Sad The Dark Side of Cannabis to me. Experiencing schizophrenia.

[DrZaius1]

That's rough to read, so sorry to hear this. Please consider giving life some more time before taking a decision you cannot reverse.

Can you tell us - was that your first time with cannabis and, if not, what's your cannabis history like? You carried on using cannabis after you became psychotic?

No stress if you don't wanna answer mate. If you ever need an ear please pm.

I’d been smoking for almost a year without problems. Started with stuff I grew myself then I bought a couple bags from a dealer. I started a new bag and heard voices one night. I just wish I wasn’t religious before this because I really thought I was talking to God so embraced most of the voices instead of ignoring them.

I yelled at a few people and threw out a lot of stuff from the house that’s what got me reported and the Cops came around with Psych team and I told ‘‘em to fuck off the Cops just hauled me out to the Ambulance straight to the Psych ward. I dont think they had any right to be at my house but my stupid Mum let them in.

I haven’t smoked anything since.

 

[ageingpartyfiend]

I really don't agree with this much at all. Lots of recent and well-designed studies, tons, about it as a prime factor leading to all kinds of mental health issues.

Hi, can you link me to some of these studies? As you have commented on them I'm guessing you must have read some and if there are 'tons' it shouldn't be an issue? Thanks in advance

 

[foodcrisis]

Hi, can you link me to some of these studies? As you have commented on them I'm guessing you must have read some and if there are 'tons' it shouldn't be an issue? Thanks in advance

i thought i read that people are going to psychiatrists in places where weed has been legalized more and the article made it sound like weed's fault. this site https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.20230434 says that cannabis use is more frequent among people experiencing psychiatric care, but then it says after the results section "The review findings revealed a paucity of research and indicated mixed and largely inconclusive results of the studies examined." so i have no idea... the first article i was talking about that i can't find definitely made it sound like more people were visiting the psych doctors because of weed or at least that they were using weed and needing to see a doctor... i dunno maybe i'm reading wrong if this doesn't sound right.

if you do a search about the negative psychological efffects of marijuana a bunch of sites are going to pop up... i think other than schizophrenia the main problems people have with weed are going to be being burnt out (doesn't jive with some people's lives) or having bad experiences with their high. these people should realize pretty quickly that weed is not for them, like you said one of your friends did as time went on...i don't think weed would permanently effect those types of people. i don't see that as a problem. plenty of people try alcohol and don't like it. different strokes for different folks..... schizophrenia and weed is usually a no go (but that's less than 1 percent of the population supposedly. i think there might be more schizos than documented they just haven't been diagnosed, but still prob not that many schizo people), but some schizos deal with weed and love using it. really depends on the person.. schizophrenic drug users are usually really interesting people in my experience. they usually need some sort of art or something to get them to deal with the voices... i know some creative schizos that remain drug free too though. not saying drug use is that cool or anything.

 

[foodcrisis]

out of curiousity, How are the voices when not using drugs for the OP? read the whole thing, but not sure if that was touched upon.

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

A prime factor leading to all kinds of mental health issues? Can you link me some studies? pm if need be (apols if derailing thread op)

My statement refers to my lived experience, professionally and personally involved for decades.

I have seen the damage it can do - imo/ime it can be substantial but extremely rare. Have never observed it to be directly causational either, moreso stimulate latent tendency (observe op's familial mental health predilection for example)

Yep. It CAN trigger psychosis in people who have a latent predisposition. If something like schizophrenia runs in your close family you're better off not trying it out.

 

[foodcrisis]

was also thinking about this thread after reading and posting and just want to comment

be careful thinking that lsd doesn't hit as hard as weed. most people really have no idea of their doses when taking lsd. you could've been getting tabs that aren't dosed very high. i don't know if you are continuing any of that in the future or if you will think to... if anybody gets a good dose of lsd it has the potential to be a lot stronger feeling and last a great deal longer. people with schizophrenia are usually pretty sensative to lsd.

 

[washingtonbound]

Hi guys I want to tell you about my unique experience with Cannabis and how it affects my life in the negative. I know a lot of normal people who were never “junkies” can go through life and consume Cannabis occasionally just like drinking once in a while at a party. I am definitely not in that category and I will tell you why.

