Jul 18, 2025
If you’ve ever smoked weed with other humans—especially in someone’s living room, driveway, or basement rec room—chances are you’ve heard it:
“Yo, hold that in. You’ll get way higher.”
It’s the kind of advice that gets passed around like a joint. No one really knows where it started, but somehow it feels right. You take a hit, keep it in your lungs till your eyes water, exhale like a dragon, and boom—mission accomplished. Right?
Well… kind of. But not for the reasons most people think.
Let’s be fair: the “hold it in” ritual makes sense if you’re going purely by feel. Especially back in the day when weed was less potent, and consumers were more likely to smoke stems and shake out of a tin.
The idea stuck because it felt effective. It turned into a rite of passage. And now, decades later, it’s still common to see seasoned smokers taking massive rips and holding them like their life depends on it—even if they’re hitting a 90% THC live resin cart and already two joints deep.
At Treehouse, we still get asked about this weekly:
“Am I wasting weed if I exhale too fast?”
“Is holding your hit longer actually getting you more THC?”
“I swear I get higher if I hold it—what gives?”
Let’s look at what the research (and your lungs) have to say.
It’s not a wild assumption. After all, when you eat an edible, it takes a while to kick in. So it kind of makes sense that keeping smoke or vapor in your lungs might let your body “absorb more,” right?
Except that’s not really how lungs—or THC—work.
When you inhale cannabis smoke or vapor, most of the THC is absorbed within the first few seconds—like, 1 to 3 seconds max. The longer you hold it in, you’re not absorbing significantly more THC. What you are doing is:
Holding in more tar and particulate matter
Restricting oxygen flow to your brain
Making yourself dizzy from a minor, self-induced oxygen drop
Which—spoiler alert—is probably what’s making you “feel higher” in that moment.
And no, this isn’t just anecdotal. Controlled studies going back as far as the 1980s (including one published in the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior) showed no significant difference in THC absorption based on breath-hold duration. Whether you held it in for 0 seconds or 20, the effect plateaued quickly.
So no, you’re not necessarily getting “more high.” You’re just getting more lightheaded.
That doesn’t mean you have to stop your routine if you like it—but if you're holding every puff like it’s a competition, your lungs might appreciate a lighter touch.
Let’s talk science—but keep it chill.
When you take a hit from a joint, vape, or bong, you’re not just filling your lungs with smoke or vapor. You’re delivering active cannabinoids—mainly THC—into your bloodstream through your lungs’ alveoli, those tiny air sacs designed for rapid gas exchange.
And here’s the key: your lungs are extremely efficient at this. Most of the available THC in that puff is absorbed in the first 1–3 seconds of inhalation. That’s it.
Holding it in for 7… 10… 20 seconds doesn’t do much more for absorption. The extra time doesn’t increase how much THC gets into your bloodstream—it just increases how much smoke residue and toxins stay in your lungs.
Inhale: THC molecules enter your lungs and rapidly diffuse across the alveolar membrane.
Absorption time: Nearly complete within 3 seconds.
Hold beyond that? You're now just depriving yourself of oxygen—and absorbing more carbon monoxide, tar, and ash (if you’re smoking flower).
In fact, studies like the classic 1989 study by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse found no significant increase in plasma THC levels between groups who held their hits for 0, 10, or 20 seconds. Subjective effects? Basically the same.
Because of this simple, classic confusion:
oxygen deprivation ≠ getting higher.
When you hold your breath after inhaling anything—weed, tobacco, even air—you’re creating a mild head rush as CO₂ builds up and oxygen temporarily dips. Your brain interprets this as dizziness, and if you just took a big THC hit? Your mind blends that lightheadedness into the high.
It’s a feedback loop: the ritual of holding it in feels like it’s adding something, when really, it’s just mimicking intensity.
That’s especially true with flower, blunts, and bongs—formats where you’re pulling hot smoke and tar deep into your lungs. You might feel foggier or heavier, but you’re not necessarily more elevated.
Vape carts and concentrates often feel “cleaner,” and many users wonder if holding in vapor works differently. Not really. Vaporized THC absorbs just as fast as smoke—sometimes even faster due to particle size—but still doesn’t require a long hold. If anything, holding in high-temp vapor too long can dry out or irritate your lungs even more.
TL;DR: A deep breath with a 1–2 second hold is all you need to get full cannabinoid benefit. Anything more? You’re just stewing your lungs for no reason.
