Too Much Coffee May Mess With Microdosing

Microdosing marijuana has been increasing popular to handle low level anxiety…but too much coffee may cause an issue.

While some people enjoy the classic wake and bake, more people are starting to use microdosing as a way to control anxiety. Microdosing cannabis, usually in a gummy or a single puff of a vape, is a way to manage ongoing anxiety. As a stress reliever, it can be effective as long as you manage it in low amounts. Too much can actually increase the stress.

But a wrinkle in the plan is drinking more than three cups of coffee per day impacts the endocannabinoid system. And for most people, over the course of the day, three cups doesn’t seem excessive. Metabolites in the endocannabinoid system decrease with high levels of caffeine according to one study.

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Published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. Consuming marijuana boosts metabolites, the substance made or used when the body breaks down food, drugs or chemicals, or its own tissue (for example, fat or muscle tissue). This process, called metabolism, makes energy and the materials needed for growth, reproduction, and maintaining health. Coffee brings them back down, meaning coffee, in some ways, is reduces and cancels out some of the benefits of cannabis.

If you are not a “wake and baker”, the general rule of thumb is to wait at least an hour after consuming cannabis before having coffee. This allows time to gauge the effects of cannabis before adding the stimulating effects of caffeine.

There needs to be more research, but showed the endocannabinoids which went down when coffee use went up also decreased when under stress. It’s actually quite likely the amount of coffee that study participants drank caused agitation, which led to a drop in endocannabinoid levels. The study also speculated the drop in metabolites at certain levels of caffeine consumption could be a protective measure for the body. 

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While coffee is a life staple for many, too much can lead to sleep problems, thinning of bones and fractures, increased anxiety, and stomach acidity. Coffee and marijuana are old friends and most likely will stay in each other’s orbit.