Learning how to inhale weed properly is not only important for absorbing the THC correctly, but also for your health.
Due to the pandemic still at large, we can all agree that lung health is important going into 2021, right? So, how do you smoke weed while still considering your health?
Whether you are a beginner or a veteran smoker, you may be surprised to find out you have been inhaling weed wrong the whole time! Did you know if you inhale marijuana the wrong way you may introduce harmful resin and tar into your lungs?
"The tendency to inhale deeply and hold your breath when smoking pot means you’re often exposed to more tar per breath"
Healthline, Fact Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph.D
No need to worry, we will be breaking down everything you need to know to smoke weed correctly.
- From how many seconds is needed to inhale THC
- How to get 95% THC while you smoke
- How to prevent tar and resin buildup in your lungs
- How to prevent coughing fits
Skip below for the steps on how to inhale marijuana correctly, but we recommend you keep reading so you can learn how to smoke weed while also protecting your lungs.
3 Expert Tips on How to Smoke Weed Correctly
Popular depiction of people smoking marijuana has always been someone taking a large rip, and holding the smoke in until they have a rather intense coughing fit. That is exactly the opposite of what correct marijuana consumption looks like.
Let's take a look at 3 expert tips that will help you smoke weed correctly and safely. If you are new to cannabis we recommend you learn first how to smoke weed on a rudimentary level.
How to Inhale Weed Smoke for Maximum THC
Let's face it, learning how to smoke marijuana the right way is so you can reap the amazing benefits of this wonder plant and the THC.
The big question remains: should you hold in weed smoke to absorb more THC?
Let's see what Steve Liebke author of A Cannabis User’s Harm Reduction Handbook has to say:
"Take small, shallow tokes or pulls. About 95% of THC in cannabis smoke is absorbed in the first few seconds so breath holding is quite pointless. All it really achieves is a far greater amount of tar being deposited in the lungs"
95% of all THC is absorbed in the first few seconds. Holding your breath actually tricks your brain into thinking you are higher because of lack of oxygen to the brain.
So take it easy on that blunt and your lungs, just a simple 2 second pull and you will still get all the maximum THC you need.
How to Smoke Pot and Prevent Tar and Resin Build Up
When you smoke marijuana you breathe in small bits of tar and resin, these particles travel down your throat and fall onto the tissues of your lungs.
Your body naturally fights this by producing mucus to clean the lungs out by coughing.
Check out this filter and how it looks like after just 5 bong rips. Yes, all that tar and resin would have otherwise entered your lungs!

In order to inhale weed safely and smoothly, you must be sure to use the appropriate tools. Moose Lab’s designed the MouthPeace to be the healthiest way to smoke cannabis with a very powerful triple-layered carbon filter that prevents resin, tar, and contaminates from entering into your lungs.
The importance of knowing how to inhale weed properly is for your health as well. Did you know that more tar is found to be deposited in smoker’s lungs from weed smoke than from cigarette smoke?
The weed resin in lungs is something we should try to avoid as severely as possible when smoking marijuana.
Mooselabs has collaborated with, Dr. Mary Clifton, to help spread the message that the Mouth Peace is proven to prevent tar and resin from entering your lungs with any cannabis smoking method. You can use the MouthPeace for bongs and dab rigs and the MouthPeace Mini for joints, blunts, and vapes.

How to Inhale Weed Without Coughing
Many cannabis smokers are taking harsher rips, holding the marijuana smoke for longer periods of time, and aiming to cough in order to get more high. This just isn’t necessary!
Coughing after smoking weed is not a sign of success. It’s a sign that resin and tar are entering into your lungs, the heat source is too high, or the amount you took was too much.
Holding in weed smoke only worsens a cough fit. If this is you, it may be beneficial to you to learn how to smoke weed without coughing.
To prevent coughing you may want to switch to smoking devices that have a cooling effect such as ice bongs or using a percolator. Coughing may be your body trying to expel foreign elements such as resin and tar from your lungs, so using a MouthPeace will prevent this from happening as well.
How to Inhale Weed and Common Questions
We’ve established that coughing from improper inhalation of weed without a carbon filter is unpleasant and causes extra damage to the lungs. Furthermore, we discovered it is a myth you need to hold your breathe upon inhaling THC.
When you hold your breath, regardless of whether or not weed smoke is in your lungs, you get a head rush. The truth is, the head rush comes from oxygen deprivation, not from THC penetration.
It's important to learn how long to hold in weed. Learning how to properly smoke marijuana is simple.
Steps on How to Inhale
Now that you have all the fundamentals learning how to inhale weed is easy:
- Light the cannabis but try to move the fire in and out of the marijuana as you light.
- Once any part of the plant is lit you then want to inhale no more than 2 seconds directly into your lungs.
- Avoid holding the smoke in your lungs. After 2 seconds you can exhale the marijuana and repeat the steps until satisfied.
- Make sure to use a MouthPeace to prevent tar and resin from entering into your lungs while also stopping coughing fits.

