The Fear

As you mentioned, there is a report that Cannabis does not affect dopamine levels.

I don't believe it causes schizophrenia. I should have it by now. I have used about 2 grams per day average for almost 5 years. At some points I was using 3-4 grams per day. Medical marijuana.

I have had quasi panic attacks, only when I have had trouble breathing from asthma/viral bronchitis, which was too strong to be treated with Cannabis.

I have had minor anxiety but really this is like because things in my life weren't going right. In any case, the fear from Cannabis is a good thing because it helps you go back to life. If there were no anxiety, it wouldn't be as worthwhile. It keeps you on your toes and focused on life. Opiates are the opposite. No anxiety. It isn't good.

Fear can be good, and motivating.

I personally believe that the all too common "link" between Cannabis and psychosis/schizophrenia is because people are treating themselves effectively with Cannabis and the symptoms go out of control when either the supply of Cannabis runs out and thus no more treatment is happening, or the person with psychotic issues was not improving their life enough and the worsening of the symptoms is because the life is not going where it should be considering treatment of issues. In other words, you can medicate with Cannabis and it isn't like heroin where you won't give a fuck about anything ever; if you don't give a fuck, Cannabis will MAKE you give a fuck, and I think that's one of the best things about Cannabis.




I would agree that it's worth the schizophrenia because maybe you're at least happy. I probably wouldn't be alive without Cannabis so I really don't give a fuck other than living a life I need to live (legitimacy, wearing the monkey suit, and sitting in traffic for hours each day). When everyone is out of my hair, I can medicate without consequence! Mental subjective, or objective physical consequences...

 

LOL, just because cannabis triggers schizophrenia, doesn't mean ketamine will. Cannabis does it by mimicing the mechanism of action of schizophrenia, that's the important part.

 

I never said ket but if you have it in your genes and take any psyche it's definitly going to be brought out one way or another.

And also I'm on the same page as xononomity, I've got a medicAl card now but I've been smoking only medical from the beginning for over 3 years now close to evry day. If anything it has removed all my anxiety and made me a happier more thoughtful person. Plus it just feels good as fuck to smoke a blunt and some bowls of good ol' Cali mmj

 

Everyone has a fear of something or someone otherwise you are crazy that is what i envy.

 

haha right on!

 

The Fear- A circuit of emotions beginning with instinctual impulses sent to the logical brain, analyzed than sent back. When the instinctual brain sends an impulse of fear/anxiety to the logical brain that is under the influence of a pyschoactive, the logical brain can interpret that impulse as a life or death situation, which in turn sends out more impulses of fear and anxiety. This is wear the illogical fear comes from, and it takes one small slip to start the cycle and fall deeper and deeper into emotional chaos.

 

Xanonimity and atomic bong. Just because cannabis helps you relax does not mean it does not trigger intense paranoia and full blown schizophrenia in other people. I personally know of someone who has had major psychotic episodes triggered by cannabis.

 

Cannabis is like the opposite of relaxation to me.

 

Yes, I know of someone who freaked out really bad as well and there are some that need to be more careful than others.

But, I think there is a distinction between acute intoxication creating qualities visible by others that resemble schizophrenia, and neurological progression in the brain, chemically, making the schizophrenia worse.

I think that because it has some little affect on dopamine levels, and there are general psychoactive effects, this might be too much for someone who has huge issues already, being sober.

I just think that in general it doesn't do anything progression wise to encourage schizophrenia. I think if you're fucked, it might stir things up a little, enough to throw someone over the edge maybe...

If someone doesn't use Cannabis for 3-6 months and they have schizophrenic issues, that's where I think you are talking about with these people having issues, am I right?

The person you knew had issues with schizophrenia before using Cannabis, and after quitting for a long period of time, right?

 

oh dude, nice thread.........the fear for me is (when on certain drugs) is my mind floating to far away from my body and not being able to come back. Also a big fear is being stuck between the walls of reality and the 'other world' forever.

 

this is William S. Burroughs on getting "The Fear" off marijuana:

"Cannabis Indica (hashish, marijuana). --The effects of this drug have been frequently and luridly described: disturbance of space-time perception, acute sensitivity to impressions, and flight of ideas, laughing jags, silliness. Marijuana is a sensitizer, and the results are not always pleasant. It makes a bad situation worse. Depression becomes despair, anxiety panic. I have already mentioned my horrible experience with marijuana during acute morphine withdrawal. I once gave marijuana to a guest who was mildly anxious about something ("On bum kicks" as he put it). After smoking half a cigarette he suddenly leapt to his feet screaming, "I got the fear!" and rushed out of the house.


An especially unnerving feature of marijuana intoxication is a disturbance of the affective orientation. You do not know whether you like something or not, whether a sensation is pleasant or unpleasant."

 

It makes sense though, considering the psychedelic effects of marijuana. "Bad trips" are entirely possible on marijuana, and I can relate to those of you who said they get worse anxiety/panic attacks from marijuana than any other drug.

