Can Certain Cannabis Strains Make You Sneeze?

Just like with all types of substances, individuals can have different reactions to the same types of cannabis. Recently, as marijuana becomes more widely legalized, concerns have been raised regarding allergic reactions from cannabis. The question of which cannabis strains make you sneeze is a complex and leads to a multitude of answers.

Cannabis as an allergen

Recently, there has been an extreme rise in cases of cannabis allergies, affecting recreational consumers and medical patients with a variety of symptoms. According to the American College of Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology, more than 50 million Americans experience allergies annually, whether it be to a certain food, pollen, mold or pets. With these allergies, the most common symptoms are itchy eyes, runny nose, coughing, and sneezing. Pollen, a powder released by trees, grasses, and weeds to fertilize the seeds of neighboring plant,  is one of the most common allergens and is also associated with cannabis.

There is a high correlation between the growing legalization of cannabis and the number of cannabis allergy cases. The medical community has taken note of this, like in the article recently published by Canadian researchers entitled, “Emerging allergens: Cannabis.” Their research, which focused on cannabis sativa, and found that the plant can cause several allergic symptoms, including fevers, pink eye, skin rashes, and asthmatic symptoms when smoked, inhaled, or chewed.

While cannabis allergies can be treated similarly to other allergies, there is still much more research that needs to be done on the subject.

Which Cannabis strains make you sneeze?

When trying to answer this question, experts have come to a consensus that a reaction to cannabis depends on each individual person. Cannabis author Uwe Blesching highlights that “like any natural substance, cannabis or cannabis constituents in some sensitive people can certainly produce allergic symptoms ranging from very mild, like a sneeze, to more severe skin reactions or even respiratory reactions.” He goes on to add “it ultimately comes down to the individual’s vulnerability to whatever one, or combination of compounds they’ve been exposed to that’s causing the trigger.”

Public education officer at the Apothecarium Sara Payan agrees with this sentiment and adds “in my experience [an allergic reaction to cannabis] depends on your personal makeup rather than individual cultivars.” Cannabis allergies should be treated on a case by case basis.

Sneezing as a result of cannabis can and should be treated with the same care as any other allergic reaction.