Maintaining Sanity in Chronic Conditions

[ProducedRaw]

We all love it but, let's be honest, cannabis comes with some side effects. It can cause depression, anxiety, concentration problems and anger. After doing some research, I've narrowed down the causes of these side effects and have found ways to alleviate them.

From what I've gathered, heavy cannabis use reduces serotonin levels which causes the anxiety, depression and anger symptoms. A simple remedy to this is taking a 5-HTP supplement, which is the precursor to serotonin. Personally, I've found that a slightly higher than normal dose is required when smoking heavily to counteract the side effect fully. I usually take 100mg before a session and also 50mg every morning and evening if I'm smoking regularly. Another route to increasing serotonin levels is taking L-tyrosine (the precursor to 5-HTP) with vitamin B6.

Next are the concentration issues. This seems to be an acetylcholine deficiency which, again, is easily solved by taking the precursor choline. You can either get a choline supplement or lecithin, which contains it among other things.

The final thing I'd recommend is a magnesium supplement. This is also linked to anxiety and depression. It isn't specific to cannabis but most of us probably smoke tobacco and drink alcohol, both of which increase the risk of magnesium deficiency, not to mention the prevalence of the deficiency in the general population (around 60% of people in the US). I originally saw the link between this and having a good cannabis high here. My personal experience confirms this.

Added up, all of these things have made a huge difference to my high and general quality of life. You can pick the supplements up at any health food shop or online.

So, greenlighters, have you found any other ways to reach the clouds more effectively?

 

[rave_itsrealfun!!!]

Completely agreed. However, supplements could never do it for me. Absolutely nothing could. I quit cold turkey and I have seen positive improvements in my life completely beyond my expectations. It was fucking up my life more than I ever could have realized in that dope obsessed, burnt out state of mind.

Why do you even require marijuana on a daily basis in the first place? Lately, I have been concentrating on things such as dream control and yin yoga to reach the clouds more effectively. And very occasional use of LSD, which I see as the only drug worth using these days. It can accelerate personal growth dramatically if you are mature enough to handle it. Believe it or not, getting high on life is quite possible.

 

[ProducedRaw]

Funny you mention that, I'm on day 2 of a break and have just been reading the cannabis quitting mega thread which got me thinking about what I'm getting out of this in the first place. I haven't been able to come up with good answers for that one. I've also been meditating a fair bit this year and can appreciate what you say about getting high on life, it really is possible. Oh, and LSD is nice, but for spiritual development, for me personally, nothing beats DMT/Ayahuasca. It's on a whole other level compared to traditional psychedelics.

 

[rave_itsrealfun!!!]

I am open to trying DMT as well as mescaline, quite excited for them but I am no longer seeking out new drug experiences because I believe they will come to me when the time is right. And ya, it's not like I woke up a changed man after dropping acid, it just triggered a period of personal growth that I have done straight sober. The high itself was pretty recreational but it definately opened doors that can never be closed.

You may be addicted to marijuana. Looking back I totally was, and that may have become your primary reason for smoking pot. It had become nothing more than a never ending compulsion. You can only get so much out of using any one drug, and after smoking it roughly 10,000 times it's no wonder it was fucking with me so bad. It's tough to admit because of the social aspects of being a stoner - no one wants to admit it does any harm because of how it should be legalized and whatnot, and all your stoner friends are going to tell you to just chill out and keep getting stoned with them.

You should at least consider abstaining from it and see how it effects you. Personally, my self esteem, concentration, energy levels, rate of spiritual growth and ability to manage my emotions have all increased. I can honestly say I will never go back. And I loved mary jane with all my heart for many years.

 

[Korn3x]

interesting post.

