A 5 mg edible typically produces noticeable effects for 4 to 6 hours, with milder residual effects that can stretch the total experience to 8 hours or more. That’s significantly longer than smoking or vaping, which usually fades within 1 to 3 hours. The reason comes down to how your body processes THC when you swallow it versus inhale it.
What to Expect: Onset, Peak, and Comedown
Edibles follow a slow, predictable arc. Most people start feeling something 30 to 90 minutes after eating one, though it can occasionally take up to two hours. The peak hits roughly 2 to 3 hours in. From there, the effects gradually taper over the next several hours.
For a 5 mg dose, which falls at the low end of standard dosing, the intensity at peak is mild to moderate for most people. You can expect gentle relaxation, a slight shift in mood, and maybe some heightened sensory awareness. Because the dose is relatively small, the tail end of the experience tends to be subtle rather than overwhelming. Still, the total window from first effects to feeling fully normal again often lands in the 6 to 10 hour range.
Why Edibles Last So Much Longer Than Smoking
When you eat THC, it travels to your liver before reaching your brain. There, enzymes convert it into a different compound called 11-hydroxy-THC through a process known as first-pass metabolism. This converted form crosses into the brain more efficiently than regular THC and produces a stronger effect. Preclinical research suggests it may be 2 to 7 times more psychoactive, though human studies haven’t pinned down an exact multiplier.
This liver processing is also why the effects build slowly and linger. Inhaled THC hits the bloodstream almost immediately and clears out fast. The liver-converted version builds gradually, sustains its presence longer, and takes more time to break down. That’s the core reason a 5 mg edible can still be doing something 6 or 8 hours later, long after a comparable smoked dose would have faded.
Factors That Make It Last Longer or Shorter
The 4 to 6 hour window is a general range, but your personal experience can fall well outside it. Several things shift the timeline:
- Genetics: About one in four people carry a gene variant that causes their liver enzymes to break down THC less efficiently. If you’re one of them, a 5 mg edible will feel stronger and last longer than it does for someone who metabolizes THC quickly. Research from the Medical University of South Carolina found that this genetic difference can meaningfully increase both the intensity and duration of effects.
- Tolerance: Regular cannabis users will process and clear a 5 mg dose faster than someone trying edibles for the first time. An infrequent user might feel effects for the full 6 to 8 hours, while a daily user might barely notice 5 mg at all.
- Food in your stomach: Eating an edible on an empty stomach generally means faster onset and a shorter, more intense experience. Taking it after a meal, especially one with some fat, slows absorption and can spread the effects over a longer window.
- Body composition: THC is fat-soluble, so it gets stored in fatty tissue and released gradually. People with higher body fat percentages may experience a longer tail of mild effects as stored THC slowly re-enters circulation.
- Sex: There’s emerging evidence that biological sex influences how liver enzymes handle THC, which can create differences in how long effects last between men and women.
Is 5 mg Considered a Low Dose?
Yes. Most regulated cannabis markets set a standard single serving at 10 mg, and three states (Connecticut, Vermont, and Virginia) cap individual servings at 5 mg. For someone with little or no tolerance, 5 mg is a solid starting point that produces clear but manageable effects. Experienced users often consider it a microdose.
If you’ve never tried edibles before, 5 mg is unlikely to be overwhelming, but you’ll almost certainly feel it. The most common mistake people make is taking a second dose because the first one “isn’t working” after 45 minutes. Given the slow onset, waiting at least two full hours before considering more is a good rule.
Next-Day Effects
At 5 mg, next-day grogginess is unlikely but not impossible. A 2023 research review found mixed evidence on “weed hangovers.” Some studies showed mild cognitive effects the morning after THC use, while many others found none. The likelihood depends on the dose, your tolerance, and your individual metabolism. Higher doses are more commonly associated with feeling foggy or sluggish the next day. At 5 mg, most people wake up feeling normal.
That said, if you’re a slow metabolizer (that one-in-four genetic group), residual THC can linger in your blood into the next morning, occasionally enough to still produce subtle effects.
How Long It Shows Up on a Drug Test
The psychoactive effects and the detection window are two very different things. You’ll stop feeling high long before your body fully eliminates THC metabolites. For a single 5 mg dose with no recent prior use, THC is generally detectable in urine for up to three days, and possibly up to a week with edibles specifically because of the slower metabolic pathway. Blood tests have a much shorter window, typically up to 12 hours after use.
If you use edibles regularly, detection windows extend dramatically. Frequent users can test positive on urine screens for weeks after stopping, regardless of dose size, because THC metabolites accumulate in fat tissue over time.