About
About What To Do When High
What To Do When High is a free, independent harm-reduction publisher for adults in the United States and Canada where cannabis is legal. We do not sell cannabis, accept money from cannabis brands, or run sponsored content. Every guide on this site is written and reviewed in-house with the goal of being the single most useful answer to its specific question.
Our methodology
Every guide on this site is built on four sources, in this order:
- Harm-reduction organizations and public health bodies. SAMHSA, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Health Canada's Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (2022), DanceSafe, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
- Peer-reviewed clinical research. Where it exists. The literature on acute cannabis effects, CBD/THC interaction, music perception, and harm reduction informs every claim we make about timing, dosing, and intervention.
- Cannabis nursing and emergency medicine references. For the calm-down protocol used on what-to-do-when-too-high, we cross-checked against published cannabis nursing protocols and emergency department guidelines for acute THC intoxication.
- Lived experience and lifestyle surveys. Activity recommendations come from a synthesis of cannabis lifestyle surveys (Leafly, 1906, Crescent Canna, Sunday Scaries, Reddit r/trees frequency analysis) plus our own user feedback.
What we publish
Three categories of content:
- Activity guides for what to do when high in different contexts (alone, with friends, at home, late at night, etc.).
- Harm-reduction guides for what to do when too high, how to get unhigh, and how to manage anxiety from cannabis use.
- Interactive tools on the homepage: guided breathing, mood-matched movie suggestions, an interactive music playground, a particle canvas, stargazing, a jigsaw puzzle, and a moderated random chat.
What we do not do
- We do not sell cannabis, cannabis accessories, CBD, or wellness supplements.
- We do not accept sponsored content from cannabis brands or dispensaries.
- We do not host affiliate links to product pages.
- We do not collect or store user content from the random chat or other interactive tools.
- We do not target minors. All content assumes an audience of adults 18 or older in regions where cannabis is legal.
Editorial standards
- Plain language. No jargon. No clickbait. No padding. If a question has a 50-word answer, we give a 50-word answer.
- Honest uncertainty. When the evidence is mixed (for example, whether black pepper actually helps with too-high anxiety), we say so. We never pretend folk remedies are clinical.
- Specific harm-reduction. Our calm-down protocol cites named techniques (4-7-8 breathing, 5-4-3-2-1 grounding) so a reader can verify them against any independent source.
- Reviewed dates on health content. Every harm-reduction page carries a
lastReviewed date in its structured data. The most recent review across all pages is 2026-05-20.
- Corrections. If you find an error, email us via the contact page. We will correct it within 7 days and note the change.
Audience
This site is written for adults 18 and over in the United States (in states where recreational cannabis is legal) and Canada (where recreational cannabis is federally legal under the Cannabis Act, 2018). Most readers are in the 18-30 age range, with the largest cohort in the 18-25 range. We do not target minors and we do not provide content intended for medical-cannabis dosing or treatment of specific conditions; for that, see a licensed cannabis nurse or physician.
Safety contacts
- SAMHSA helpline (US, 24/7, free, confidential): 1-800-662-4357
- US Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222
- Canada — Health Link 811
- Crisis lifeline (US, Canada): 988
If you experience chest pain, repeated vomiting, fainting, or hallucinations that frighten you while high, contact a healthcare provider.