How long do you hold it in?

How long is long enough to hold it in, and how often do you hit it? I don't feel the need to hold it in for anymore than 20 seconds max. Not sure if there's even a designated amount of time it should be held in. I like slow 5-6 second drags and hold it for 10-20 seconds. How 'bout you?

 

20 seconds sounds way too long. You really don't need to hold it in long at all.

I just like to take long drags while inhaling it really well, hold for a couple seconds, and then exhale.

 

2-4 seconds.

 

I breathe in and then exhale, no holding it in for me.
As far as smoke goes...

vaporizing I hold it in for 10 seconds roughly.

 

couple minutes at least

 

Umm...I've never really timed myself or thought about it.

 

1 through 4 seconds. anymore than that is not a good idea. All you are doing by holding it in is giving more time for resin to build up in your lungs. THC is absorbed very quickly.

 

about 5 seconds..



...maybe more if I'm high and forget to exhale

 

I'm an old timer. I believe in getting the most for my money, so I tend to hold it in as long as I can, even taking a quick, shallow breath in order to hold it in even longer. I want every bit of the effect.

However, if someone can point me to a study that shows that you don't need to hold it in that long, let me know. I just hate wasting good herb on quick, short hits, and seeing tons of smoke escaping.

But I'm admittedly an obsessive optimizer.

 

I think if you were to inhale it for a short time and it didn't get you as high it would be because you didn't get it all in your lungs.
Just inhale deeply enough.

 

I may be wrong, but I've always thought that the effectiveness of a hit had to do with both depth and time.

I know that in biology class, we learned that our lungs have these little "sacs", called "alveoli", which are like little tiny balls, like on a head of broccoli turned inside-out, and that's where the actual material exchanges happen. I also recall having heard that the alveoli do not regenerate. If you ruin the ones you have, you're screwed, so every time I take too big a hit, and end up coughing violently, I'm just killing myself a little.

 

All very interesting points of view, it's amazing how generational gaps can all have such differing opinions.

 

i find it more surprising people count or are aware of how long they hold their hits

 

Nothing strange or odd goes through your head whilst you medicate? Every once in a while, I'm sure you think something and say it out loud that people stare at you funny for. . .jo_k_er_man

 

All right lets think about this for a second. what is taking place when you inhale a hit, or anything for that matter, it's what arthur itis said, an exchange of gasses/molecules. Regular air you get an exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide primarily, inhale some smoke/vapor and you are exchanging other molecules as well. Now those that think that there is no benefit to holding a hit in longer must somehow be operating under the premise that the exchange of gasses/molecules is almost instantaneous and complete, therefore no additional "good" (THC) molecules will be exchanged if it's held longer.

Think about that, if that were the case then CPR would not work because with an instantaneous and complete, with an emphasis on complete, exchange of gasses would render the exhaled breath to be more or less devoid of oxygen. People would also pass out almost immediately when holding their breath swimming for example. That is not the case at all. It's because of how inefficient the gas exchange is that allows us to hold our breath for extended periods of time. Actually the exchange of gasses itself is instant across the capillary membrane but it's also very inefficient and no where near a complete exchange.

How does this relate to smoking weed? Simple, because the exchange of gasses isn't 100% or even 50% efficient, the longer you hold a hit in the more exchange of molecules takes place and with each heartbeat fresh blood is pumped into the alveoli and therefore more THC or whatever can be taken up by this fresh blood.

Really is pretty damn simple common sense.

Don't believe me, try what I do when I want to gauge the strength of a certain batch of bud.
I call it 3 in 5. I take a hit, hold it for a minute or at least as close to it as possible, wait a minute then repeat. I do that 3 times in the space of 5 minutes. In about 10-15 minutes I'm stoned as it usually takes about that long for THC to reach peak blood serum levels.

You guys that just take a hit and only hold for a few seconds are wasting sooo much weed and money.
Seriously try the above and it's guaranteed to get you baked on just a few hits.

I'm always puzzled by this question, it's not the first time to be brought up here, because it is just such plain, simple, basic, common sense if you consider how our cardio-pulmonary system works.

 

i don't really hold hits in for longer than a few quick seconds unless im only getting 2-3 hits i guess

 

7 sec

 

Uhmm, Where else would it go?
Your throat?
Maybe your stomach?
Really, just think about what you posted for a second.
well of course unless your Bill Clinton, because he smoked weed but never inhaled

 

Awareness is basically the essence of higher consciousness life is it not? I try to be as aware as possible in the present moment. It's the only way to truly experience life to the fullest.

Joints are usually too damn harsh to hold for long. My double bubbler produces a lot of thick smoke so I basically exhale it slowly over a few seconds instead of trying to hold the smoke in. When I hit the bong all night long with Cheech and Chong, I hold it for like 5 or more seconds while I reach for the sploof. (My friend's parents don't like the smell of the herb)