Even if science says otherwise, a lot of people will still swear:
“Nah, man—I know I get higher when I hold it in.”
And hey, we’re not here to argue with your experience. Cannabis affects everyone differently. But let’s take a step back and look at the psychology behind this persistent ritual—because spoiler: it’s not just about THC. It’s also about habits, social cues, and stoner folklore.
As we covered earlier, holding in a hit for a long time can create a lightheaded, slightly euphoric feeling due to decreased oxygen and increased CO₂. It’s the same effect people get from:
Holding their breath
Standing up too fast
Spinning in a circle like a 10-year-old at recess
Your brain gets foggy for a second. You feel tingly. Your heart rate might go up. That feels like a rush—but it’s not coming from cannabinoids.
And when you’re mixing that head rush with THC? It’s easy to confuse the two and assume that longer = higher.
Cannabis use—especially smoking—comes with a lot of built-in rituals. Think:
The way someone cracks open a jar of flower
The way they grind, roll, spark
The dramatic, long-held inhale, followed by the legendary cough, cough, wheeze… “I'm good”
These things feel important because they’ve been passed down, friend to friend, for decades. Holding in your hit has been part of that script for so long that it feels right, even if the chemistry doesn’t support it.
When someone in your smoke circle holds it longer than everyone else, it signals endurance, potency, and “they’re about to get lit.” So it gets mimicked. Reinforced. Turned into habit.
For many of us, our first memorable cannabis highs involved holding it in way too long, coughing, turning red, and feeling blasted. We associate that process with how it’s supposed to work.
So even as your tolerance grows and your consumption method evolves (shoutout to edibles and vape carts), your brain clings to that first experience. And it can subtly reinforce the idea that “holding = high,” even if your current sessions are completely different.
We’re not here to break up the sesh. If you love your long pulls and dramatic exhales—do you. But if you’re coughing every time, burning through carts faster than you should, or wondering why your flower doesn’t taste like much anymore… maybe it’s time to rethink.
Short, smooth pulls with a 1–2 second hold deliver all the cannabinoids you need—without scorching your lungs or falling for placebo tricks.
By now, it’s clear: you don’t have to hold your hit like it’s an Olympic breath-hold event to get high. But if you're looking for that perfect combo of smooth inhale, clean flavor, and satisfying effect—there is a better way.
Let’s keep the ritual, drop the damage, and get more from every pull.
Instead of a quick, sharp rip, aim for a long, gentle draw. This pulls more vapor or smoke into your lungs without torching your throat or overheating the oil.
Whether you're using a pre-roll, a Pax, or a Puffco Peak, this rule holds up. Fast hits often bring in more heat and less usable THC.
Let your lungs do what they’re built to do—absorb cannabinoids quickly. You don’t need to marinate. A brief hold gives you full benefit with none of the oxygen-deprivation head fog.
This is especially true for vapes and concentrates, where the particle size and potency already make for fast absorption.
You’d be surprised how many people inhale deep… then half-exhale and talk through a cloud. Not only does a full exhale help you track your breath—it also improves your pacing and prevents lightheadedness (which, again, isn’t the high).
Breathe in slow. Hold for two. Breathe out fully. That’s the real move.
A lot of people forget that your body affects your high. Try syncing your consumption with your natural breathing rhythm:
Before your hit: Take a deep, calm breath.
During your hit: Slow inhale, short hold.
After your hit: Relax your shoulders, exhale fully, and pause.
This keeps your nervous system calm—especially helpful if you’re prone to THC-induced jitters.
Want to feel your high more clearly? Make sure you’re not sabotaging yourself with dry mouth, brain fog, or a tolerance wall.
Drink water (before and during your sesh)
Don’t skip sleep—cannabis hits weird when you’re overtired
Switch formats every now and then (dab one day, low-dose edible the next)
It’s not about holding longer—it’s about hitting smarter.
We get it. The inhale-hold-exhale routine is burned into stoner culture. But that doesn’t mean it’s backed by biology. You can keep the vibe alive without torching your lungs or chasing placebo highs.
And if your current product isn’t hitting right—maybe it’s not your technique. Maybe it’s time for something smoother, fresher, or dialed into how you want to feel.
Treehouse has what you need to breathe easy and enjoy the ride. Whether you want a heavy-hitter cart, a couch-lock pre-roll, or a microdose gummy that kicks in before the third episode—we’ve got you.
