Can You Smoke Weed and Take Nyquil?

It’s flu season! You probably want chicken soup and your favorite over-the-counter medication if you have the flu. If you swear by Nyquil, you may want to know if it will interact with weed. Can you smoke weed and take Nyquil? Here’s what we know.  

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Can You Take Nyquil and Smoke Weed?

First, let’s look at why people use Nyquil. According to WebMD, Nyquil relieves symptoms of the common cold, the flu, allergies, or other illnesses that affect breathing. 

Therefore, it can relieve the following:

• Coughing
• Pain
• Runny nose
• Sneezing
• Watery eyes
• Itchy eyes, nose, and throat

If you’ve ever taken Nyquil, you may have noticed that you get drowsy. In addition to drowsiness, some of the other side effects, according to WebMD, are:

• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Upset stomach
• Nausea
• Nervousness
• Constipation
• Dry mouth, nose, throat

We couldn’t find any studies about Nyquil and weed. However, we can make some inferences based on what we know about both. 

As you can see from the previous section, Nyquil can have some similar side effects to weed; therefore, using both can amplify their side effects. WebMD says, “Alcohol or marijuana (cannabis) can make you more dizzy or drowsy.”  

Daniel Murrell, MD told Healthline that using marijuana and over-the-counter medication can cause a worsening of symptoms associated with both. They mentioned symptoms such as “dry mouth, sedation, confusion, blurry vision, heart rate alterations, and loss of balance”

Murrell recommends not taking Nyquil and weed at the same time. They said, “To avoid risk of adverse effect, wait to use marijuana (if an occasional or rare user) or do not increase your typical dose consumed (if a routine user) if you require OTC cold or flu medications.”

In addition to that, weed may not be the best for you when you’re sick or if you have allergies. While there is some potential for weed to alleviate these symptoms, it can make some of the symptoms worse. There is no way of knowing exactly how weed may affect you when you’re sick.  

Remember, always talk to your doctor before mixing substances. 

What About Edibles and Nyquil?

Edibles are still not totally safe on Nyquil. While sick, the best part of eating an edible is that you won’t have to deal with coughing. According to Healthline, using weed in other ways besides smoking won’t make your sore throat either. 

However, edibles can still intensify drowsiness, dizziness and other symptoms when paired with Nyquil. It’s cannabinoids, like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), that cause side effects like dizziness and drowsiness. Therefore, taking an edible, bong, dab, or vape weed could still negatively interact with Nyquil. 

Healthline also mentioned, “The side effects depend on the concentration of active ingredients, such as THC.”

In addition to that, if you’ve never done edibles or weed before, Healthline recommends not experimenting with them while sick. 

Can I Take CBD with Nyquil?

There is not a lot of information out there on cannabidiol (CBD) and Nyquil interactions. Walrus says there is no known interaction between CBD and Nyquil.

However, according to Healthline, CBD can cause the following:

• Nausea 
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Vomiting 

Nyquil can also cause these side effects. Therefore, if you’re sick and on Nyquil, CBD may not be ideal either. Walrus says, “One possible area of concern in using CBD with NyQuil is an increased feeling of sedation when using both together. However, as NyQuil is generally only taken at night time, the additive sedation doesn’t appear to be much cause for concern.”

Healthline says if you have never tried CBD, being sick isn’t a great time to try it. 

What Do Other Stoners Say About Weed and Nyquil?

We were curious about the experiences of other stoners regarding their experience with weed and Nyquil. So, naturally, we went to Reddit. 

One Reddit thread had stoners saying mixing both gave them a “good sleep”. However, not every stoner was so lucky.

 In another thread, one stoner said, “I’m overly sick from whatever I did last night 60ML NyQuil 2 blunts and I almost died I don’t even wanna smoke anymore these behaviors are ruining my Body.” While that may sound like a lot of Nyquil, Good Rx says you shouldn’t consume more than 120mL of Nyquil daily. However, you’re supposed to take 30mL every 6 hours; therefore, the Redditor may have still taken too much at once, which could have compounded the awful side effects. 

In another thread, one user said, “In my experience, this combination makes me very sleepy. Once I fall asleep, I end up with nothing but bizarre dreams.”

One Reddit thread was started by a medical cannabis user who took Nyquil. They took Nyquil but unable to experience relief took a THC capsule. They described the experience as, “It was quite possibly the most messed up experience in my life.”

Takeaway

Can you smoke weed and take Nyquil? While there don’t seem to be any serious side effects, it’s generally not recommended. Using both simultaneously can intensify some of their side effects. Speak with a doctor before attempting to combine any medication.