Cannabis remains the most frequently used illicit drug in the United States, and as legal status has changed, more people use edibles. Among 172 individuals who reported an uncomfortable experience with edible cannabis, 62.9% found the experience at least somewhat meaningful, and 95.2% reported no medical problems. The most common non-medical problem was going to bed early or lying down (75.8%). Most participants (69.2%) said dose was the key contributor to the negative experience. Those who rated the experience as more aversive were less likely to use edibles again, and longer duration of the aversive experience correlated with higher aversiveness. Despite discomfort, the vast majority used edibles again and reported no significant problems.
Telling people they are consuming a cannabis-infused edible can produce feelings of intoxication even when the product contains no active drug. In a study of 20 participants who were given a placebo lollipop but told it contained a high dose of THC, measures of cannabis intoxication and negative mood showed significant changes over 60 minutes, while positive mood and a general intoxication measure did not. This provides preliminary evidence that the placebo effect extends to edible cannabis products, which have a delayed onset of effect.