Prescription benzos; weed doesn't get me high anymore.

[ac420]

Since being put on 1mg Alprazolam a day for a couple months, I don't seem to get high anymore. I used to smoke about an 1/8th a day but now even after months tolerance break I don't get high, maybe only more relaxed in combination with the Alprazolam.

I don't get the insights and ideas, or how certain things would be hilarious, but only more relaxed. Does anyone know if this is typical, is it the interaction between them and is there a way to get back that same old high?

 

[《Plasticity》]

What's likely happening is the psychedelia is being reduced by the benzo causing an "incomplete" high. Whenever I smoke weed on benzos I can litterally smoke myself to sleep without running into a single trippy thought, though I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm not high... I still get high, pleasantly so, however it's just a strictly body oriented high. Benzodiazepines have a tendency to erase the mind of any freefloating thoughts and for most this is the best part of getting high, receiving that instant change in perception that causes you to look at things from another perspective not normally attainable from a sober mind.

I guess a plus would be that it's near impossible to get the odd paranoia filled high depending on the benzo dose, however if this was never a problem this is not really a strong benefit either. My suggestion? Smoke heady sativas or extracts like shatter or hash to try and get that psychedelic headspace to breakthrough or lower your benzo dose, if possible. I also tend to find that vaporization causes a really spacey, trippy high...edibles may do the trick too. If all that fails then your gonna have to live with it unfortunately, or drop the benzo.

 

[ac420]

I did use to get some anxiety with sativas but no real paranoia. I find shatter to bring up my tolerance too fast but since it's less freqeunt now I'll have to try that out.

 

[Toz]

Since being put on 1mg Alprazolam a day for a couple months, I don't seem to get high anymore. I used to smoke about an 1/8th a day but now even after months tolerance break I don't get high, maybe only more relaxed in combination with the Alprazolam.

I don't get the insights and ideas, or how certain things would be hilarious, but only more relaxed. Does anyone know if this is typical, is it the interaction between them and is there a way to get back that same old high?

One of the main effects of cannabinoids is to reduce GABA release. Benzodiazepines are positive allosteric modulators of GABA (meaning they increase the effectiveness of GABA at GABA receptors). So the effects sort of counter each other. I know exactly what you mean, I take pregabalin (a drug that increases GABA release) and I have the same problem. I don't really get that high anymore, I mostly get relaxed with pain relief. It sucks but I'll take it over the pain any day of the week. The only thing to do here is have a long break and then smoke less often and hope it works because of tolerance reduction or simply taper down the benzos.

 

[VitamaN]

Yuuuup. Benzos are stronger than THC and its counteracting your positive effects. That sucks. Do what Toz said

 

[Jibult]

(Now hey now, I'm making a lot of assumptions in this post and I know it-- my apologies if I make an ass out of myself or anyone else: )

I'm thinking that you may've used weed as an anxiolytic. When you smoked, a big part of the high you noticed was likely a reduction in anxiety. When you were prescribed Xanax, the benzo' started taking care of your anxiety, leaving you at a relatively average (for the average person) baseline. Now when you smoke, you're already experiencing reduced anxiety thanks to your prescription, so the weed is having no effect on your non-existent anxiety nowadays and, since that was likely a large factor in why you kept smoking, the high feels different. Less high, if you will.


My money's on your head's just more-- err.... "right"-- than it used to be and your weed-smoking isn't about self-medication anymore. You're getting to know a different side of the plant.

 

[oXyboss14]

I know what u mean.. I could be on benzos and smoke smoke and smoke hours in a row and hardly feel it .. Only on benzos though

 

[Mysterie]

benzos are supposed to be a short term intervention, do urself a favor, and get off the chems, gov wants us to be docile and unemotional, rise up and revolt!!!666

 

[Snake_Eyes]

One of the main effects of cannabinoids is to reduce GABA release. Benzodiazepines are positive allosteric modulators of GABA (meaning they increase the effectiveness of GABA at GABA receptors). So the effects sort of counter each other. I know exactly what you mean, I take pregabalin (a drug that increases GABA release) and I have the same problem. I don't really get that high anymore, I mostly get relaxed with pain relief. It sucks but I'll take it over the pain any day of the week. The only thing to do here is have a long break and then smoke less often and hope it works because of tolerance reduction or simply taper down the benzos.

