I echo all of the above. + some health reasons…I just felt I completely slowed down both physically and mentally when high. Never really down with the odour either.
Shortly after high school. When I was in HS, it did was it was supposed to, and I have a fun time. After HS, something changed and smoking up put me right to sleep – not exactly the key to a good party.
I tried it again about 15 years ago, just to make sure it was still hitting me the same way – yep, 10 minutes of uncontrollable giggling, and then asleep for the night at 8:30. I’m done.
Two word answer: Government job.
Three word answer: Random drug testing.
Add me to the “I think it should be legal” camp!
I’m another one in the random drug screening group. I really enjoy smoking weed but not nearly as much as I like my job and having money.
Paranoia is common, but remember, weed only enhances what is already there… Sometimes the truth can be scary…
To fit in more, I get the same paranoia and confusion, I just happen to enjoy it because I feel paranoia and confusion is part of being sane.
I just never really liked it…
I tried the wake and bake thing once for a couple of weeks, and after about a week, the effects were completely different from what happens on a one-off- meaning, I can see why people would use it as medication.
It totally changed my personality and I acted like I was on an anti-depressant and an anti-anxiety medication at the same time, and I actually got great effects- I just don’t really LIKE it, so I stopped.
I now understand why some folks think it is the end of the world if they can’t get it- if you need that mix of both, and you have no insurance, a cheap bag of pot can do wonders…
Good bottle of bourbon costs as much as an eighth here… of decriminalized medical mj.
LOL, you went to sleep because it made you realize nothing else really mattered…
I stopped smoking weed cause it wasn’t great enough for me to justify sucking smoke into my lungs, plus the people I smoked with were depressing losers who only cared about getting drunk and high every night. It’s never been my thing to be involved with drunk and high people acting dumb, and the thrill wore off quickly once I started getting high and drunk myself. At the time, I smoked 1-3 times per day with my pothead roommates and friends, but I got it all for free. If I had to pay for it I doubt I would have ever smoked regularly.
I did like being high, and had pretty much zero negative experiences (never felt paranoid etc). I’m the type who sits around at home every night with or without weed, also am not a naturally motivated person, so the whole ‘lazy pothead’ thing didn’t really apply. It did increase my appetite and I weighed more when I was smoking (a very good thing for me), but meh.
I just wanted to add, the people who were paranoid, did u ever figure out why you were paranoid? I’m sure thats where the confusion came from but its best to figure it out than to run from it…
I’m pretty sure I got paranoid from a chemical reaction in my brain. It happens. It affects different people in different ways. That’s how it affects me. It’s not because I’m “running from” anything. It’s because THC causes that reaction in my central nervous system.
I hear that one a lot… You didn’t understand my question though, I don’t know how to ask it…
I guess, when you were paranoid, what were you scared of? Honestly, that isn’t my business but do you even realize what you were scared of?
The chemical reaction may be the cause but what was the reason?
Does that make sense?
I understand your question, and depending on the situation, the cause is different. And before you ask, I smoked for years. Sometimes, it was fine. As time went on, however, the bad incidents became more frequent, without any apparent rhyme or reason, until, at the end, probably 75% of the time, smoking pot would induce a full-blown, physical panic attack.
This was more-or-less my experience. It wasn’t 3:1 for me, but more of a 50-50 roll. I found that when I’m in a large group, it’s a bad experience for me, but if I’m just by myself, enjoying a toke, it’s fine. It can be quite a nice, mellow experience when it’s a good high, but when it’s the paranoid, “I’m having a heart attack, I’m going to die!” high, ugh. It wasn’t until years later that I realized what I was experiencing was a panic attack. Why the fuck would I want to take a drug that induces a panic attack about half the time I take it? So, the bad experiences have outweighed the good enough that I’ve only had weed once in the last 8 years. To be honest, sometimes, I feel like taking that roll of the dice. It’s never been a conscious decision to quit–I’ve never been a regular smoker at all–but my experiences have been so inconsistent with the stuff that I haven’t felt the need to seek it out.
Okay, The reason why ask is I am currently fighting this problem. I can’t relax without weed yet I can’t smoke due to paranoia… Teen years I didn’t have “too” much of a problem smoking but as soon as that adult thing came into play, BAM!!! Paranoia and panic attacks… I’ve managed to be able to smoke without the panic attacks but I can’t shake the paranoia. All I do now is take a few hits throughout the day. I pay attention to the thoughts during my paranoia but I have trouble determining if they are the cause of the paranoia or just the effect of the paranoia… It’s a sticky situation
What I have noticed is that a lot of people quit smoking because of this paranoia and I always try to find out why they were paranoid but no one ever knows for sure…
It is one of those things I must figure out…
I’ve been without weed for over 6 months now, because I broke up with my boyfriend who was a major pothead. We smoked every weekend and it was really good for me, got rid of my migraines… only ever had one paranoid episode in the 7 months he and I were together, and I was having a bad day in general anyway. But I guess I qualify to post in the thread, even if the only reason I’m not smoking now is lack of supply 
Maybe you could try ingesting instead of smoking to see if a slower onset/longer duration lessens the paranoia. Or find other methods of relaxation. If you can never relax without weed, then you’ve developed a psychological dependence on it–and judging how many of your posts are advocating weed, it has a significant hold over you. Meditation can be a great way to relax non-chemically.
