Hello Bluelighters!
I have a few questions about the endocannabinoid system and some and personal experiments observations about Cannabis I'd like to share.
I'd smoked Cannabis for many years, but then got away from it when I was older and raising a family. Toward the end of my use I noted an up-tick in an anxiety reaction, which as evidenced by the posts in this forum, is quite common.
A year or so ago I began having some anxiety symptoms due to some personal life challenges, although I'd had occasional bouts before, this was more persistent (and unfortunately hereditary in my case). I recalled wistfully all the many times I'd been able to "chill" because of cannabis, and longed to try it again, but figured I'd better try the Doctor first. After consulting a doctor on the anxiety issues and getting only a prescription to xanax (which I had reservations about), I decided to find some good old fashioned weed and try it out again. Bad news, anxiety reaction is what I found, the opposite of what I wanted.
But I'm a persistent fellow and figured since I had the stuff, why not try to figure out if there was a way to make it useful. The first thing I did was get a vaporizer, and that certainly helps, but was not a full solution. I began to try to study the "anxiety" response, for example I tracked my heart rate. As has been reported in the literature as a negative side effect of using cannabis, I found I was having a dramatic increase in my heart rate on occasions, spiking as high as 136 BPM (a rate I normally have to be exercising to reach). As has also been reported with others, I saw a decided reduction in motor function (a ball catch exercise being the control measurement). I finally also noted a slight palsy (with only some strains).
I finally figured out that using a very small amount of cannabis would result in a considerable reduction of the negatives, while giving me a very pleasant low-level buzz. Eureka! OK, maybe not rocket science here, but on the right track!
I tried a few strains, and all were quite usable if I kept the dosage very low. I don't have lab equipment to accurately measure the dosage, but I'd bet the amount I use (grounded) is about 1/16th-1/20th of a teaspoon. About 1/2 the volume of a pencil's eraser (the portion that is exposed on a pencil, to be precise).
I'm now wondering if we could actually improve cannabis by breeding out the specific chemicals that produce some of the unpleasant effects, and leave the ones we like.
A good place to start might be the issue of increased heart rate. I'd like to try to understand more exactly how cannabis can increase heart rate. I suspect that the cannabis is interacting with the nervous system area that goes into effect during a normal stressful event. It's well known that being scared for example increases your heart rate. However, during these times respiration also normally increases, and cannabis does not elicit this response (at least not what I've read). This would suggest that cannabis is eliciting only a partial equivalent of a stress response in the nervous system now.
I'm wondering if it would be possible to isolate the specific chemicals in cannabis that generates the increased heart rate, and breed it out (or breed something else in the block it)? Or is the chemical that causes the heart rate increase the same that makes cannabis fun to use and good for "chillin'" (CBD or THC)?
Do we have any precise ideas about what chemicals in cannabis cause the increased heart rate?
Thanks for anyone's informed and insigtful replies!
PS. I've found that doing mindfulness exercises is the best approach for anxiety.
I have a few questions about the endocannabinoid system and some and personal experiments observations about Cannabis I'd like to share.
I'd smoked Cannabis for many years, but then got away from it when I was older and raising a family. Toward the end of my use I noted an up-tick in an anxiety reaction, which as evidenced by the posts in this forum, is quite common.
A year or so ago I began having some anxiety symptoms due to some personal life challenges, although I'd had occasional bouts before, this was more persistent (and unfortunately hereditary in my case). I recalled wistfully all the many times I'd been able to "chill" because of cannabis, and longed to try it again, but figured I'd better try the Doctor first. After consulting a doctor on the anxiety issues and getting only a prescription to xanax (which I had reservations about), I decided to find some good old fashioned weed and try it out again. Bad news, anxiety reaction is what I found, the opposite of what I wanted.
But I'm a persistent fellow and figured since I had the stuff, why not try to figure out if there was a way to make it useful. The first thing I did was get a vaporizer, and that certainly helps, but was not a full solution. I began to try to study the "anxiety" response, for example I tracked my heart rate. As has been reported in the literature as a negative side effect of using cannabis, I found I was having a dramatic increase in my heart rate on occasions, spiking as high as 136 BPM (a rate I normally have to be exercising to reach). As has also been reported with others, I saw a decided reduction in motor function (a ball catch exercise being the control measurement). I finally also noted a slight palsy (with only some strains).
I finally figured out that using a very small amount of cannabis would result in a considerable reduction of the negatives, while giving me a very pleasant low-level buzz. Eureka! OK, maybe not rocket science here, but on the right track!
I tried a few strains, and all were quite usable if I kept the dosage very low. I don't have lab equipment to accurately measure the dosage, but I'd bet the amount I use (grounded) is about 1/16th-1/20th of a teaspoon. About 1/2 the volume of a pencil's eraser (the portion that is exposed on a pencil, to be precise).
I'm now wondering if we could actually improve cannabis by breeding out the specific chemicals that produce some of the unpleasant effects, and leave the ones we like.
A good place to start might be the issue of increased heart rate. I'd like to try to understand more exactly how cannabis can increase heart rate. I suspect that the cannabis is interacting with the nervous system area that goes into effect during a normal stressful event. It's well known that being scared for example increases your heart rate. However, during these times respiration also normally increases, and cannabis does not elicit this response (at least not what I've read). This would suggest that cannabis is eliciting only a partial equivalent of a stress response in the nervous system now.
I'm wondering if it would be possible to isolate the specific chemicals in cannabis that generates the increased heart rate, and breed it out (or breed something else in the block it)? Or is the chemical that causes the heart rate increase the same that makes cannabis fun to use and good for "chillin'" (CBD or THC)?
Do we have any precise ideas about what chemicals in cannabis cause the increased heart rate?
Thanks for anyone's informed and insigtful replies!
PS. I've found that doing mindfulness exercises is the best approach for anxiety.
