Mangoes contain a chemical called myrcene, which is known to interact with THC.





You may have heard the rumour that eating a mango before smoking marijuana can make you feel more “high”. It turns out there’s some truth to this popular belief.

A chemical found in mangoes known as myrcene can change the effects of marijuana. However, the extent to which mangoes can alter the high is not yet clear.

Mangoes and Myrcene

Some people report that eating mango before smoking marijuana can bring on a faster, stronger, and longer-lasting high.

While there is not much evidence on the matter, some research suggests that chemicals in mangoes can alter the way marijuana affects you.

Mangoes contain a chemical called myrcene. Myrcene is also found in hops, basil, bay leaves, and thyme, as well as in cannabis. Myrcene is a terpene, and terpenes are the chemicals responsible for a plant’s aromas and flavours.

Terpenes such as myrcene are found in marijuana, and they play a role in how marijuana is experienced. They can impact the way THC binds to cannabinoid receptors, and also exert effects of their own. Mangoes also contain other terpenes that may interact with marijuana.

The combined effect of marijuana’s many cannabinoids and terpenes is known as the entourage effect. The entourage effect explains why the combination of marijuana’s chemicals affects a person differently than one or two compounds in isolation.

What Does Science Say?

There isn’t much research on the link between mangoes and marijuana. Most explanations focus on myrcene, though there are other terpenes found in mangoes that may impact marijuana. More research is needed to understand the connection.

Myrcene is known to have sedative effects. In fact, it is thought to be responsible for the “couch-lock” properties often attributed to indica strains.

“Myrcene is the major ingredient responsible for ‘flipping’ the normal energetic effect of THC into a couch-lock effect,” says Dr. Kymron DeCesare, chief research officer at Steep Hill Labs.

Strains with more than 0.5% myrcene are thought to have sedative, or couch-lock effects. When you eat a mango, you receive a boost of myrcene. The effects of myrcene may help explain some of the effects people report when eating mangoes before smoking marijuana.

Myrcene is known to have analgesic properties, as well. This has led some people to use mangoes to boost the pain-relieving effects of marijuana.

Some people claim that myrcene increases the permeability of the blood brain barrier — increasing the absorbtion of cannabinoids and making you actually get higher. However, there is not enough research on the subject to say for sure whether this is true.

It’s important to remember that the effects of terpenes and the entourage effect are still relatively mysterious to scientists. It’s likely that some of myrcene’s effects have not yet been discovered. It’s also possible that other compounds in mangoes could contribute to the effect.

How To Use Mango To Increase Your High

While these reports are anecdotal, many people claim that eating a mango before smoking increases their high — and the myrcene content seems to explain at least some of this effect.





If you want to try it for yourself, you’ll want to eat the mango before rather than after smoking, because it takes some time for food to digest.

Steep Hill Labs , a marijuana testing company, recommends eating a fresh, ripe mango 45 minutes before smoking for maximal effect.

However, the “mango effect” doesn’t always work for everyone. Mangoes have been shown to vary in their myrcene content. This means that it can be hit or miss. You may need to try a few times before anything happens.

So what’s the bottom line on the mango-marijuana link? The myrcene found in mangoes is known to affect the cannabis high, but how strong the effect is is still up for debate.