Marijuana and paranoia

I was thinking about the paranoia brought on by smoking marijuana and was wondering whether the paranoia is caused by the marijuana itself or the conditions under which people first smoke marijuana?
Most people's first time smoking is usually done knowing full well that it is illegal. Most have either heard or read the scare tactics brought out by government's and media on the dangers of marijuana (and all drugs) and most people's first times smoking is usually done in an environment that's not fully suitable for the experience (i.e. a session in someone’s car in the middle of nowhere, someone’s house while the parents are out etc). I’m sure most people would prefer to be in the safety of their own house or a safe public place instead of having to sneak around and hide what they are doing.
If peoples first experiences with marijuana were done in a friendly instead of hostile environment would they therefore have reduced paranoia as what they are doing isn't illegal, isn't frowned upon in society and wont get them in trouble with parents/law/criminals etc?

hell yeah well there my thoughts anyway...... would we still get paranoid if we didnt have to sneak a few cones in some dim-lit park praying to god that every1 set of headlights doesnt belong to a police vehicle???? I think not....
not to mention for those that live at home still the paranoia that one of your parents was gonna rock up. gets ya jumping at any noise.
however i think you smoke alot for long enough your still gonna get paranoid tho. legal or not

My guess (based on experience, not on empirical fact) is that the paranoia is brought on by the mindset of the smoker. Smoking isn't guaranteed to bring on paranoia but if there is something troubling me just before I light up then it means there will be a good chance of me obsessing over it.
Like the other night, I work in a prestigious law firm as a shitkicker and was extremely rude to a bitchy solicitor when she asked me to do a demeaning task for her. I was a bit worried about this incident when I sparked up and by the time I was well and truly blazed I was convinced that I was going to lose my job over it. When I spoke to my supervisor about the incident I got a pat on the back about it cos everyone thinks she's a bitch. No repurcussions. Score! Ah aah, paranoia!

I think paranoia is all about the person, their experience and the setting. I know heaps of people who have never gotten paranoia or other adverse effects from weed, while I have seen plenty freak out and be on the phone telling their parents that are about to die and need to go to hospital (after 1 cone ). I think the more often you smoke the more, when you feel a bit weird, you can tell your self "I have been toking this is normal" and then laugh it off.

Why are you mentioning paranoia? Are you insinuating I have paranoia? Why would I have any paranoia? What makes you post this in this forum of all forums? I don't like this...... :D
Seriously, yeah, I think a lot of the paranoia comes from the fact that you're conditioned to feel and act like a criminal.
--- G.

^^ Bloody oath it is. If it was perfectly fine to go up to a cop and spark up a spliff, paranoia would be far less common. I'd say about 90% of people get paranoid from that fact that they think there's a cop close by or you might get in trouble with your parents or anyone you don't want to get caught by.
[ 15 March 2003: Message edited by: Technic ]

Your mindset definitely affects whether or not you get paranoia on weed, but the weed does make it easier to go down a paranoid line of thought. I never get paranoid on E for example I think weed does affect people's relationships in a subtle way though if they smoke reasonably often. I know a few people very well who do, and they are always the ones that end up finding stupid problems with their partners... I think the effect is quite subtle - not paranoia - but it makes it easier to dwell on negative stuff. As with all drugs, I reckon it is important to montitor yourself every so often and see if they are affecting your attitudes, mindsets and so on in a negative way...

Depends on set and setting IMHO...

Smoking up in a local park with some guy you just met@ 12:21am is cause for paranoia, whereas sitting at home with a few mates enjoying a bill isn't......

Gotta say - I have never got paranoid from smoking a brew...! Whereas smoking pot chills and mellows most people out, it actually makes me go way hypo and real loopy - spinning heaps of crap and stuff. The only type of paranoia (if you can call it that) that I get, is that sometimes after I say something wacky, I sometimes worry that the person I said it too misunderstood it and took it the wrong way, and that I may have offended them. I always get over it, though, and keep having fun! :D

A lot of my mates, however, get major paranoia off pot. I reckon it's just the way they are. I don't think it's got anything to do with where you first tried it.

Oh yeah - another thing I hate is when you start a night at a party where you reckon you'll know everyone. You smoke a brew, and then a bunch of people you don't know show up. I'm hopeless at meeting new people at parties when I'm bent! It's really uncomfortable, and I end up not enjoying myself, and just wishing I'd straighten up.

This is strange, though, coz I actually love getting bent during the day, and then going to a busy shopping centre, and talking really wacked up shit to cute girls in shops. It's kinda strange, coz they actually seem to like it...!

To sum up - marijuana is strange.

Meeting new people while stoned... is an effort. They want to ask you questions about what you do and who you are, and all you want to do is give them a nod and say "hey...".

Sure, if you're a little bit stoned, you can talk shit and come up with a million different stories and be interesting... but if you're out of your brain - forget it imho. Hehe

BigTrancer

marijuana + benzos = no paranoia

a small pipe and I am fine.


anything more than that then suddenly I am Johhny McParanoid

I saw ashirt once that saod Parinoia is just a higher conciousness

think about it..

I think if some stupid stoner way back in the sixties didn't mention parinoia we might not of thaught about it at all

just like that bastard that was tripping and mentioned reality

I was just thinking about this the other day. I would agree, except I think being paranoid just about the police is the only the beginning! I've been paranoid about my friends, boyfriend, large inanimate objects, trees, house bricks etc etc (hee hee)
But has anyone found that a certain batch of pot will make them more paranoid than another? For example we know that pot harvested at different times in the growth process can have different effect- could it also effect paranoia? I may be imagining it, but some pot seems to have no paranoid effects, whereas other separate batches can be really bad- could be imagining it though. What does everyone else think?

BT - that is EXACTLY what it's like. Well said...! I HATE it when someone asks me what I do for a living while I'm bent. When I'm like that, I just don't want to have to think about real life and stuff.

Similarly, it's like when you go to a supermarket when you're bent. The other day, me and my crew went to the supermarket for some steaks for the BBQ. We were very feschnickered, and what should have taken only 4 or 5 minutes literally ended up taking a full half hour...! We just had no decision-making power at all...! Decision-making is the last thing ya wanna do when you're bent...! 8(

BigTrancer said:

Meeting new people while stoned... is an effort. They want to ask you questions about what you do and who you are, and all you want to do is give them a nod and say "hey...".

Sure, if you're a little bit stoned, you can talk shit and come up with a million different stories and be interesting... but if you're out of your brain - forget it imho. Hehe

BigTrancer

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i get paranoia when i smoke really strong hydro, often nasty unflushed stuff tasting of chemicals... some of it seems to be related to my mood at the time, but ive never gotten paranoid off bushies. Not your average 'cop' paranoia mind you, but an obsessive overanalysing of everything people say, to the point where theres a hidden message behind everything(and its not nice) makes it very hard to socialise