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Default Apr 01, 2014 at 03:26 PM
  #1
For probably two years now I've been considering trying medical marijuana for anxiety. My GP has already said that he would give it to me if I wanted it, but I'm hesitant to take him up on the offer.

My concern is that I've known stoners and I don't want to wind up like them. One of the few things I have going for me is my mind, so the thought of having my mental capacity diminished causes me a lot of distress.

Basically why I've been considering it is when I try to create artwork I wind up having really bad anxiety, flashbacks, and experience avoidance due to some disastrous art therapy in my past. I also experience a lot of anxiety around other people due to social phobias.

I wouldn't want to use it all the time, but when I sit down to do some artwork or when I have an unavoidable social function I would like something to help me handle the anxiety that always comes with those activities.

I've never in my life tried marijuana, so I was hoping there were some members who have used it that could say whether they think it would be beneficial or not in my case. I'm not schizophrenic (I know there are some studies linking the two), nor is anyone else in my family, and I don't consider myself particularly paranoid. I'm a germaphobe, and I don't like close physical proximity, but I'm not paranoid as in thinking I'm being watched by aliens or anything like that.
 

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Default Apr 01, 2014 at 04:47 PM
  #2
I have pot that I got for mental health reasons and I have had it for over a year. I only use it when I am really stressed out or manic. it really helps. it has never made me stupid. I have always used it responsibly. when I first got stoned it felt so good I worried that I would do it all the time, but that didn't turn out to be the case. it definitely enhanced my artwork experiences. I say try it a few times and see if it helps. take care.

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Default Apr 01, 2014 at 07:37 PM
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Interesting, thanks I'm glad to hear you've found something that works in those bad moments. If I may ask, what method do you use for taking it?

If I were to try it I'm leaning towards ingesting it, but I've never done it any way so I don't know what's best. I'd have to learn all that I guess.

I've tried some medications in the past for my anxiety but didn't have success with them due to serious nasty side effects. Trying to do it on my own isn't working, and I don't know of any other alternatives that would be strong enough to combat the PTSD and anxieties. If anyone has any suggestions for alternatives before I try this route I'd certainly be appreciative and open to hearing them!
 
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Default Apr 02, 2014 at 10:12 AM
  #4
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Originally Posted by Trebyn View Post
Interesting, thanks I'm glad to hear you've found something that works in those bad moments. If I may ask, what method do you use for taking it?

If I were to try it I'm leaning towards ingesting it, but I've never done it any way so I don't know what's best. I'd have to learn all that I guess.

I've tried some medications in the past for my anxiety but didn't have success with them due to serious nasty side effects. Trying to do it on my own isn't working, and I don't know of any other alternatives that would be strong enough to combat the PTSD and anxieties. If anyone has any suggestions for alternatives before I try this route I'd certainly be appreciative and open to hearing them!
Well, the first time I had a major panic attack the doctor put me on xanax but it messed with my head really badly and I had memory issues. My discharge papers noted that while medicated by it I had little to no acknowledgement of externally inflicted bodily harm/pain. What I do remember is waking up the next day with a swollen ankle and multiple bruises that hurry like hell from walking into things or just letting the car door close on me.
Later, someone recommended me this treatment, and I’m very grateful with it, i can go anywhere i want without problem, no anxiety, no panic attacks, i'm a new person. Read this article, it helped me a lot : panicsolutionkey.com
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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 08:26 AM
  #5
I used to be a pot head for many years but have been clean and sober for 18 years. A couple of years ago I decided to try it for depression but it didn't work for that. And since I have a history of addiction it is not a good idea so I gave it up.

In your case I think it is worth a try for anxiety. Be careful though because there are different strains and all of them now are high in THC. There are some strains that are more activating and can cause paranoia and worse anxiety. Make sure you get the sedating type and don't smoke to much, just a couple or three hits.

Ingesting it is a totally different effect than smoking. I would suggest smoking or a vaporizer rather than ingesting. Maybe a little experimenting to see what works for you. I would not worry about light use and harmful consequences. Benzodiazapines which are the most effective for anxiety i would worry about much more because of their addictive nature and very bad withdrawal. Pot is much safer in my opinion.

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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by zinco14532323 View Post
In your case I think it is worth a try for anxiety. Be careful though because there are different strains and all of them now are high in THC. There are some strains that are more activating and can cause paranoia and worse anxiety. Make sure you get the sedating type and don't smoke to much, just a couple or three hits.
I've been trying to educate myself on it (I didn't even know what the two main types were called or what the difference was), and that's something I've been reading a lot of. That the THC levels are really high now in almost all of them, which isn't what I'm after I did manage to find out about a couple strains where the CBD is higher than the THC, so I'll need to see if they would be available through the program where I live.

