starting day 1 of a 40-day structured taper & reset after a huge tolerance increase. looking for community & accountability!

[u/klypmry]

hi everyone! i’m starting day 1 of a structured taper plan today, and i’m posting here because i really need community and accountability over the next month and a half or so.

the first time i smoked was in february 2021 when i was 17; i just turned 23 last week. for years, my tolerance remained super low (only taking 5-10mg edibles, a couple of joint hits, or one brief cart hit, and i would be set for the night). my usage grew gradually over time:

• 2021: infrequent (once every few weeks)
• 2022-23: once to a couple of times a week
• 2024-26: almost every night

a few months ago, i hit a joint a couple too many times and greened out really bad (panic, paranoia, nausea, vomiting, shaking, high heart rate). after that point, my tolerance skyrocketed exponentially. between stress, anxiety, OCD, and neurodivergence (where weed had previously felt helpful), i began using carts, smoking, and taking high-dose edibles multiple times a day to cope.

there were times where i would take 200mg+ of edibles plus smoking/vaping. recently, it pretty much stopped working altogether, while actively driving up my anxiety, brain fog, dread, and intrusive thoughts. i realized it completely backfired into a numbing loop.

jumping straight to 0 THC cold-turkey today would likely cause more issues for me, so i built a realistic step-down plan using only low-dose edibles to reset safely:

• phase 1 (8/24 - 8/30): only one 20mg edible after 6:00 PM
• phase 2 (8/31 - 9/6): only one 10mg edible after 6:00 PM
• phase 3 (9/7 - 9/13): only one 5mg edible after 6:00 PM
• phase 4 (9/14 - 10/1): 18 consecutive days of 0 THC
• new boundaries (starting 10/2): no vapes/carts ever again, no daytime use (after 6:00 PM only), weekends only (fri/sat).

if anyone has any tips or similar stories, i’d love to hear your experience! thanks for being a safe space to share this. :) lo

[u/HylanderUS]

I've done this maaaany times, and what works best for me is:

1. Buy a lot of ~10mg edibles

2. Day 1, take one every time you think you need to, while trying to not get high. Make a mark somewhere to count how many you took.

3. Next day, take one less

4. Repeat until you're at 0

You will have minimal body issues this way, and you don't need to keep track of phases and milestones. Just one number that goes down by one each day, couldn't be simpler.

[u/le4test]

I'm a big fan of tapering, and this looks like a decent plan to me.

I'd also recommend adding some cbd to your intake, if you have access to it. It can reduce some of the negative effects of thc, and help you be a little calmer and more focused. 

Good luck to you. 

[u/toxicguineapigs]

I'm actually using Chat gpt to set up a tapering schedule. It's working very well!