I love weed and would smoke it every week if I could find someone selling it. But I have never depended on it to relax; that’s worrisome and borderline addictive. (And yes I know it isn’t physically addictive, but you can get psychologically addicted to ANYTHING–video games, food, shopping, gambling. None of these are unhealthy in moderation, but they can all still be addictions)
OK, fair enough. My apologies for the brusque tone then. I just figured you were one of those True Believer types that I used to run into so often. The paranoia was usually caused by whatever was stressing me out at the time. Also, by “paranoia”, I don’t necessarily mean classic paranoia. I didn’t usually think that anyone was out to get me. Instead, it would be dominated by this sort of horrible, sourceless panic and terrible, TERRIBLE negative thoughts about myself, my abilities, and my future. In other words, it did the diametric opposite of relieving anxiety. It piled anxiety on top of panic, and topped it with a dose of poor self-esteem and worthlessness. Just totally, totally crap I did not need.
I remember telling myself over and over, “Calm down. You’re just stoned.” And it did no good.
Ick. Bad times. Awful times, and I’m glad I’m done with it.
I know the feeling, I just feel like weed enhances what is already there so I feel that while I’m not high, I’m just making pretend I don’t have low-self esteem.
Thanks rachel for the response…
You could say marijuana takes me out of my comfort zone but it’s better to have something than nothing do that.
I feel you live life to the fullest if you purposely step out of your comfort zone. The problem is, eventually that uncomfortable zone should become comfortable after a while…
I can’t agree I am addicted to weed because I can’t even get high without the panic/paranoia/anxiety and horrible thoughts. You really can’t get by with that going on. I’d say I relax without weed but I want to relax with weed…
It may just be something simple…
As far as advocating it, if therapy doesn’t help you, and meditation doesn’t help you, and prescription drugs don’t help you, you sort of run out of options. Marijuana shouldn’t be scratched out the picture, the problem is that there isn’t enough support for it and that is why people are scared of it (maybe even me)… Some people don’t need that support from others though and marijuana may just do the trick… I could almost guarentee that if there was a commercial for marijuana the way there is a commercial for [insert prescription drug here] that it wouldn’t be so negatively thought of (and the negative effects wouldn’t be there either)…
After writing that, support may just be the issue for me. While all my friends are potheads, I sorta quit hanging around them for either selfish reasons or unknown reasons.
I think, at least with my paranoia/whatever you want to call it, it’s not something you can reason your way out of. Sort of like when someone with clinical for-realz depression is told to get a grip and perk up-- if there were a grip to be gotten it wouldn’t be clinical depression. Like spontaneous panic attacks, it’s something beyond control-- maybe somatic fight-or-flight response first, mental attempt to pin down why second. I’d come up with fantastically rubbish scenarios (I’m here in Amsterdam having eaten spacecake with my brother-in-law/best pal from college who I’ve known since I was 18 years and years ago. . . and it’s part of an immense plot by The Man to catch me in the act when I’ve finally gotten to the point in my life where I have something to lose, and all this stuff I’ve been fed about it being ok in Netherlands here is a trap! Time to cringe in this hotel closet until the jackbooted thugs arrive) which, yes, probably indicates that I’m a bit somethingsomething when I’m not stoned and it’s aggravating my nervous character, but it’s still not an experience that’s a great incentive. I’ll just drink a beer, please.
I know that I have a lot of compassion for those who get the panic from smoking. Reading the thread makes me both thankful that I don’t get the panic and grateful that those who do have stopped - for the most part.
It makes me wonder about the psychotropic properties of THC, how for two people smoking the same joint they can have diametrically different experiences. To me that is an indicator of the chemical make-up of the individual and less the issue of the pot - granted the pot is the catalyst for any paranoia or lack thereof.
I’ve smoked on and off for 20 years, I much prefer eating it than smoking as I value my lungs, but over-time and via personal anecdote smoking has proven more relaxing that booze, and quite frankly booze and Phlosphr do not get along.
I wonder about that, too. I stopped in college, after having a very unpleasant experience involving hallucinations. I was smoking a bong with friends, and they enjoyed the experience, though they later agreed that whatever we were smoking wasn’t solely pot. I’m pro-legalization.