Bidwell, an assistant professor in the Institute of Cognitive Science. “While we saw striking differences in blood levels between the two groups, they were similarly impaired.”

Cognitive function and balance was tested before, directly after and an hour after they had consumed weed. / Photo: happyphoton / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Photo: happyphoton / iStock / Getty Images Plus

High-potency cannabis users showed similar neurobehavioral patterns to regular users, as well as comparable verbal memory and postural stability.

“People in the high concentration group were much less compromised than we thought they were going to be,” says co-author Kent Hutchison, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the university. “If we gave people that high a concentration of alcohol it would have been a different story,” Hutchison says.

It’s not clear why there wasn’t greater intoxication among the concentrate group. Possible factors include tolerance or genetic differences that make some users metabolize THC more quickly. Or it may be that once cannabinoids “fill receptors in the brain that spark intoxication, additional cannabinoids have little impact,” the researchers note.

Despite the lack of differences in high- and low-THC cannabis, Bidwell says the findings indicate that using concentrates could unnecessarily put people at greater long-term risk of side-effects. “It raises a lot of questions about how quickly the body builds up tolerance to cannabis and whether people might be able to achieve desired results at lower doses.”

Maybe lower-potency, cheaper weed is a better bang for the buck.