Last time i smoked,i flippd out.i have teens that are startng to dabble with pot.my fear is they puff some strong shit like i did that caused my anxiety attacks…i do not want my kids smoking weed.i believe weed has many benifits but for this x stoner i say no to inhaling that shit…
Different drugs affect different people in different ways.
For example, I dislike the feeling alcohol gives me, and it gets worse when my body starts to break it down. Not like headaches or behavior, but in a kind of inner ‘taste’ that is unpleasant. Pot was always my drug of choice, but I quit that 10 years ago. I tried cocaine once, just a very small amount, and it had a very pronounced and very unpleasant effect.
Likewise, my doctor put me on a blood pressure medicine. I had extremely bad side effects that only about 1% of the people taking it experience. (Full body pain that started small and got progressively worse, if you want to know)
Like others, I don’t know that kids should be smoking weed (even though I started at 16). However, I would think (perhaps incorrectly) that your kids would likely share some degree of your sensitivity. If so, they’ll either find out soon enough that it doesn’t work for them, or they’ll need to have that pointed out to them when they ignore symptoms.
Welcome to the SDMB, wdsta1. Despite the name of our site, we’re not actually primarily dedicated to discussions of marijuana or other drugs.
Your question is better addressed in our IMHO forum, for people’s opinions and experiences, so I’ve moved it thither.
twickster, MPSIMS moderator
Weed’s effect are primarily mediated by a variety of brain receptors called cannabinoid receptors as we have natural brain systems with neurotransmitters that they are stimulated by. Those systems are involved in multiple brain functions including anxiety and appetite.
One set seems to reduce anxiety at one dose and to increase it at a higher dose and another set seems to increase anxiety. It may seem contradictory but it may more be a balancing act. Plus of course the brain does not typically raise the level of too many substances all over the brain all at the same time. We do that artificially with drugs. The exact effect also seems to situationally dependent and extremely likely varies based on the exact balance of receptors and the wiring that any particular individual possesses. As a more primary academic source states:
Interestingly an “inverse agonist” (binds to the receptor but has a negative effect on it) of CB1, rimonaban, was initially marketed as an anti-obesity drug, but was pulled due to its negative impact on depression and suicidality. The receptors are involved in lots of systems and on bothsides of some of the equations depending on amount, circumstance, and individual variation.
Given the likely shared biolgical tendencies that your kids would likely have with you, and the potency of today’s weed, it would seem reasonable for you to be concerned. Of course what to do about that concern is a different question …
For me, it depends completely on strain. Indica = no anxiety, sativa = possibility of anxiety.
If I had kids, I’d be much more worried about drinking, because it can kill you. It seems like it would be a good call to talk to your kids (if you haven’t yet) about the side effects of pot. Don’t be unrealistic, because they’ll know you’re lying or exaggerating (eventually if not immediately). Don’t tell them pot will kill you. Do tell them that it is somewhat unpredictable, especially if it’s not from a dispensary or other source that’s more likely to correctly identify strains. Tell them it can cause anxiety and paranoia, that it’s illegal (if it’s illegal where you live) and could get them in trouble, and so forth. Don’t give them pot or encourage them to smoke, but help them make educated decisions.
They will totally smoke some pot. They will probably be fine.
My mom told me that I could always call her if I wanted to get picked up from a party or any time I felt I needed her to, no questions asked. She never told me not to do drugs but clearly explained the risks. I definitely never needed a ride because I smoked a joint. I did call her when my ride home got drunk, more than once, so I think the offer of a ride home was good parenting on her part.
Plenty of people never have any anxiety attack related to smoking pot (like you, after some years of use, I had. And apparently like you, I quited smoking as a result). Warn them of the risk. I doubt there’s much more you can do.
Because I’m plotting your doom.
When it happens, I’m convinced that it’s because I’m actually seeing the real world, in which I’m a chronic failure and really bad things are definitely about to happen to me and my loved ones and any second a SWAT team is going to batter in the door. Unfortunately, these moments of lucidity don’t last, and before long I’m back in my world of delusion and denial.
Heightened sense of awareness. “They know I’m stoned!” They don’t really but if you start acting weird then they will start looking at you funny and it escalates from there. Best to just “go with it” and start acting like a duck or a cow or maybe a chihuahua. All they can do is taze you or call the sheriff and man is it ever liberating!
VT, pass that.