First a bit background about me: Male, 23, this February I made the worst decision of my life: experimenting with illicit drugs. I didn’t do so without any motive or reason. I am in psychotherapy and very high dosage of antidepressants and sleeping pills since 2017. I was doing pretty good last year though, did a lot of things to turn my life around and it worked out so well, last fall was the first time I genuinely felt happy for the first time in 5 years!!! I met her, the first person ever I felt emotionally well with, happy with. I never would have thought I met someone who describes the words “the other part / significant other” that well.
Unfortunately this February I had the terrible life circumstances that my relationship with the love of my life broke apart due to reasons out of my control (she met a “better guy than me” .). It all crashed down on the 7th of March and that’s when I hit rock bottom. I never in my life thought a human can hit a state THAT low. I did a few drugs for about a week or two in February then stopped completely but in March I was ready to die and wanted to genuinely end it all. Then I started heavy drug use and slipped into full blown opiate addiction. Now thankfully I was stopped after 2 months and I am substituted now. Slowly tapering off. I went into details in my other post so I do not want to go into it further here.

What I do wanna talk about is the effect Cannabis has on me.
You must know 3 of my relatives on my father’s side suffer from severe schizophrenia that’s so bad that they need to indefinitely live institutionalised. A couple of other relatives have other mental illnesses too.
Why is that important? Because every time I consume THC I experience schizophrenic psychosis. Even on low doses but on higher doses it is of course stronger and worse.
The cognitive effects of Cannabis to me are that I cannot control my thoughts and almost also my actions. I start hearing voices and believing things that aren’t true. Eg classic schizophrenia symptoms: I thought people in the TV are talking to me directly, some song is written for me personally, thinking some agency tries to telepathically communicate with me. On high doses I even sometimes have slight deliric symptoms such as visual hallucinations of creatures in the shadows at night.
I must say I did a lot of drugs now but if I would say ONE drug I couldn’t and shouldn’t EVER be seen by any person is Cannabis. I am like a zombie, mumbling to myself, acting almost like those “bath salt zombies”.
If I could compare LSD to THC I would say under LSD I am a million times more capable of having a normal conversation or doing anything remotely normal. I have no psychosis on LSD.
The only “positive aspect” of THC are: immersion in music, time dilation and appetite increase (since I lost her I lost so many pounds it’s at point where it’s comical. I was always skinny but now I am a ghost. About 6’3 and 125lbs right now bc of this drug addiction and not being able to eat anything more than a slice of bread a day in weeks!!!)

Another horrible aspect is the cravings for the THC is stronger than opiates (!!!). If I have access I smoke and smoke and never stop. Every 2-3 hours I keep hitting the vaporiser. It’s like crack.
You may ask why is it so addictive if it is mostly negative to me?
Well, that’s why I put the “sad” tag on the title.
I do it as a substitute, I am a full blown addict now and need something to take me off real life. It’s so sad but it’s the truth. I am truly all alone most of the time and I cannot bear the weight and extreme pain I feel. So I prefer to be in the void, living in a world of hallucinations where voices and creatures accompany me. It’s hurting me to the nth degree but I don’t care because I am at least not alone while tripping.

I really need to quit this and let me share one wise word from me: Even if you lose EVERYTHING and think you hit rock bottom, trust me, if you start taking illicit drugs it will get even WORSE and WORSE and WORSE. There is no other way, no safe use in a state of mind like mine. Hell, I would even say all drugs are demons from the pits of hell and they control you not you control them. Every junkie thinks he has everything under control but it’s a misconception. I thought I lost everyone but now due to my psychotic rants (and sending absurd messages) I lost basically all my friends that would have been there to support me through the tough times if I was sober.
Drugs make your life worse in long-term, mid-term and short-term… honestly all terms but the very minuscule moment of being high. The few hours which are nothing in the vastness of all those years. It’s honestly not worth it. I am at a point now where I would genuinely advice everyone, even those that just want to experiment and try out Cannabis once because hey it got legalised in another EU country now, so “it can’t be that bad right?” to don’t do it. Just don’t.

