Suffer from sever anxiety/panic....

[Ringo88]

So, I used to smoke weed daily. Probably every day for about 6-7 years.

I then, about 3 years ago, got addicted to Xanax. Worst decision of my life.

Flash forward 3 years, and I'm down to 7.5mg of Valium a day, when I was once on euaicalent of 40.

Id like to use marijuana as a sleep tool, and would really like to be able to enjoy the high.

I can't smoke anymore, because my asthma is pretty bad.

I have dabbled in edibles, and has a very bad experience a couple of weeks ago when I ate too many firecrackers.

Was like a bad acid trip. Weed, unfortunately, tends to give me panic attacks now.

Is there any way I could micro dose, and just get enough to be semi high?

I can only eat it, I won't smoke it.

What would you guys recommend? Is it a lost cause with my anxiety?

 

[mrsnowygrainius]

i literally have/ had the same problem you do and actualy made a thread about it a few weeks ago, unfortunately no one gave me any advice or really even commented on it

my short story- was a pothead/ smoked everyday for months, got addicted to heroin, went join suboxone for 4 years, started smoking weed again...

when I first started smoking again the paranoia/ insanity I got from it was too much to bear BUT i noticed that after the negative effects would go away I was left just a sleepy, burnt out feeling which was PERFECT for me

so my cdvi e to you would be to literally just take one hit, pack a very small bowl, use a little spoon bowl, and take one small hit, then put it away.

this seems to work for me as the small hit doesn't really give me that pot high, but just the burnt out, sleepy feeling with I love for right before bed time.

 

[catslayer]

If you could get some low THC strain with high CBD that would be great. You still get high but it's VERY light and mellow. So yea CBD edibles id try that out.

 

[herbavore]

^But CBD will not really work for sleep if insomnia is a big issue.

I had a similar trajectory with pot but not to the point of panic attacks or extreme anxiety--but enough anxiety to make me stop many years ago. Fast forward to post menopausal insomnia and I started making edibles. My suggestion is to do the normal good sleep hygiene after eating a reasonable amount for you (after your firecracker experience you now have an idea of what is too much). See sleep hygiene suggestions here. eat the edible about an hour before you wish to sleep and that you would normally feel tired; that way you start to feel the benefits as you are falling asleep and may continue to get more high when you are already asleep, avoiding any possible anxiety. This is what works for me. Also, I always use a heavy or pure Indica strain. Good luck.

 

[kendo33]

Try grandaddy purp. I'm in Seattle and anytime I run low on Xanax or whatever it works like a dream. There are other strains but it's up to the user... personally I prefer a lil oxy, zan and a hit or two off the relaxing strains, good luck..

 

[ErgicMergic]

Cannabis is not for everyone. It can cause or exacerbate pre-existing anxiety, especially after abusing it like you did. This can manifest in the form of thought loops, physical anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, depersonalization, or generalized anxiety.

Do not underestimate the psychedelic potential of non-CBD-bred cannabis.

Having said that, it helps my anxiety in low doses every 2 hours at the most (50-100mcg = 0.05-0.1g, with 0.07g being a sweet spot), and can cause thought loops in high doses, especially hybrid/sativa strains. This is why I recommend all tokers to weigh out their doses before smoking if you are trying to reach a sweet spot in dosages. It's a plant that contains a plethora of psychoactive constituents, the side effects of which are highly dose-dependent.

 

[ShroomySatori]

Congrats on getting your benzo dose down. If you really enjoy the other effects of weed apart from giving you anxiety, there is probably a way you could find to enjoy it, especially if you are somewhere you have access to a wide variety of medical grade strains. The effects of different weeds can be quite remarkable.
Also, it might not exist yet. Medical marijuana is still being developed and there are a lot of interesting things happening at the frontier. Eventually there will be not just CBD isolates but many other natural cannabinoids than THC will be hopefully looked into. The are many different ways of consuming cannabis as well which provide distinct differences in effect. For instance, taking an edible or activated THC has a very different effect than smoking weed and not just duration and onset, the high is plain way different. It's strong but more sedating. I'm sure you could find something if you need to destress, and maybe being okay with getting a little anxious would be good too (set and setting might be key here, taking a THC capsule or something with a slower onset than smoking, in a comfortable atmosphere is probably your best bet).