There was a recent thread by eskielover in the general forum that was about a new-ish strain developed that has a high CBD amount, but 0.3% or less THC so virtually no psychoactive effects. Unfortunately it is only available in Colorado right now due to the cannabis laws.
 
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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 01:48 PM
  #7
I have heard alot about them breeding strains where the THC is low and the CBD is high. This seemed to be for seizures though.
I don't know which cannabanoid is better for anxiety thc or cbd.

From my experience there is a sedating type and a kind of make you more paranoid type. It seemed to me they were both very high in thc. The high THC is not a bad thing you just limit your dose. Only take a couple of hits. I have friends who still smoke and they take two hits and wait and see how strong it is before smoking any more. I am not an expert though and have been out of the game for a very long time other than my little experiment for depression. If you ask in the dispensary they should be very well versed in the types and the effects they cause.

You may be after the psychoactive effects of the THC to relieve the anxiety. I am not sure.

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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 01:49 PM
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I am shocked that your GP said "He would give you it" Here in the Uk any professional would be struck off.

I don't agree with taking marijuana it causes paranoia, Maybe it will ease your anxiety or depression but also think of your health.
 
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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 01:50 PM
  #9
Look into the definitions of Indica and Sativa. You will need to start there and smoking is more powerful than eating. For medicating they say eating is better.
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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 01:51 PM
  #10
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I am shocked that your GP said "He would give you it" Here in the Uk any professional would be struck off.

I don't agree with taking marijuana it causes paranoia, Maybe it will ease your anxiety or depression but also think of your health.
Only in long term daily use. This means smoking all day and night. If it is used as a medicine on occasions requiring it there is no bad side effect except hunger.
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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 02:12 PM
  #11
Medical Marijuana for Psychiatric Disorders | Psychology Today

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Let me just mention another study involving anxiety. This one is from 2008 involving subjects whose brains were scanned by a special type of MRI, the administration of a primary constituent of cannabis, specifically THC, significantly reduced the anxiety and extinguished fear in subjects who were exposed to pictures of threatening faces. The activity of a part of the brain, the amygdala, which is involved in recognizing threat and processing fear, was significantly reduced with the presence of THC.


Let me put this into some context.


Researchers use functional imaging so they can study activity in parts of the brain under certain conditions. When a threatening face is shown to a subject, the activity in the amygdala increases, the image on the screen brightens so you can see physically a direct correlation between an emotional state and what’s going on in the brain.


So if the activity increases naturally under the specific circumstance of seeing a picture of a threatening face, then logic would have it that something with an anxiolytic or soothing, calming effect, should reduce that activity. And that’s precisely what the THC from marijuana does.
Medical Marijuana and the Mind - Harvard Health Publications

Quote:
Marijuana is derived from the hemp plant, Cannabis. Although marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, researchers best understand the actions of two: THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and cannabidiol.

THC is the chemical in marijuana primarily responsible for its effects on the central nervous system. It stimulates cannabinoid receptors in the brain, triggering other chemical reactions that underlie marijuana's psychological and physical effects — both good and bad.

Less is known about cannabidiol, although the research suggests that it interacts with THC to produce sedation. It may independently have anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, or antipsychotic effects, although the research is too preliminary to be applied clinically.
I dunno there is not that much real research on it probably because of the political reasons. When I say real research I mean like NIMH and harvard and mayo clinic and places like that.

I would say that with all the drugs out there both prescription and illegal pot is very harmless in comparison. I have used alot of illegal drugs and prescribed psychoactive drugs for mental illness and pot would be the least of my worries. I don't want my 20 year old daughter to smoke it but given a choice between that and alcohol I would pick pot any day. It is not going to hurt you to experiment a little. If it doesn't work then thats that. Just like me trying it for depression. It didn't work so I stopped. My sense is it would work much better for anxiety and insomnia then for depression if you get the right strain. Even in the 70's and 80's long before medical marijuana there were different strains that came from CA and Columbia. Columbian Gold we called it. That stuff had hallucinatory properties. We didn't limit our intake though we would smoke alot.

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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 02:29 PM
  #12
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I am shocked that your GP said "He would give you it" Here in the Uk any professional would be struck off.
Well he's been my GP for two decades now, so he's tried a lot with me over the years to get a handle on my issues. Pharmaceutical medications, referrals, and he knows I've tried counseling/therapy as well. I think he looked at my life and weighed the risks versus leaving things are they are now. I'm in my 30's and I still haven't really started my life... I'm beginning to run out of time to properly prepare for retirement, have my own family (if I ever decide I want one), etc.

Honestly I was a bit surprised by his willingness as well, but from our talks he's said he struggled with social phobias and anxiety back when he was a med student. With that past I think he understands those problems better than a lot of other doctors, so takes them more seriously than most would.