I have actually had panic attacks so bad from marijuana, because my heart was beating so fast, that I have actually fainted and had seizures from it. I concentrate too much on my heartrate, as I am a pretty severe hypochondriac, and concentrating on my heartrate only made it beat faster; sometimes around 200bpm, and that's probably just too much for the body to handle, so I'd pass out and actually go into convulsions, with my eyes rolling back in my head and all. I've taken extreme amounts of most drugs; amounts that are potentially fatal, but marijuana has fukt me up WAY more than any of those other drugs.

 

Seems psychological. I think cognitive behavioral therapy can work for those that need it.

Either a break from regular Cannabis usage to get rid of excess THC in the body...

or oral administration which I think has none or little of these effects (tinctures or edibles)

or super low doses, like sub-intoxication doses shouldn't affect the anxiety, and as someone else mentioned, medical benefit like less nausea can be achieved from super small doses.

Cannabis is very powerful, indeed.

 

I've had that happen, but it didn't produce the fear, but actually it was the best trip i've ever had in my entire life. It was the 4th time i did acid, i took 5 tabs of, what was the second best LSD i've ever came across. I had a 'slight' tolerance from doing acid 1 hit of the same stuff 3 days before hand, and this was actual GOOD acid 120ug per tab. First a profound synthenstia set in (the first time i've experienced it) the acid i found before that for my first 2 trips wasn't that great. But I didn't get scared from that feeling, I was more just in pure euphoria and just kept thinking damn how the FUCK AM I EVER going to function knowing this, How will I ever be normal knowing what i know now but at the time I just didn't care, soon afterwards i got caught up watching the wall transform into undescribeable scenery from a desert to watching it get filled with fantastic artwork as if being painted by a ghost i couldnt see than my head snapped around and I couldn't remember who i was and thats when i felt the first hint of fear, but i was able to let go than one of the few time's i've experienced full on ego death occured, im lucky I was alone so i didn't have any trouble just accepting it.

My first experience with the real FEAR happened when me and 3 other people dropped some new tabs I just picked up (this was after i was well aquainted with acid, and i was used to taking at least 2 hits if it was really decent) this was about a year after the 120ug tabs, and i decided to take 3 hits of this new blotter cause i didn't think it would be that great.. but was I wrong, they turned out to be some type of DOx we all started coming up at the same time, but everyone else only took 1 tab, and immediatly during the onset i knew i made a mistake and started to feel slight anxiety, and it wasn't until everyone else who only took one tab started going crazy about how strong it was, like saying things like "MAAAAN THIS ACID IS INSANE, THIS IS LIKE ONE HITTER QUITTER ACID" thats when I started to get really nervous (not to mention the visuals we're getting extremely intense) and I just tried to sit there and take it and stay calm which i could have done if it wasn't for one of my friends realizing I've been quiet while everyone was talking about how great it was, and had to come and surround me asking if i was freaking out, and it was like an uncontrollable impulse when confronted i felt surrounded and interrogated and then i was just like yeah i think i am, and that just set off a horrid terrifying trip. I ended up going into my bedroom alone, and dealing with it by myself for an hour, during which point I saw myself fractilizing out of my armpit and alot of stuff I can't explain but finally managed to get myself under control and came back out and quite enjoyed the rest of the 16 hour trip. One of the more memorable things was watching planes flying by on the ceiling dropping bombs (just like in fear and loathing but quite more vivid than shadows)

 

I haven't had one of those attacks in a long time. I just used to concentrate too much on my heartrate and it freaked me out. Of course, back when that shit used to happen, I was sometimes smoking an ounce within a few hours with 1 or 2 friends. lol Luckily, I kept smoking and smoking and smoking for the past 10 years, and now I know when to stop.

 

I've honestly never had a "bad trip" from weed. The closest thing would have to be a few weeks ago when, after not smoking for two months, I took a few massive (and I mean fuckin big rips) rips from a bong. I sat there on the couch just thinking, "holy shit, I am so high." I could barely talk, I started getting a tripping feeling, like it felt like I was coming up on a tryptamine. I just told myself to chill and sat there on the couch staring into nothing. Then an hour later I came down, smoked some more and started drinking. I love mary jane.

 

I'm a daily smoker, all weed does is give me insanely pleasureable body sensations every time, and it's not different every time like a psyche it's mostly the same effects, I think you just need to realize there's nothing to even worry about, weed can't kill you. When I'm stoned I can hardly think anyways let alone get anxious, you just gotta smoke and then continue on with life feeling the enhancement. Oh well to each his own...

In my case I have had lots of bad trips on psyches, I've had trips where the entire trip was accpanied by intense anxiety and an ultra uncomfortae body high making me constantly get up and going to a new room back and forth caus everything was just 'wrong' making me fuckin want to kill myself foe ever eating the substance, dpt had me sitting waiting for it to end enjoying nothing but pure fear and anxiety.