Can You Smoke Weed on Suboxone? What Patients Should Know About Cannabis and Buprenorphine

If you take Suboxone for opioid use disorder, you may wonder: Can you smoke weed on Suboxone?

There isn’t one answer that applies safely to everyone. Cannabis can affect attention, coordination, reaction time, and judgment. Buprenorphine—the opioid medication in Suboxone—can also cause dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, and problems with attention. Using them together may therefore make some people feel more impaired or sedated.

Limited evidence also suggests that cannabis may affect how the body processes buprenorphine. One small human study found higher buprenorphine blood concentrations among patients who used cannabis. However, the study was small, so it doesn’t establish what will happen to every person who combines the two.

That doesn’t mean you should suddenly stop taking Suboxone if you use marijuana. Suboxone treats opioid use disorder, and changing or stopping treatment without medical guidance can lead to withdrawal and cravings and may interfere with recovery.

Instead, tell the healthcare professional managing your Suboxone treatment about your cannabis use. Your clinician can consider how often you use cannabis, the products you use, your Suboxone dose, other medications and substances, side effects, and your overall health.

What Is Suboxone?

Suboxone is a brand-name medication that contains buprenorphine and naloxone.

Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist that healthcare professionals use to treat opioid use disorder. It can reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms and cravings. The combination also contains naloxone to discourage certain forms of misuse.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) lists several possible side effects of buprenorphine, including:

Dizziness
Drowsiness
Fatigue
Nausea or vomiting
Headache
Constipation
Disturbance in attention
Sweating
Sleep problems

These effects are one reason to tell your treatment provider about medications and other substances you use.

If you’re considering treatment or want to understand how care works, RCC’s guide to online Suboxone treatment in Tennessee explains its statewide telemedicine program.

What Happens If You Use Weed While Taking Suboxone?

There isn’t one predictable reaction that happens every time someone combines cannabis and Suboxone.

Cannabis products vary considerably. Their effects can depend on THC concentration, the amount used, frequency of use, individual tolerance, route of administration, and whether you also use alcohol, medications, or other substances.

THC can interfere with attention, memory, coordination, thinking, and reaction time. Buprenorphine may also cause dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, and disturbances in attention.

Because some of these effects overlap, using cannabis while taking Suboxone could make impairment or certain side effects more noticeable.

Possible concerns include:

Increased sleepiness
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Slower reactions
Reduced coordination
Difficulty concentrating
Impaired judgment
Greater difficulty performing tasks that require alertness

How strongly someone experiences these effects can vary considerably.

Does Weed Interact With Suboxone?

The interaction between Suboxone and cannabis is more complicated than simply saying the combination is either “safe” or “dangerous.”

A small retrospective study of patients receiving buprenorphine for opioid maintenance treatment found that cannabis users had higher blood concentrations of buprenorphine than non-users who received similar doses. The researchers proposed that cannabis may inhibit CYP3A4, an enzyme involved in buprenorphine metabolism.

However, the study involved a small number of patients. Its findings don’t prove that every person who uses cannabis will develop high buprenorphine levels or experience toxicity.

A broader review of cannabis-related drug interactions also identified a potentially clinically relevant interaction with buprenorphine while emphasizing that researchers still have limited evidence about many cannabis-drug interactions.

For patients, the practical point is straightforward: tell the clinician prescribing your Suboxone that you use cannabis. Don’t assume the combination has no interaction simply because you’ve used both before without noticing a problem.

Your healthcare professional should also know about:

Prescription medications
Over-the-counter medications
Sleep medications
Anxiety medications
Alcohol
Cannabis or marijuana
Other recreational substances
Supplements that cause sleepiness

This information gives your clinician a more complete picture when evaluating side effects, medication safety, and possible interactions.

Can Cannabis Make Suboxone Side Effects Worse?

Cannabis may make certain overlapping effects more noticeable.

Suboxone can cause dizziness or drowsiness. Cannabis, particularly THC-containing products, can affect coordination, attention, judgment, and reaction time.

The effects can depend on several factors, including:

Your prescribed Suboxone dose
The amount and potency of cannabis
How frequently you use cannabis
Your tolerance to cannabis
Other medications you take
Alcohol or other substance use
Your medical history
Whether you’re new to Suboxone treatment

Contact a healthcare professional if you develop significant sedation, confusion, unusual dizziness, or other concerning symptoms.

Is Cannabis as Dangerous With Suboxone as Alcohol or Benzodiazepines?

You shouldn’t treat these combinations as medically identical.

Alcohol and benzodiazepines raise particular safety concerns with buprenorphine because combining buprenorphine with central nervous system depressants can increase the risk of severe sedation, respiratory depression, overdose, and death.

Patients who drink should review the specific risks of mixing Suboxone and alcohol.

Cannabis has different pharmacologic effects, and current evidence doesn’t justify assuming marijuana carries exactly the same interaction risk as alcohol or benzodiazepines.

