Do Edibles Cause Red Eyes? Find a Solution.

Smoking cannabis leaves us with benefits, but may have some side effects: dry mouth, red eye and hunger are a few of the most common.

The Cannacurious should be aware that, for many, the most aggravating thing about smoking cannabis is the ​‘red eye’ syndrome. If you used to smoke cannabis in the past, then you already know what I’m talking about. Although not everyone experiences red eyes every time they smoke or snack on edibles, others deal with this issue every single time. 

Is smoking the only culprit?

Contrary to widespread belief, smoking is not the only way to get the red eye. No matter what tool you use to intake cannabis into your body, your eyes will exhibit some level of redness. 

Why does cannabis cause red eye?

Whether you smoke, vape, dab, or enjoy an edible, you will experience red eyes. edibles still cause slight redness to form in the eyes. You might be wondering what causes the redness; well, it’s all to do with blood pressure.

Cannabis and blood pressure

When you first introduce cannabis into your body, your blood pressure increases due to increased heart rate. After ingestion, the blood pressure starts to decrease dilating blood vessels and capillaries. As these blood vessels dilate, it increases the blood flow to the eyes, thus redness begins to appear.

Here’s an interesting tidbit: Although smoking is not as healthy as consuming edibles, red eyes disappear faster after smoking a joint or bowl, typically after only a few hours. With edibles, however, red eyes can last from 6 – 8 hours.

This is since edibles are digested and dispersed to many organs in the body, doubling the up and down effect of the blood pressure. Also, it depends on the strength and amount of cannabis extract included in the edible as well. If the edible is chocked full of powerful extracts, you can expect to endure those 8 hours of red eye. Different edibles contain different extracts, even though one type of edible at 5mg didn’t produce red eye doesn’t mean another kind won’t. Journaling these side effects can help you hone in on what products are best suited for your unique needs.

How to get rid of red eyes

So, we know now that edibles do cause red eyes. And for some of us, we don’t want others to know what we’ve been doing, whatever reason. With this knowledge, we must understand how to get rid of the effect or at least reduce the distraction. Well, there is good news and there is bad news. What shall we take first?

Okay, the bad news is that there is no proven way to reduce the time your eyes are red. The good news is, there are some tips on how to help you deal with the issue. Let’s look at a couple of those helpers.