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Comment by thethirdone | Hacker News Reader

> if your a non smoker you can literally catch a contact high from being in the presence of someone smoking a strong strain.

I have never felt high at all from people smoking strong strains near me. I am a fairly big guy with a high tolerance though (i haven't smoked though).

> Beer on the other hand is odorless and your usage doesn't directly affect others.

This is not true at all. If I haven't been drinking or been around people drinking for a month or two, I can smell if you've had a beer just by walking in the room.

Weed definitely has a stronger smell though. But if you are used to the smell of weed and not the smell of beer, beer has a stronger smell.

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> I have never felt high at all from people smoking strong strains near me. I am a fairly big guy with a high tolerance though (i haven't smoked though).

It's you. I'm an average sized guy with low tolerance and contact high is a real thing. I wonder what effect it would have on kids nearby...

This is a myth. This might be a possibility in a tightly enclosed space with poor ventilation, but under realistic circumstances a "contact high" is pretty close to impossible.

The "contact high" is a real thing, but it is not about becoming intoxicated by the drug itself. It's a psychological phenomenon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_high

Says you. I've experienced it, outdoors in close proximity. People's biology are different. Some people are hyper sensitive, others require massive doses to experience a high. This is true of basically all drugs, btw.

I wasn't there and I'm not you, so I can't comment on your personal experiences, however, studies have shown that what you're describing is very unlikely, particularly outdoors. A psychological explanation is much more likely.

The math involved would say its impossible, the placebo effect is a very real thing though.

Well sure, I would classify the placebo effect as a psychological explanation.

There is no generalizable “math” involved. Everyone’s physiology is different and their susceptibility to THC depends on the specifics of their exact metabolic conditions in their own body. Some people get high on a few mg. Some people require 10’s of mg. Someone in close proximity to a smoker or smoking crowd could easily get a mg or two if the others are smoking heavy THC strains. The math checks out on that...

Probably not much of a risk if you're outdoors.

Personally I've found it to have an effect when indoors, even if there's an open window. (I don't live in an especially warm climate, though. Windows are not typically open all that far.) I had a friend who was a very heavy dope smoker and I'd often feel a bit stoned after leaving his house. Nothing major, just as if I'd had a few drags on a joint.

(I used to be a heavy smoker myself, years ago, so the sensation is quite familiar to me.)

I don't know why it's such a strange idea that this could happen. You are after all breathing in marijuana smoke. Second-hand or not, over a few hours it seems to add up.

being a stoner the hygiene was less than stellar and you got high of the fungus spores from the mold in the trash he didn't bring out in two weeks. no offenxe, just a theory.

I'm sticking with the theory that it was due to breathing in the marijuana smoke. This is after all typically how you get high.

It is strange how people have such a hard time believing this.

Contact high is a placebo-like psychological or psychosomatic effect, unlike a second-hand inhalation high, which is an actual direct drug effect.

Size/tolerance/strength-of-drug are irrelevant to contact high, but relevant to a second-hand inhalation high.

Given the nature of contact highs, strength of the odor of an inhalant might be relevant, but that's not necessarily related to drug strength.

AFAIK, second-hand inhalation highs are basically impossible other than lots of people smoking around you in an enclosed space which prevents dissipation.

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