Amoxicillin is a common antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections such as pneumonia. If you’re a stoner prescribed amoxicillin, you probably want to know if taking a hit from your bong is safe. Well, can you smoke weed while taking amoxicillin? Here’s what we know.
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Can I Smoke Weed on Amoxicillin?
We were not able to find any interaction between weed and amoxicillin. Generally speaking, marijuana isn’t known to have much interaction with antibiotics. We still recommend that you speak to your doctor before combining these two just to be safe. However, the general consensus is that you can smoke weed while taking amoxicillin.
At the same time, even if it’s completely safe to smoke while on antibiotics, consider whether or not that will be comfortable for you. For example, if you’re taking amoxicillin because you have pneumonia, you may have many side effects from the disease. Pneumonia may cause:
- Coughing
- Chills
- Fever
- Chest pain
With these side effects in mind, smoking weed may not be ideal for someone with pneumonia. As you know, smoking weed can cause coughing, and so it may exacerbate the coughing from pneumonia.
Besides pneumonia, there are other illnesses you may have that warrant the use of amoxicillin. For example, if you have a sore throat as a symptom, inhaling smoke may also make it worse.
You may wonder if you can use other forms of weed while sick. Opting for edibles and other non-smoking methods would eliminate many of the uncomfortable symptoms that come with smoking. However, any method that has THC may weaken the immune system. In addition to that, your body may react differently to weed when you’re sick. Weed is not the most ideal treatment when you’re sick with certain diseases. However, some stoners say they don’t have any problems using weed while sick so it really depends on the individual.
Does Amoxicillin Remove THC?
Many people believe that using amoxicillin can remove THC from their system. We’re here to tell you that if you have a test coming up, amoxicillin will not help you to skew the results. As a matter of fact, according to WebMD, certain antibiotics can actually give you false positives. WebMD says, “in rare cases, a few antibiotics are known to trigger inaccurate test results. Rifampin, which treats tuberculosis, might show up as opiates in some rapid urine screens.”
The only thing that ensures a negative test is abstaining from weed for an appropriate period of time. How long you have to abstain depends on the kind of test that you’ll be doing.
For example, if you have a urine test coming up, marijuana will show up for up to 3 days if you don’t use weed frequently. However, if you’re a stoner, you’ll need to take a month’s break.
So, what about detoxing? Marijuana detox kits are often advertised as effective but can even be dangerous to your health.
Can I Drink Alcohol on Amoxicillin?
Surprisingly, yes. The National Health Service says it’s safe to drink alcohol on amoxicillin. However, not everyone recommends mixing alcohol and amoxicillin.
According to Good Rx, mixing both these substances could intensify their side effects. They said, “Amoxicillin alone can cause side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. But alcohol can also cause these side effects. In addition to that, alcohol could weaken your immune system, which is the last thing you want when trying to get better.
Mayo Clinic is also not a fan of mixing alcohol and antibiotics. They said, “Although modest alcohol use doesn’t reduce the effectiveness of most antibiotics, it can reduce your energy and delay how quickly you recover from illness.”
Finally, don’t use your experience with alcohol and amoxicillin to inform alcohol’s interactions with other antibiotics. Mixing alcohol with some antibiotics can be dangerous.
What Does Amoxicillin Interact Negatively With?
Since you know that amoxicillin is not dangerous when used with weed and alcohol, you’re probably wondering what you should avoid.
You should avoid several substances, and some sources like Good Rx include alcohol on that list.
Good Rx says that amoxicillin is dangerous to take with warfarin. Warfarin is a blood thinner. Using certain antibiotics, including amoxicillin with warfarin, can increase your risk of bleeding.
Good Rx says gout medication could negatively interact with amoxicillin. For example, allopurinol could increase your risk of developing skin rashes. They said, “this combination could lead to a dangerous condition called drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome.”
Another gout medication you should be careful of is probenecid. Mixing both of these stubstances could increase the severity of the amoxicillin side effects. However, as Good Rx states, both are often prescribed together to treat some sexually transmitted infections.
Takeaway
Can you smoke weed while taking amoxicillin? Yes, weed seems to be safe to use with amoxicillin. However, just because it is safe doesn’t mean it is automatically pleasant. If you’re taking this antibiotic for respiratory infections means, you probably have symptoms such as coughing and sore throat. With smoke being a natural irritant to your airways, lighting up a blunt may worsen these symptoms. You’re better off using a non-smoke method, even though THC may weaken your immune system. Some stoners also experience weed differently when sick. If you have any lingering fears, please speak with a medical professional and get well soon!