Do You Have to Inhale Weed to get High?
Simply put, yes. There have been test where users inhaled the marijuana smoke into their mouth but not their lungs and exhaled. The majority of users did not get high. So if you want to experience THC you are going to have to inhale the smoke into your lungs.
How Long to Hold in Weed?
It's a safe bet to always count to 2 seconds from when you begin inhalation. So once the cannabis is lit and you begin inhaling, the duration from which you inhale directly into your lungs should at most be 2 seconds.
Does Coughing Make you Higher?
As we discussed earlier coughing is a sign of failure. The tar and resin falls onto the tissue of your lungs and this can be prevented by using a Triple Carbon Filter such as the MouthPeace. We should always aim to not cough when smoking marijuana.
HOW CAN MARIJUANA TAR DEPOSIT BE LIMITED OR PREVENTED?
Using a carbon filter while smoking will help sanitize smoke/vapor and enhance flavors by reducing resins, contaminates, and tar without blocking your intake or reducing airflow.
With 16 months of research and development, Moose Labs created the MouthPeace which uses a powerful triple-layered carbon filter system to keep your lungs free of tar and other harmful irritants. Proven medically, Mooselabs is the best way to smoke cannabis.

Simply put, the MouthPeace filters out any tar, germs, or carcinogens when you inhale your weed. Take a look at the triple carbon filter MouthPeace in action as it filters out 1 gram of flower and 1 gram of shatter. It's no wonder so many people are experiencing coughing up resin when smoking.
INHALING WEED SMOKE FROM BLUNTS, SPLIFFS, OR JOINTS
The proper inhalation process when smoking weed from a blunt, spliff, or joint is important for the rolled cannabis so that it burns evenly and smoothly. The most efficient way to smoke weed with rolling supplies is with a blunt filter or a joint filter.
Learning how to inhale a joint is simple, you want to first draw the weed smoke into your mouth. Doing this makes for a smoother, more enjoyable hit.
Once you’ve gotten your desired of amount of smoke in your mouth, you then breathe deeper in your diaphragm. This is where the magic happens.
Keep in mind, once inhaling the smoke into your diaphragm, the moment the marijuana smoke penetrates your lungs you’re going to get high. No need to constrict your breathing for more than 2 seconds.
Exhale, and let the high set in.
INHALING MARIJUANA SMOKE FROM BONGS, BOWLS, OR ANYTHING WITH A CARB
The proper inhalation process when smoking out of anything with a carb, i.e. bong or bowl, you want to skip right past your mouth and inhale straight into your lungs.
The Moose Labs MouthPeace is important for this method. Because of the fact that you're inhaling smoke straight to your lungs, the triple-layered carbon filter protects your lungs from resin deposit while savoring the taste of the marijuana and reserving all the THC to hit straight to your lungs.
You know the resin that builds up in your favorite bong after multiple uses before cleaning? Yea, that same resin builds up on your lungs if you inhale weed without a MouthPeace. And it goes without saying, you can’t clean your lungs like you can your bong.
Furthermore, sharing bongs with friends when smoking weed socially, the MouthPeace protects each smoker from germs when passing after each toke.
Conclusion
The proper way to inhale weed is an important process for many reasons. Of these listed reasons, your lung health is the top priority. But without a MouthPeace, inhaling weed properly will only prevent you from coughing but will not protect your lungs from all the unwanted toxins.
Let us know in the comment section your experience smoking weed now that you know the proper way to inhale.