TLDR: Didn't know what dabs were. Tried one at a party. Lost my mind for 4 hours and had an extremely challenging time. Came down. Ate a shitload of food. Still a bit fuzzy and traumatized 3 days later.
Some background. I'm in my early 40s. Been smoking off and on since I was 13 or so, though lately more off than on (smoke a bowl a couple times a month). Been through the psychedelic wringer more than once, though I don't usually indulge these days. Also note, I don't like being really high. I don't eat edibles because of this, and I rarely hit bongs. Too much cannabis makes me paranoid and terrible feeling. I can handle a few hits of LSD way better than I can handle a few bong rips of dank.
Was at a party this past weekend and some folks had an oil rig and were passing it around. Being an old fogey, I had heard of dabs but not really anything about them. I knew they were some kind of hash though, and I've smoked plenty of hash in my life so I figured WTF, I'll take only one hit off this thing and get moderately stoned. (NOTE: hash =//= BHO) Was already a bit drunk and I enjoy being stoned while drunk as the alcohol usually moderates the paranoia factor for me.
Fast forward 10 minutes and I'm straight tripping. Like seriously as high as I've ever been off of good edibles magnified by 10. Easily as disorienting as the come-up of a high dose mushroom trip, especially as I was expecting to get "a little stoned". At one point in the come up, I was blind for at least 5 minutes, everything just a blur of light and color.
Spent the next 4 hours out of my head. A few beautiful moments dancing and listening to music with full synesthesia and time warping, a few hilarious moments, but mostly a Very Bad No Good trip. Full on paranoia, dry heaving, moments of intense disorientation because I couldn't keep my eyes focused or open. The visual and auditory distortions were intense. Auditory was as intense as I've had on lots of MXE and visuals were not so much interesting hallucinations as disorienting blurs of lights and colors. At one point I was not only observing myself from behind myself but getting the full jittery framerate/strobing thing that I associate with dissociatives (and don't think I've ever experienced with cannabis). At another point I felt near-paralyzed and untethered from my body and I had dissolved into a sort of vibrating energy being.
All that would have been fine and maybe even fun and interesting (if I expected it) without the paranoia and panic from hell. Seriously felt like I was stuck in a slow motion panic attack for hours. Just kept pacing around in circles and telling people that I was too high and I couldn't deal. Tried all my tricks for grounding uncomfortable psychedelic states, but as I said, for whatever reason I'm bad with lots of weed. At one point I think I was just spinning a circle for 20 minutes repeating, "I can't deal with this" and almost in tears. At another point I was just hugging my knees and rocking back and forth trying to hang onto shreds of sanity. Really really threw me for a loop. Every time I felt like I had climbed on top of the fear and panic and was grounded again, I'd just get smashed by another wave of shaking and dry heaving and rapid heartrate and it would all start over again.
Anyways, I'm sure some people will tell me to suck it up, it's just weed, but IMHO BHO is as different from eating pot as eating pot is from smoking it, and is not getting stoned so much as having a fully psychedelic cannabis experience. Did not even imagine it was possible to have such a challenging experience with cannabis.
If you tend towards paranoia when really stoned, I would advise being careful with dabs no matter how experienced you are with other psychedelics. I've had more than my fair share of paranoid highs, but this was on another level.
I did have a rather hilarious come-down though. Not only was I a bit euphoric and relieved to not be so high anymore, I had munchies like I don't think I've had since I was a teenager getting blazed all the time. Ate like 2 bags of potato chips and a box of donuts and a bowl of cereal.
Some background. I'm in my early 40s. Been smoking off and on since I was 13 or so, though lately more off than on (smoke a bowl a couple times a month). Been through the psychedelic wringer more than once, though I don't usually indulge these days. Also note, I don't like being really high. I don't eat edibles because of this, and I rarely hit bongs. Too much cannabis makes me paranoid and terrible feeling. I can handle a few hits of LSD way better than I can handle a few bong rips of dank.
Was at a party this past weekend and some folks had an oil rig and were passing it around. Being an old fogey, I had heard of dabs but not really anything about them. I knew they were some kind of hash though, and I've smoked plenty of hash in my life so I figured WTF, I'll take only one hit off this thing and get moderately stoned. (NOTE: hash =//= BHO) Was already a bit drunk and I enjoy being stoned while drunk as the alcohol usually moderates the paranoia factor for me.
Fast forward 10 minutes and I'm straight tripping. Like seriously as high as I've ever been off of good edibles magnified by 10. Easily as disorienting as the come-up of a high dose mushroom trip, especially as I was expecting to get "a little stoned". At one point in the come up, I was blind for at least 5 minutes, everything just a blur of light and color.
Spent the next 4 hours out of my head. A few beautiful moments dancing and listening to music with full synesthesia and time warping, a few hilarious moments, but mostly a Very Bad No Good trip. Full on paranoia, dry heaving, moments of intense disorientation because I couldn't keep my eyes focused or open. The visual and auditory distortions were intense. Auditory was as intense as I've had on lots of MXE and visuals were not so much interesting hallucinations as disorienting blurs of lights and colors. At one point I was not only observing myself from behind myself but getting the full jittery framerate/strobing thing that I associate with dissociatives (and don't think I've ever experienced with cannabis). At another point I felt near-paralyzed and untethered from my body and I had dissolved into a sort of vibrating energy being.
All that would have been fine and maybe even fun and interesting (if I expected it) without the paranoia and panic from hell. Seriously felt like I was stuck in a slow motion panic attack for hours. Just kept pacing around in circles and telling people that I was too high and I couldn't deal. Tried all my tricks for grounding uncomfortable psychedelic states, but as I said, for whatever reason I'm bad with lots of weed. At one point I think I was just spinning a circle for 20 minutes repeating, "I can't deal with this" and almost in tears. At another point I was just hugging my knees and rocking back and forth trying to hang onto shreds of sanity. Really really threw me for a loop. Every time I felt like I had climbed on top of the fear and panic and was grounded again, I'd just get smashed by another wave of shaking and dry heaving and rapid heartrate and it would all start over again.
Anyways, I'm sure some people will tell me to suck it up, it's just weed, but IMHO BHO is as different from eating pot as eating pot is from smoking it, and is not getting stoned so much as having a fully psychedelic cannabis experience. Did not even imagine it was possible to have such a challenging experience with cannabis.
If you tend towards paranoia when really stoned, I would advise being careful with dabs no matter how experienced you are with other psychedelics. I've had more than my fair share of paranoid highs, but this was on another level.
I did have a rather hilarious come-down though. Not only was I a bit euphoric and relieved to not be so high anymore, I had munchies like I don't think I've had since I was a teenager getting blazed all the time. Ate like 2 bags of potato chips and a box of donuts and a bowl of cereal.
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