What Too Much Coffee Can Do To Your Endocannabinoid System

Coffee and weed are a pairing that is here to stay. They go together like they were made for each other, and maybe they were. But here’s how coffee can throw a wrench into that relationship.

It’s the classic mixture that gets a lot of people going in the morning: coffee and cannabis. But at least one study shows that drinking more than three cups per day has an impact on your endocannabinoid system. Now, you may be thinking, “Three cups? But that’s how much I need to consume just to open my eyes!” Perhaps not after reading this article. 

Metabolites in the endocannabinoid system decrease with high levels of caffeine, according to a study, entitled “Metabolomic Response to Coffee Consumption: Application to a Three-Stage Clinical Trial”, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. Smoking boosts the metabolites, coffee brings them back down, which means the coffee, in some ways, is cancelling out the cannabis. Not all of it, mind you, but still.

RELATED: Should You Mix CBD With Your Morning Coffee?

“What we’re seeing here is that the systems that are impacted by coffee and cannabis overlap,” lead researcher, Marilyn Cornelis, told Live Science. This implies interacting effects from drinking coffee with cannabis in your system.

Cornelis also went on to say that though the sort of interactions aren’t yet clear, the endocannabinoids that went down when coffee use went up also decreased when under stress. It’s actually quite likely that the amount of coffee that study participants drank caused agitation, which led to a drop in endocannabinoid levels.

While Cornelis does not mention the amount that the metabolites decrease or how much of your high is affected, anecdotal evidence abounds on the topic. Coffee and weed are a pairing that is here to stay. They go together like they were made for each other, and maybe they were.

RELATED: What Are The Benefits Of Mixing CBD And Coffee?

The study also speculated that the drop in metabolites at certain levels of caffeine consumption could be a protective measure for the body. Whatever it is, it must have rhyme or reason, so it won’t be surprising that this study only brought up more questions. We’ll see what comes of future research on the two magical substances when subjected to science.

One thing’s for sure: wake and baking would never be the same without a cup o’ Joe and this reporter highly doubts that this study will have too much of an impact on coffee and cannabis imbibing. It wouldn’t hurt if some people cut back on their coffee intake just a bit, as excess caffeine can cause undue stress.