OP how long have you been chronically using?

i've found that the negative side effects go away with daily use over time. also, i only used to smoke during the nights. i'm currently on like a 7 or 8 week break, but i broke my streak the other day and smoked a few days ago.

at first i would say i was more productive in the evenings, but then eventually i just started procrastinating or wasting time, and then i have all of this work to do really late at night.

i'm thinking about getting back to smoking weed, although not sure. i'm hoping it can help motivate myself so that i can study hard during the day, and then know i deserved a good reward at night from a hard day's work. not sure if i should give being clean a little more time though, as maybe i'll see some more benefits in the motivational-sense?

 

[ProducedRaw]

I've experienced the same effect from psychedelics, pandora's box certainly can't be closed again. I was expecting to wake up a changed man going into it and when it didn't happen as I had expected it provided all the more motivation to take things into my own hands. And maybe that's the lesson they provide - that even an such a powerful experience won't change you unless you want to change. There's something paradoxical yet completely rational about that.

It's not the first time I'm hearing that I'm addicted to weed, to be honest. I was having some trouble with dihydrocodeine and went to a counselor about it, he told me that my weed usage was part of the problem. I was in denial about it then but now I think that he may have had a point. Luckily, I've been cutting all of my stoner and druggie friends out of my social circle (which has become rather small) over the last couple of years, so that shouldn't be an issue. I know that my life will be better after quitting and I think I understand why I didn't before - because it's the safe option. I used to be afraid of failure so I never really tried in life.

EDIT, to respond to Korn:

I've been smoking regularly for about 4 years now, and occasionally for a year or two before that.

I get the same effect where productivity, mood and all the good stuff increase initially after a break but that decays within a couple of weeks and it's back to the old unmotivated state of being. Are you finding it easy to stick to a reasonable schedule with your smoking or do you tend to fall back into the pattern?

 

[Korn3x]

well i've been smoking on and off for about 6 years, although i didn't start going into every day usage until the last year and a half or so.

i started finding myself sometimes "quitting" the day early, and it would be only like 6 pm instead of 9 or 10pm when i would start to blaze. it did produce motivation for me though, as i loved going to the gym or playing pick up basketball games high.

explain more about sticking to reasonable schedule and the pattern thing? im a lil confused what ur asking sorry.

 

[ProducedRaw]

What I mean is, how easy has it been for you to take a two month break? I haven't managed one that long in a couple of years, at the least. Usually I'll stop for 3-4 days then get the urge to light one up again.

 

[rave_itsrealfun!!!]

Interesting points here all around.

First of all, even in the depths of chronic marijuana use I have plenty of motivation to do certain things. For instance, I lift weights for 2 hours daily and love going on long cycling adventures while stoned. I also got a university degree in Engineering Physics and I was absolutely stoned out of my mind for everything, exams and all. As a stoner I felt like I had to be high for every activity I partook in. This is addiction and I was lying to myself.

I too was afraid of life which I believe was the cause of my problem. As a chronic stoner I was choosing not to live. Using MDMA and LSD made me realize that I had to change. Everything is a creation of the mind and I can choose any way of life I desire. I am choosing now to be happy and as compassionate to others as I was during my experiences rolling. Smoking weed habitually closed my mind to the point of making this way of life impossible, so I had to quit.

I too have had minor issues with hard drugs in the past, drugs that I would never even dream of using now (coke). This has been due to chronic marijuana use destroying my willfulness and ability to socialize with others. I have seen social problems occur time and time again in chronic users and it really isn't that uncommon. They usually don't even realize they can do better.

Marijuana is meant to be used on rare occasions like any other psychedelic drug. When used in this way, I find it intellectually stimulating, motivating, and it has an all around positive impact on my life. However, I no longer trust myself with the drug because I find it so easy to fall back into chronic use. It took me the longest time to quit because after 3 or 4 days I would start to feel absolutely wonderful, and I would choose to burn again because I knew I would get a lot out of the high and have a great time. Then I would instantly fall back into chronic use, even if the break prior to this was taken for up to 2 weeks and I was confident I could handle getting high again. Eventually I came to admit that I was a junkie, no better than a heroin addict, and that it was stealing all the love from my life. Me trying to receive the benefits of smoking occasionally at this point is like a heroin addict convincing himself he can shoot up every once in a while.

