By Luke Sumpter


Have you ever felt stoned without touching a joint, bong, or blunt? Then you may have experienced a contact high. Sometimes cannabis users intentionally seek out this experience; sitting in sealed cars and bathrooms while people around you light up increases the odds of getting high off secondhand smoke. Other times, you might feel slightly elevated without intending to get high at all; your friend sitting across the room, blunt in hand, could generate enough smoke to tweak your endocannabinoid system in the right (or wrong) way.

Despite some people swearing that they get high when standing around someone smoking a spliff, some question the validity of contact highs; doubters pin the phenomenon of overly cautious onlookers or the placebo effect. So, can you get high from indirect exposure to marijuana? Below, we’ll dive into the mechanism of a contact high, and some studies that shine a light on the possibility.

What Is a Contact High, and What Does It Feel Like?

The term “contact high” has two different meanings. In one context, it describes a phenomenon of somebody experiencing the psychoactive effects of a drug without directly consuming it, such as through inhaling secondhand cannabis smoke. The second, and much more obscure meaning, refers to somebody experiencing a psychoactive effect by merely being in the presence of someone under the influence of a mind-altering drug.

The first meaning makes more scientific sense outright, and people claim to experience this kind of contact high when sitting in on a hotbox. Whether intentionally or not, inhaling ambient smoke over a prolonged period, especially in unventilated conditions, can result in one feeling as though they’ve smoked cannabis, even though they were just breathing in the surrounding air. Of course, the level of THC inhaled by non-smokers is significantly less than that of those imbibing directly.

The second type of contact high raises a lot more eyebrows than the first. However, it may have some scientific grounding. A paper[1] published in the International Journal of the Addictions in 1971 features a glossary filled with terms used by drug users at the time. The term “psychogenic trip” exists within these pages, describing the process of someone getting high through close proximity to another person under the influence of a psychoactive drug.

What Is a Contact High, and What Does It Feel Like?

A range of factors likely contribute to this odd experience, including the physical and social setting, and the placebo effect. The famous American medicinal Chemist Alexander Shulgin mentions this phenomenon in his book PiHKAL while writing about the psychedelic phenethylamine 2C-I. Here, he details an occasion where an individual took a placebo while around others who took the drug. The person in question stated[2] that he “absorbed the ambience of the folks who had actually imbibed the material”.

While interesting, this report does not serve as evidence. A 2020 paper[3] published in the journal Psychopharmacology provides more scientific insight. This work documents a study in which participants that received a placebo for psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) experienced varying degrees of psychoactive effects ranging from no changes, to effects associated with moderate and high doses of the drug. The authors concluded that both context and expectations can promote psychedelic-like effects. While contact highs are reportedly induced without the ingestion of a placebo, these factors could play a role in the experience.

Are Contact Highs Real?

Contacts highs that derive from inhaling secondhand smoke are certainly a real thing. But what about the second—“psychogenic”—type? It seems unlikely, but many variables could make it a possibility. Studies comparing psychedelics to placebo doses have found interesting results. However, a true contact high in this context refers to an experience that comes about without taking any substance at all—not even a placebo. We need to wait for studies to evaluate this phenomenon to determine how frequent and potent these experiences are. For now, we only have anecdotal experiences to reference.

Can You Get High From Secondhand Weed Smoke?

Absolutely. Look at it this way: when you’re sitting in a hotbox, you’re effectively smoking weed—albeit only indirectly. Sure, you’re not getting the same quantity of THC compared to hitting a joint, but you’re still inhaling THC from the room. Stay in a smoky hotbox long enough, and you’ll start to feel a moderate high creep in. You don’t even have to perch yourself in a hotbox to feel these effects. If you’re sitting close enough to a group smoking heavily in a regular room, you’ll also inhale small but noticeable levels of THC over time. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Amazingly, researchers have created simulated hotboxes to put this hypothesis to the test.

A John Hopkins University School of Medicine study[4] placed two groups of volunteers in a chamber. One group consisted of seven people who smoked cannabis at least twice per week, and the other was made up of twelve subjects who hadn’t smoked in the last six months. Those in the smoking group received joints and lit up in the enclosed space in both ventilated and unventilated conditions. After running blood, urine, saliva, and hair tests, the researchers found markers for THC exposure in the blood and urine of non-smokers under both conditions.

Another study[5] tested participants under more real-world conditions in a coffeeshop in Maastricht, Netherlands. Researchers sent eight healthy volunteers into the establishment to be exposed to weed smoke for a three-hour period. Blood and urine samples showed markers for THC exposure.