My mum found me today amidst piles of trash and dust and dirty clothes and forced me to throw out everything I have left plus she destroyed and threw away my vaporiser and grinder. Maybe I can quit now? I genuinely wish so but to be honest I feel like I past the point of no return with my drug bullshit. I am too scared of what life holds for me in sobriety. I just wish I could do it one more day… but that’s what all the junkies say. “Once an addict, always an addict” holds true. It’s when you first start abusing a substance is when the devil takes control over you.
Eg I took opiates for 6 months back in 2022 after I had a surgery and I was on crutches and in physical pain for a long time. I never felt like “oh I need this for my head”. No I was glad when I got off and the withdrawal was nothing. I was surprised af that I could just taper it off in a week after taking Tilidine that long. But yea it was use of the substance and not ABuse. Hence why I wasn’t an opiate addict back then. Now I am.

Well anyways that’s about it. Long post I know. Hopefully I can help somebody out and share that Cannabis CAN have devastating effects and shouldn’t be taken likely by any means.
Adieu!

Unfortunately I've dealt with marijuana induced psychosis several times. To make matters worse I refused to give it up for several years, and still have problems abstaining. So I definitely understand where you're coming from.

The relationship between adolescent weed use and psychosis is becoming more well documented. It's not a fringe idea anymore that weed can cause it even if its not in your family history. As you are well aware, it makes things especially worse if it is in your family history.

I wish I had some groundbreaking advice for you but I've had the same problem for ten years. The psychological cravings are a huge problem, but this past year I've not had pleasant experiences as much so it makes me more likely to give it a break. Challenge your relationship with weed where you don't see the escapist effects as desirable.

Best of luck to you.

 

[superenforcer]

The same type of thing happened to my cousin when he was a teenager. Smoking weed was fine for him (or so it seemed), until it wasn’t.

After smoking weed with his friends, he went into a full blown psychotic episode and was admitted to the psych ward for months. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
His mother had a lot of the same traits, but had killed herself a few years prior to this.

He’s in his 30s now. He’s on a lot of meds, has a fair amount of independence (which is awesome), but he will never be able to live completely on his own.

 

[superenforcer]

Sending love and light your way, OP.

 

[ions]

I couldn't find the article I was looking for.
But there is a lot of good internal monologue related articles on

www.psychonautwiki.org

 

[LifeQuitter]

out of curiousity, How are the voices when not using drugs for the OP? read the whole thing, but not sure if that was touched upon.

Hi. During the come down and being sober I have no psychosis or symptoms of schizophrenia. I don‘t hear voices or see things only while blazed (don‘t have schizophrenic symptoms on LSD, etc. either)

 

[LifeQuitter]

Update: I abstained for a short time but relapsed again. The sad part about all of this is I seem to just can‘t unfuck myself no matter how hard I try. I try fixing my life, my social life, my relationships but even if I go full sober and try my best nobody gives a fuck. I am exiled forever. Living in exile is hell. Today I briefly saw my dearest Kathrin again and I must say the pain it inflicts on me is beyond comprehension. Even while substituted and a high dose of opiates the pain strives through like through a bulletproof vest. Cravings for morphine today are insane but I held myself off from buying again for now.
I will put myself into the Void with Weed tonight. Gonna smoke till lights go out and the psychosis gives me company.

One thing I noticed btw. Hash for real doesn‘t induce psychosis for me. Maybe it‘s the strain or whatever but getting blazed on hash gives me a much more soft high with no psychosis symptoms or hallucinations. If I buy again I will buy myself hash from now on and vape that instead of nuggs. Ah I guess the only downside is I need more equipment to vape hash (concentration pods but I do have those)

 

[foodcrisis]

Hi. During the come down and being sober I have no psychosis or symptoms of schizophrenia. I don‘t hear voices or see things only while blazed (don‘t have schizophrenic symptoms on LSD, etc. either)

yeah. sometimes people get schizophrenia induced by specific drugs.... i'd be careful if you end up getting some higher dosed lsd... that stuff usually makes my voices go pretty wild. i was getting underdosed tabs for a while, and didn't really realize how strong that stuff can get... i had schizophrenia before trying drugs, but not HPPD. not till really starting to dose a lot did i get HPPD.