Although naturally I am a social being, and show compassion to all, there are very few people who I consider close friends. I can see this being a common long term effect of psychedelic use. I became far more interested in myself, and less interested in the common people of this world who seem to be interested mainly in simple pleasures such as booze and pussy. Looking back, the person I was before finding myself on the spiritual path was pretty much a robot. My level of awareness was not much higher than that of animal instinct and I believe the vast majority of the world lives like this, at least where I'm from.

EDIT just one more thing:

Quitting is never going to be easy. It takes constant vigilence and you have to always have it in the back of your mind that it's in your best interests not to be blazing. Getting high is always going to be a really easy choice to make.

 

[Korn3x]

^^
really good post. yes i started to feel that way too. i noticed that i was merely living life more passively, and i wasn't as interested in things as booze or pussy, or just going out like normal kids do in college. sure sometimes weed brings you some pussy, but you definitely don't get as much as if you were going out drinking and partying like you should be doing.

i too felt like i was maybe being afraid to live life, and it was probably how i was coping with it at the time. smoking kind of isolated me to a certain extent, and i didn't hang out with a lot of my "loose" friends as i used to. it also gave me some false confidence though, cuz it would make me feel like i was cool being a stoner, cuz even though i may be alone in a certain situation, at least i was high, and i could just see how stupid everyone else was with their drinking and partying. i felt like i was above them, but in reality they probably viewed me as a loser.

i too admit i was practically a junkie, and i would find myself thinking about how or when i was going to get high every day. no matter what i couldn't stop. and when i did finally want to take a few days off, i wouldn't be able to sleep, so then i'd find myself not being able to quit.

also, whenever i used to go home, i used to be high around the house all day. i used to have some really fun times with my little sister, and we'd go on all sorts of adventures like bike rides and what not. i feel like she would be really disappointed in me though if she knew that i was high for all of our activities, and not giving her my full attention sober.

about 2 months ago, i decided to take a break, and was even planning on quitting for the next couple years. quitting was hard, and for the first 10 days or so without weed, i was drinking pretty heavily to try and sleep at night, so that i wouldn't be too tired for school when i would get up in the mornings.

What I mean is, how easy has it been for you to take a two month break? I haven't managed one that long in a couple of years, at the least. Usually I'll stop for 3-4 days then get the urge to light one up again.

i took a month or so break a while ago, and then kind of just eased back into smoking again shortly after. i just had a friend hit me up today askin if i wanted to blaze, and i feel like i may give weed another shot. idk if this is going to fuck me or not tho. i feel like i really need to be putting a lot more effort into school, and maybe even try to get a girlfriend or something. it seems like weed just kind of fills these empty voids we have in our lives, and i feel like i'm much more socially conscious now due to my chronic use. i used to be really out-going, but now i'm a little more comfortable with just being home by myself and getting high. see, i can easily entertain myself, and if i have some drugs and my brain, i could literally have a complete blast by myself getting fucked in my apartment. this isn't to say that i don't have good friends who i hang out with, but i probably don't take advantage of every situation to hang out as i should.

 

[jamesmartin]

I thought that marijuana released ananamide (sp?) mostly . The bliss chemical.
So I'm a bit iffy about taking 5-htp . Taking it alot can fuck up ur serotonin and may also make ur body dependent on supplements.
Instead just eat foods with tyrosine or 5htp in them .
Also just because u take alot of supplement doesn't necessairly mean ur body will absorb and use all of that 5htp. If it did that's alot !

But yeah I agree on the magnesium supplementation.
Anyone know why this works ? Magnesium sounds wonderful

 

[BayHeath]

i beileve marijuana is the safest drug out here.. but i still believe that you have to use it correctly. if you use extensive amounts then it could cause is changes in your life and mood. not being happy when you're not high and wanting to smoke all the time. i smoke a good amount of time and i do it because i want to.. not because i need to. and yes there is a different.. i've never gotten anxienty or anything over not smoking. i keep it under control and try to not let myself smoke all the time. for that reason exactly and just so that i don't become dependent on it. it is a good sleep aid though!