That doesn’t mean you should automatically consider cannabis harmless. THC can impair coordination, attention, reaction time, and judgment, and limited research suggests cannabis may also affect buprenorphine metabolism.

Discuss cannabis use with the clinician managing your Suboxone rather than trying to estimate the risk on your own.

Should I Tell My Suboxone Doctor I Use Marijuana?

Yes. Tell your healthcare professional about substances you use while receiving treatment.

Let your provider know:

Whether you use marijuana occasionally or regularly
Whether you smoke, vape, or use edible cannabis products
Whether the product contains THC, CBD, or both, if known
Approximately how much you use
How cannabis affects you
Whether you feel sleepy, dizzy, anxious, confused, or impaired afterward
Whether you use alcohol or other substances at the same time
Whether cannabis affects work, driving, relationships, sleep, or recovery

This information helps your clinician evaluate possible interactions and side effects and decide whether you need additional monitoring or another change.

A good Suboxone provider should also give you room to discuss medication concerns and other substance use openly. RCC’s guide to finding the right Suboxone doctor explains what patients may want to ask about monitoring, follow-up, and treatment.

Don’t Stop Suboxone Because You Used Marijuana

If you’re taking Suboxone as prescribed and have used cannabis, don’t automatically skip your next dose or discontinue treatment.

Stopping buprenorphine can lead to withdrawal symptoms and opioid cravings. Interrupting treatment may also undermine the stability that medication for opioid use disorder can provide.

SAMHSA advises patients to consult their healthcare provider before discontinuing buprenorphine.

Continue taking Suboxone according to your prescription unless the clinician managing your treatment tells you to make a change.

Be Careful With Driving and Other Activities

Don’t assume you’re safe to drive because you’ve previously used cannabis or taken Suboxone without feeling impaired.

THC can interfere with reaction time, attention, coordination, and thinking. Buprenorphine may cause dizziness or drowsiness in some patients.

Avoid driving or other safety-sensitive activities when you feel impaired, sleepy, dizzy, confused, or unable to concentrate.

That includes:

Driving
Operating machinery
Working at heights
Using potentially dangerous equipment
Performing tasks that require quick reactions or sustained attention

What If You Feel Very Sleepy After Taking Suboxone and Using Cannabis?

Pay attention to symptoms that are more severe than your usual medication side effects.

Call 911 if someone becomes extremely difficult to wake, loses consciousness, or develops severely slowed, shallow, or abnormal breathing.

If you suspect an opioid overdose and have naloxone available, administer it according to its instructions while emergency help is on the way.

The FDA recommends that healthcare professionals discuss naloxone access with patients who receive medications for opioid use disorder.

Cannabis Use Does Not Automatically Mean Suboxone Treatment Has Failed

Using cannabis while taking Suboxone doesn’t, by itself, establish that treatment for opioid use disorder has failed.

Research examining cannabis use during medication treatment for opioid use disorder has produced mixed results. That evidence doesn’t establish cannabis as beneficial or risk-free.

What matters clinically is how cannabis affects you.

If cannabis use becomes difficult to control or starts interfering with your goals, discuss it with your healthcare professional.

Questions worth considering include:

Why am I using cannabis?
Is it affecting my mood, memory, or motivation?
Is it interfering with work or relationships?
Am I using more than I intended?
Does it make me anxious, sleepy, dizzy, or impaired?
Is it affecting my opioid recovery?
Do I have difficulty cutting back when I want to?

These questions can help you and your treatment team decide whether they simply need to account for cannabis in your medication plan or whether your cannabis use has become a separate concern that deserves attention.

Suboxone Treatment Should Be Individualized

Two people taking Suboxone can have very different medical histories, medication lists, cannabis use patterns, tolerances, and recovery needs.

Advice from another person taking Suboxone therefore may not apply to you.

Your treatment clinician can consider:

Your current buprenorphine treatment
Other medications
Cannabis use
Alcohol and other substance use
Medication side effects
Physical and mental health conditions
Opioid cravings or withdrawal symptoms
Your progress and goals in treatment

If you’re looking for care in Tennessee, RCC provides virtual Suboxone treatment statewide for eligible adults through telemedicine.

Frequently Asked Questions About Weed and Suboxone

1. Can you smoke weed on Suboxone?

Cannabis may increase impairment or make effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, or difficulty concentrating more noticeable while you’re taking Suboxone. Limited research also suggests cannabis may affect buprenorphine metabolism.

Because individual responses and cannabis products vary, discuss your cannabis use with the healthcare professional prescribing your Suboxone.

2. Does weed interact with Suboxone?

A small human study found higher buprenorphine concentrations among cannabis users and suggested a possible metabolic interaction. Cannabis and Suboxone can also have overlapping effects involving alertness, coordination, and concentration.

Researchers don’t yet have enough evidence to predict exactly what will happen in every patient.

3. Can you use marijuana while taking Suboxone?

Your prescribing healthcare professional can best answer this question based on your individual situation.

Tell your clinician which cannabis products you use, how frequently you use them, and whether you experience drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, anxiety, or other symptoms.