He still would prefer I go the pharmaceutical route, but that's off the table for me due to past experiences with side effects.
 
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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 02:32 PM
  #13
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Originally Posted by Krazy Cat View Post
I am shocked that your GP said "He would give you it" Here in the Uk any professional would be struck off.

I don't agree with taking marijuana it causes paranoia, Maybe it will ease your anxiety or depression but also think of your health.
It can cause paranoia for some people. I know a lot of people who don't smoke because it makes them paranoid.

For me it only ever made me slightly paranoid and that depended on the strain. Many of the Sativa strains (we always called it sensimilla or sensi but that is not really accurate) just made me super tired after being high for awhile. Like I said earlier we never limited our intake. Dosage is very important.

Smoking any drug is always more intense than ingesting it because it hits your brain so much faster. It takes 2/5 ths of a second for crack to hit your brain when smoked. This is why smoking crack or meth is so much more addictive then snorting. I wouldn't worry about that with pot as far as addiction.

It is unhealthy if you smoke as far as your lungs are concerned for sure. They have vaporizers or you can ingest it to avoid this. Occasional use in small amounts is not gonna do much damage to your lungs though. Very heavy chronic use can have adverse affects on the brain and lower motivation and effect memory.

We are talking about limited use of small quantities for anxiety compared to using benzodiazapines. Do you think benzo's don't have adverse effects?

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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 02:51 PM
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Small quantities are maybe fine, What makes me weary is that I know a lady who has emphysema she is only 46 years old and this is caused by marijuana she can't have a lung transplant because her lungs are that bad.

Sorry but I don't agree with it after watching this lady suffer, Also I don't like the smell of it.
 
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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 03:14 PM
  #15
My grandfather had a couple heart attacks and strokes related to his smoking (pipes and cigarettes). He spent the last decade of his life paralyzed on one side, and completely incapable of communicating due to being unable to speak, and unable to write since one of the strokes hit that part of the brain.

Witnessing his life in that state made me swear I'd never take up smoking, and I never have. I've never even tried a puff of a regular cigarette. That's why I'm a bit focused on the ingesting route.

I'm with you on the smell though. While I've never tried it, I have smelled other people using it and didn't like that smell at all. Too skunky
 
 
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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 03:16 PM
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I think it's fine if smoked now and then as long as you don't become addictive on it.

I am sorry about your grandfather
 
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Default Apr 03, 2014 at 03:37 PM
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Well, I'm 51 so I've smoked/eaten my share of mj in my life. I have never experienced mj having a particularly helpful effect for my mental health. My experience is that it makes me high for about 20 minutes (so I sit there all spaced out), then I get really sleepy, then I either fall asleep or the high wears off and I'm left wondering what the big deal about mj is.
*shrugs*

I hope that research continues on the benefits of thc, I also fully support the growing and use of hemp products in the USA. But just smoking or eating pot...meh. btw, I have seen even new mj smokers get paranoid on the stuff.
 
 
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Default Apr 04, 2014 at 01:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Sister Rags View Post
Well, I'm 51 so I've smoked/eaten my share of mj in my life. I have never experienced mj having a particularly helpful effect for my mental health. My experience is that it makes me high for about 20 minutes (so I sit there all spaced out), then I get really sleepy, then I either fall asleep or the high wears off and I'm left wondering what the big deal about mj is.
*shrugs*
Thank you for your post, I wanted to hear experiences from people whether they were helped by it or not as it helps me to keep my expectations in check

I don't want to approach it thinking it will fix everything for me... if I put my expectations too high and it's not a total miracle fix than I'll be disappointed. Better I approach it with a degree of doubt and run the chance of being pleasantly surprised, instead of approaching it with unrealistic hopes.

There's a number of strains available through the programs where I live, so hopefully they'll have some that won't give much of a high, or none at all at low doses. It's bugging me that the Colorado strain isn't available here, as that would be exactly what I'd want to try
 
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Default Apr 04, 2014 at 11:28 AM
  #19
I think the colorado strain you refer too is very new and only one farm is developing it. Mainly for seizures and cancer treatment though.

I did see a show where a guy in Humbolt in CA was refining pot into CBD oil in order to treat a seizures epilectic kid. It apparently worked great. he was very worried about getting busted as what he was doing was illegal. You need to proper licences and so forth to sell or produce medical mj in CA. Plus in those counties there are alot of DEA agents running around.

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Default Apr 05, 2014 at 12:02 AM
  #20
You're welcome, Trebyn. CBD oil would be interesting to try. I have a friend (in Humboldt) who regularly makes mj oil, but it still has the thc effect, which I don't like.
 
 
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