 

[ProducedRaw]

rave_itsrealfun!!!,

I agree that it's possible to be highly functional even when moderately abusing weed, it's an incredibly forgiving substance in that sense. I've got an idea about how to overcome the 'slipping back into old habits' issue - I think that switching to edibles may work for two reasons; the first is that THC is converted into another chemical, so the feeling is slightly different and the second being that it's not the same ritual as what I'm used to. I'll try this out after the break and see if I can change the habit into something more constructive. There really are benefits to using this stuff and I don't want to give it up forever if it's possible to reprogram my behavior instead. I took a similar approach with opiates and managed to halve the dosage and increase the period between highs to several weeks.

I know what you mean about having less common ground with people who have haven't experienced psychedelic states. I can still get along with them without a problem but they simply haven't seen certain things which makes it difficult to talk about them. Robert Anton Wilson describes eight circuits of consciousness in Cosmic Trigger (which is a great book, by the way), and states that different drugs put a person in a particular circuit. Most people consume drugs which activate the more primitive parts of the brain while psychs activate the recently evolved parts.



Korn3x,

I'm suffering from some insomnia too at the moment, the supplements seem to be effective in helping with this, at least. I'm trying not to replace this habit with alcohol so I'm sticking to valerian root to fall asleep for the moment. Even so, these withdrawals are incredibly mild compared to what I experienced after an affair with Tramadol.

The part about having a blast while getting high on your own is so true. I think that it's not necessarily a bad thing, depending on what one is trying to achieve. Personally, I think that self-exploration works well when combined with solitude. I guess it's all in the intent, waste time running away and one will get nowhere, stand and face the truth and one can go far.



jamesmartin,

It seems to affect a number of neurotransmitters, from what I understand. In that first link I posted in the original post, it says that:

interact with the brain through structures called cannabinoid CB1 receptors. This study demonstrates for the first time that these receptors have a direct effect on the cells producing serotonin

Do you have any sources on 5-HTP dependency? From what I read, it seems to be benign, which is why I wasn't too worried about it.



BayHeath,

Definitely agree about it's safety profile. I didn't get these negative effects (or didn't notice them?) for a long time. With weed, that point where it goes from increasing serotonin to decreasing it can be felt if you observe what your body is telling you. I think that knowing when to slow down, both in the sense of in a single session and on a mid-term timescale can bring it back to the point where the positives outweigh the negatives again. How often, how much and what kind of strains (indicas or sativas) do you smoke?

 

[Korn3x]

^^
glad i'm not the only one who looks forward to solitary time. i was a trouble maker at a young age, so i always got put in time out by myself in my room. sometimes for over an hour, and sometimes if it was something really bad, my parents would send me to my room for the rest of the night. sometimes i didn't even get dinner (this was when i was pretty young; early grade school). maybe my self-exploration stems from these childhood experiences. i used to get so bored in my room that i would try to invent things to do to try and occupy my mind. sometimes i used to talk to myself, and i still do quite frequently (not in a schizo-like way or anything, but you know, kind of like talking from a different perspective, and i guess just keeping myself company with my other self i guess lol)

but ya i love hanging out with good friends, and i have a few that are like brothers to me. i have a lot of "loose" friends, but i don't really hang out with them that much since it's too taxing to keep up with everybody all the time. i'm definitely a fan of self-exploration though. i love taking epic bike rides by myself, or going fishing at the pier on the beach and getting stoned, just contemplating life and enjoying nature. i get stoned and go fishing with close friends too and still have a blast, but there's a time and place for everything i guess.

that's it i just cracked.. i'm making the decision to pick up trees later this evening. maybe i can motivate myself to get all my schoolwork done early so that i can enjoy this evening.

 

[rave_itsrealfun!!!]