4. Can cannabis worsen Suboxone side effects?

Yes, it may make overlapping effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, impaired coordination, or difficulty concentrating more noticeable in some people.

Your response can depend on the cannabis product, THC amount, individual tolerance, Suboxone dose, other medications, and other substances you use.

5. Should I tell my Suboxone doctor I use marijuana?

Yes. Tell your healthcare professional about cannabis, alcohol, prescription medications, nonprescription medications, supplements, and other substances you use.

This information helps your clinician evaluate interactions and side effects more accurately.

6. Should I skip my Suboxone dose if I smoked weed?

Don’t change, skip, reduce, or stop your prescribed Suboxone on your own because you used marijuana.

Contact the healthcare professional managing your treatment if you’re concerned about cannabis use, a possible interaction, or side effects.

7. Can I drive after using marijuana while taking Suboxone?

Don’t drive when you feel impaired, sleepy, dizzy, confused, or unable to concentrate.

Cannabis can affect reaction time, coordination, attention, and judgment. Buprenorphine can also cause dizziness or drowsiness in some people. Combining them may make your level of impairment harder to predict.

8. What should I do if cannabis makes me extremely sleepy while taking Suboxone?

Stop activities that require alertness and contact a healthcare professional for individualized advice.

Call 911 if someone becomes extremely difficult to wake, loses consciousness, or has severely slowed or abnormal breathing. If you suspect an opioid overdose and have naloxone available, administer it according to its instructions while waiting for emergency assistance.

9. Is CBD safer than THC while taking Suboxone?

Don’t assume that a CBD product can’t interact with your medication simply because it doesn’t produce the same intoxicating effects as THC.

Cannabis products can contain different amounts of cannabinoids, and researchers continue to study how cannabinoids affect drug-metabolizing enzymes and medications. Tell your Suboxone clinician about CBD products as well as marijuana or THC use.

10. Does the way I use cannabis matter while taking Suboxone?

It can. Smoking, vaping, and eating cannabis products can produce different timing, duration, and intensity of effects.

Edible products, for example, can take longer to produce noticeable effects and may last longer than inhaled cannabis. Regardless of the form you use, tell your clinician what product you use and how it affects you.

11. What if I use cannabis every day while taking Suboxone?

Tell your Suboxone provider if you use cannabis daily or frequently.

Your clinician can consider the frequency and amount of cannabis use alongside your medication dose, side effects, other medications, other substance use, and treatment goals. Frequent use may also be worth discussing if you have difficulty cutting back or if cannabis interferes with work, relationships, driving, sleep, or recovery.

12. Will marijuana use prevent me from getting Suboxone treatment?

Cannabis use alone doesn’t tell a healthcare professional everything they need to know about whether Suboxone treatment is appropriate for you.

A clinician should evaluate your opioid use disorder, medical history, medications, other substance use, symptoms, and individual treatment needs. Be open about cannabis use so your provider can make treatment decisions with accurate information.

The Bottom Line

So, can you smoke weed on Suboxone?

There isn’t a universal answer that guarantees the combination will be safe for every patient. Cannabis can impair attention, coordination, reaction time, and judgment, while Suboxone can cause dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, and disturbances in attention. Limited research also suggests cannabis may affect the way your body processes buprenorphine.

Tell the healthcare professional managing your Suboxone treatment if you use marijuana or other cannabis products. Don’t skip doses, reduce your dose, or stop Suboxone because of cannabis use unless your clinician tells you to make a change.

Open communication gives your treatment team the information they need to help you make safer decisions while continuing treatment for opioid use disorder.

If you’re in Tennessee and need help starting or continuing Suboxone treatment, Recovery Care of Columbia provides virtual treatment statewide. Call or text us today at (931) 548-3062.

Request an Appointment Online

Request an appointment online from your phone:

Register with TennCare Medicaid — typically $0 out-of-pocket
Register with UHC Medicare Advantage
Register with commercial insurance
Register as a Self-Pay Patient
Apply for our sliding-scale program
Returning patients — restart treatment

Complete a brief intake assessment so our team can learn about your opioid, kratom/7-OH use, health history, and treatment goals.

Next, you’ll meet virtually with a licensed provider, typically within 24–48 hours. The provider will evaluate your situation and prescribe medication when clinically appropriate. If the provider prescribes Suboxone, the prescription can go to a pharmacy of your choice or, where available, you can arrange delivery.

You’ll then continue virtual care with regular follow-up appointments so your provider can monitor and adjust your treatment as needed.

Prefer to speak with someone first? Call or text us today at (931) 548-3062, or send us a secure message through the Spruce Health mobile app.

Julie Mahinay
October 2, 2026
1:00 pm
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Julie Mahinay serves as Executive Assistant for Recovery Care of Columbia, providing administrative and operational support to the organization. She assists with website content management, administrative coordination, and other projects that support the clinic’s day-to-day operations and patient services.

(931) 548-3062