
Recalibrating on cannabis
Cannabis can be a dangerous substance, the powerful, psychoactive weed can really pack a punch if ingested orally, and if abused when smoked, can cause some serious side effects. Decreased dopamine and serotonin levels and overactive norepinephrine release come to mind. There is also the potential phycological effects if you are prone to addiction or psychosis and the ever-present decreased motivation that can create negative social outcomes with family and friends.
Like all plant medicines, it needs to be respected and understood.
We recently interviewed a lifetime smoker, that’s smoking every day for 15+ years in our books. They explained that they had been addicted to cannabis for many years, smoking it every day and causing ongoing serious social issues in their life due to dependency, yet they now regulated their consumptions to make it more of a medicinal experience. It was interesting to hear the techniques applied and the calculated risks of utilising cannabis for self-medication, so we wanted to outline some of the high-level points through a quick blog post.
It had been over 6 weeks since their last session, mainly due to an increased workload, a new relationship and generally not feeling like consuming the plant. Essentially their theory was that when they became ultra-focused, wound up and stressed, they would smoke. They explained that when they administered the plant, they became more connected to their creative side, had an increase in emotions like compassion and love, whilst generally feeling more connected to nature, their body and the world around them. This obviously made them relax and recalibrate.
When asked, why the 6 weeks or if there was a method to the time between smoking, their comment was as follows.
I take it when my mind and body tell me too…
Now we thought this was a little strange, what if your mind is telling you to wake and bake every day? (That’s a morning joint, for the non-smokers) but they assured us that after smoking for so many years and now practising moderation in life generally, they could stop and start as they pleased without any major withdrawals. They did, however, have the occasional blowout, smoking daily for over a week without a break but the point was made that for them it was about priorities. You have to have other things in your life that outweigh your desire to smoke every day, like training, family connection or work. Once you do you are generally drawn back to your original (clear) self.
They also mentioned that one of the hardest parts of stopping was the fact they mixed tobacco with their cannabis and this made them connect the addictive effects of tobacco to cannabis use, making it harder to not smoke if it was available or in the house. One of the other issues was that if they abused the plant by smoking it for consecutive days, usually over 2 or 3, it left them with a similar feeling to light depression throughout the day and some anxiety until they smoked again in the evening. This seemed to compound the more they smoked, making it harder to stop and the withdrawals more intense for the proceeding days after stopping.
We know from our own experience, that too much of a good thing can be dangerous and spending too much time being chaotic and creative can be as detrimental as spending too much time being controlled and calculated. We must pay attention to ourselves so that we can regulate our thoughts, actions and emotions, then apply techniques to calibrate the mind to a live balanced and self-aware life, yet this easier said then done.
As interesting as it was to gain some insights into self regulation, its also important to note this is not a guide-blog to smoking weed, it’s only one person’s experience regulating a psychoactive substance that has a real potential to fuck you up it not respected. We will discuss deeper insights into the neurological and social effects of cannabis in future posts, yet for now, we invite you to explore the positives and negatives of all the things you ingest.
Everything in moderation my friends, even moderation.
Originally published at grassroots.one.