I thought lyrica didn't bind to GABA receptors and worked through calcium channels or some shit?

I'm a daily weed user(vapor and AVB capsules). I've been on lyrica for a couple years and recently came off a year long temazepam dependency and I didn't have any problems getting high, yeah it is a different kind of high but a high none the less. I usually only take my lyrica at night so when I get off work I'll often enjoy a weed only high. I don't particularly like getting high on lyrica but I need my weed to sleep so combo it is...weed and benzos I very much enjoyed.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I thought lyrica didn't bind to GABA receptors and worked through calcium channels or some shit?

Your right, it doesn´t, even though it was originally believed to do so.

This is from Wikipedia:

"Like gabapentin, pregabalin binds to the α2δ (alpha-2-delta) subunit of the voltage-dependent calcium channel in the central nervous system. Pregabalin decreases the release of neurotransmitters including glutamate, norepinephrine, substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide.[21] However, unlike anxiolytic compounds (e.g., benzodiazepines) which exert their therapeutic effects through binding to GABAA, pregabalin neither binds directly to these receptors nor augments GABAA currents or affects GABA metabolism (Pfizer Inc., 2006)."

 

[mabzie55]

Yup. Benzos completely kill a weed high.

I've taken a very small benzos dose and smoked 10 times the normal amount that would get me 10/10 high and didn't even get high at all.

If you want to get high on pot it's best to not take benzos.

 

[Jibult]

Yup. Benzos completely kill a weed high.

I disagree. Xanax or Valium and weed are my favorite drug combinations. A benzo' might sharpen or dull certain parts of your marijuana intoxication, but kill it outright? Absolutely not.


I feel like a person not used to the effects of a benzodiazepine might feel this way, but not anybody that's used the stuff regularly. I can see how it'd be easy to let a dose of Xanax overpower a weed high, but it's not something that's automatic. If you give in to the drowsy, knock-you-right-the-fuck-out aspect of a benzo' high, yeah, definitely, you're not going to pay the weed any mind and it's probably a waste of money to even smoke in that condition.

Me, though? I like Xanax for that lowered inhibition, drunk-without-being-drunk, happy pill, mother fuckin' Felix-Felices-in-a-bar feeling, and I just don't get drowsy on the stuff at all anymore. It perks me up.... Doc' said that's a sign of addiction, though, so... hey, I might not be the best guy to be taking advice from on benzo'+herbal combos.

 

[Toz]

I thought lyrica didn't bind to GABA receptors and worked through calcium channels or some shit?

I'm a daily weed user(vapor and AVB capsules). I've been on lyrica for a couple years and recently came off a year long temazepam dependency and I didn't have any problems getting high, yeah it is a different kind of high but a high none the less. I usually only take my lyrica at night so when I get off work I'll often enjoy a weed only high. I don't particularly like getting high on lyrica but I need my weed to sleep so combo it is...weed and benzos I very much enjoyed.

Lyrica does inhibit calcium channels as it's main target but it also enhances gaba release through reversal of the gaba transporter GAT1. (source is here: http://www.seizure-journal.com/article/S1059-1311(02)00295-9/fulltext). I also don't know if it's still debated weather or not it binds to certain GABA B heteroreceptors located on glutamatergic cells. It also activates the enzyme GAD1 which turns glutamate into GABA.

If you just take lyrica at night it wouldn't affect your high the next day. It's much worse than benzos when it comes to ruining it :/ I need to take 3x 300mg daily for the pain and I don't even smoke much any more because it's not much fun with the medicine.

Sometimes a small dose of GABAergics with weed can be nice of you are easily prone to anxiety/paranoia, however if you never suffer these things, it will just dull the high and make it sort of boring in my opinion.