Ask a Stoner: How Do I Avoid Weed Breath?

Dear Stoner: Every time I smoke, my breath smells and tastes like a pine tree or skunky weed for an hour. How do I end this?
Adriana

Dear Adriana: Smoking cannabis dehydrates you and dries your mouth, and THC inhibits your saliva glands, causing xerostomia (the scientific term for dry mouth or cottonmouth). Add in terpenes – those piney, skunky flavors you mentioned – and it all adds up to a long, dank aftertaste. This is hardly an insurmountable side effect, though, even if you’re not at home to brush your teeth or gargle mouthwash.

Bring along a water bottle and some mints or gum, maybe even fruit, when you toke up from now on. That’s common knowledge, or at least I thought it was. But don’t chug the whole bottle after smoking: Swish a mouthful and spit it out, because the water will remove debris and those cannabis flavors faster. Hydration, new saliva and a new flavor are key. Chew gum or eat apples and citrus fruits, which hydrate your mouth and neutralize bad breath – or try coffee, cough drops or lip balm as a last-ditch effort.

Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.