Can You Get High From Secondhand Weed Smoke?

Can You Get High From Smelling Weed?

No, you can’t get high from merely whiffing cannabis buds. First, cannabinoids don’t volatilise at room temperature. Second, in raw flowers, THC exists in the form of THCA—a non-psychotropic molecule.

However, just because you won’t get high doesn’t mean smelling weed can’t tweak your mood. Aromatic terpenes underpin the signature scent of the herb. These molecules are found all throughout the plant kingdom and are particularly concentrated in cannabis buds. Many studies have sought to determine how they affect the human body and mind, and it turns out even small concentrations can impact human cognition. While the amount that enters your system from smelling bud probably won’t do much, walking through pine forests and exposing your system to high levels of pinene definitely has interesting effects[6].

How Long Does THC From a Contact High Stay in Your System?

It depends on the circumstances. Locking yourself in a hotbox with your blazing buddies will cause higher levels of THC to enter your system compared to sitting across a ventilated room from a smoker.

Occasional cannabis smokers can expect THC and its metabolites to linger in their blood, urine, and saliva for up to three days. However, most of the THC a smoker inhales enters their bloodstream, and only minimal amounts are exhaled into the air. Passive smoke will deliver only small quantities of the cannabinoid into your system.

The coffeeshop study mentioned above shows that THC cleared the blood within six hours, and the metabolite THC-COOH within 14 hours. None of the urine samples produced THC or THC-COOH concentrations above the detection cutoff of 25ng/ml.

The bottom line: stay well away from smoking friends if you have a scheduled drug test coming up. Your body will likely clear the cannabinoid within the space of a day, but you don’t always have control over when and where you’re exposed to THC if your friend group has an affinity for the herb.

Should You Be Worried About a Secondhand High?

It depends. If you’re a regular cannabis user or don’t mind the occasional passive high, then you don’t need to worry. If you’re more health-conscious and don’t enjoy inhaling smoke, you should know that not only THC permeates the air around you; cannabis smoke also contains carcinogens and other toxins. Finally, you should steer clear of any passive THC exposure close to a drug test or if you have to undergo random tests as part of your employment contract. Plus, if you have important commitments such as meetings or presentations during the day, you probably don’t want to turn up with a subtle but noticeable altered state of consciousness.

External Resources:
  1. The Vocabulary of the Drug User and Alcoholic: A Glossary https://www.tandfonline.com
  2. 2,5-DIMETHOXY-4-IODOPHENETHYLAMINE https://www.erowid.org
  3. Tripping on nothing: placebo psychedelics and contextual factors https://link.springer.com
  4. 'Extreme' exposure to secondhand cannabis smoke causes mild intoxication https://www.eurekalert.org
  5. Concentrations of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and 11-nor-9-carboxytetrahydrocannabinol in blood and urine after passive exposure to Cannabis smoke in a coffee shop https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  6. Terpenes from Forests and Human Health https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Disclaimer:
This content is for educational purposes only. The information provided is derived from research gathered from external sources.

Cookies settings

We are requesting your permission to use your data for the reasons stated below:

Functional cookies

Functional cookies help our website to function optimally and allow us to personalise certain features.

Preference cookies

Preference cookies allow us to remember information that influences the way our website looks, including your preferred language based on your region.

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies give us insights into website traffic and customer behaviour, including how many people visit our site, how long they browse for, and which parts of our site they visit.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of data from a particular website that get stored on a user’s computer while they’re surfing the internet. Cookies have several different functions. Some of them track browser activity that enables businesses to deliver targeted advertisements. Other cookies serve to remember user login details to different websites to make jumping on social media, or other sites, a more fluid process. Because each cookie has its own unique ID, these pieces of data allow website owners to measure the unique traffic coming into their site.

Why do we use cookies?

Cookies come in handy when you visit our website. They ensure you stay logged in, that you can shop safely, and that the items you add to your cart stay there before you make a purchase. But cookies also help us. The data they provide allow us to improve our website and enable us to present you with targeted advertisements that are compatible with your interests.

What kind of cookies do we use?

Functional cookies

Functional cookies help our website to function optimally and allow us to personalise certain features.

Preference cookies

Preference cookies allow us to remember information that influences the way our website looks, including your preferred language based on your region.

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies give us insights into website traffic and customer behaviour, including how many people visit our site, how long they browse for, and which parts of our site they visit.

How can I disable or delete cookies?

Not a fan of cookies? No worries. You can disable them (with the exception of necessary cookies) in your browser settings. However, blocking cookies may impact your browsing experience and prevent you from enjoying all of the technical features of our site.

Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: