Dear Stoner: Taking a five- or ten-milligram edible always helps me get to sleep. Is that an unhealthy habit? Could I become dependent or develop a high tolerance? Does a “weed hangover” go away after regular dosing, and does it suggest you’re killing your brain cells?
Krisdabs Brozingis

Dear Kris: Any habit that requires regularly eating something like a buttery, sugar-covered treat (which many five- or ten-milligram edibles are) is unhealthy. Still, it’s a helluva lot healthier than developing an Ambien addiction. A Duke University study that followed 1,000 people born in 1972 until they were 38 showed that consistent marijuana use can affect a developing brain, but adults in their mid-twenties with a fully developed brain didn’t experience a drop in IQ. And while the “high” you get from eating cannabis can leave you with a hangover, such small and infrequent use won’t make you any dumber, according to the same study. But that hangover won’t go away the more you eat — in fact, just the opposite: Daily edible consumption will build up your tolerance, meaning you’ll want higher, more expensive dosages that bring lazier hangovers in the morning.

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Some people need edibles to fall asleep. Other don't.

Flickr user Lain

If you just need help going to sleep, edibles can definitely do the trick — but try going with the CBD-only version, which are even available outside of pot stores. On top of being a natural sleeping aid, CBD helps muscle and joint pain and inflammation, and it won’t leave a hangover the way THC does. So take one and call me in the morning.

Have a question for our Stoner? E-mail marijuana@westword.com or call the potline at 303-­293­-2222.

• Marijuana