Switching to edibles is an excellent idea that I may even consider once I've been off the stuff for a while longer. The ritual of brewing up a bong toke or rolling a joint is possibly what makes it so habit forming for us. I have no attachment to simmering up some pot in butter and eating strange tasting edibles, but I love nothing more than rolling up a nice spliff and smoking it out in nature somewhere. Another thing to think about is the constant intake of smoke our lungs are dealing with. Regardless of the lack of evidence of carcinogenic effects, it becomes very obvious it is such an unhealthy thing to do when you think about it. The lungs are a vital part of the body and should be respected, not bombarded with tar, not to mention the vast number of chemicals in weed smoke daily.

Melatonin is the solution to the insomnia issue. I was getting severe insomnia when I quit, and insomnia is a whore. Melatonin allowed me to sleep like a baby. You will rediscover the ability to dream vividly which will be more motivation to quit. It's awesome, my imagination has come alive again. You can even smoke weed in your dreams as well, I was hitting the craziest, most intricately designed beautiful glass bong I've ever seen last night in my sleep haha. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that weed ends up depleting melatonin. I found my conscious state was becoming more and more like my sleeping state; I wasn't really living.

Looking back I also developed what I believe to be anxiety from smoking pot. I never knew what to do with myself. Should I go for a run? A swim? A bike ride? Do yoga or meditate? Apply for jobs? What should I say? How should I say it? What facial expressions should I use? I often ended up doing nothing, coming across as awkward in social situations, or at least wasting a lot of time. I was very indecisive. I was lost and I believe this had to do with how I was unsatisfied with my life at the time.

Korn3x, I can relate to what you said about weed giving you false confidence. I felt like I was above everyone too, and I had it figured out, but my confidence was really at an all time low. I couldn't talk to girls, my public speaking capabilities went to shit, and people probably thought I was a total burnout.

 

[LogicSoDeveloped]

Before I start typing up my post, I wanted to go ahead and say thanks to everyone in this thread. I felt alone as hell with my problems but not any more.

So anyways I'll start my story...I was on probie for 2.5 yrs for arguing with my grandmother. She has legal connects and could get away with this. I tried pot a few times but got caught and never tried it until i got off. In the meantime, I tried many psychedelics, prescription stimulants, and a few other drugs since I couldn't really get in trouble via testing for them. I've been a pretty careful person and I've never been in trouble except with my grandmother getting me on probie.

Fastforward to when I get off. Obviously I want to smoke weed. badly. and every fucking day. I had to watch my friends smoke a shit ton for those couple years. I decided I wanted to smoke everyday to revel in my new freedom to smoke pot. I got off at the end of Sept. '10. I've missed maybe 7-8 days total since then. I've smoked A LOT of weed and developed a fairly bad habit.

I've started to notice my memory is shit, my appetite is odd, I get anxious, have trouble focusing and most of all, I'm lazy as fuck. I hardly have energy any more. So I've decided to cut back; a lot. I smoked this morning even though I told myself I wouldn't but that was 12 hrs. ago. I really really want to smoke but I know the only way I can be clear headed and normal again is if I smoke on occasion and make it more of a special thing than a constant one.

I just don't want to be dependent on pot and forced to go through w/d's when I can't smoke. I know they're not bad but they're just really annoying, like on vacation (out of town) when I barely eat 2 bites at most meals but at family get togethers, I eat like a beast.

I also overthink things quite a bit and I've noticed myself becoming bored more easily. I'm noticing more as I type :/ but I think I'm starting to go in the right direction. I actually tried to get something accomplished today.

It hasn't been easy; I got in a fight with this girl I'm talking to today and my grandmother is leaving any moment to back to the hospital. Her cancer is hurting her pretty bad. Its hard to stay strong but I'm trying. I just never thought pot could be like this. It may seem like I'm overblowing the situation but in all honesty, I'm just a kid, 18, and this has been a big issue for me.

 

[Korn3x]

^^
when i quit smoking, i had the craziest/trippiest dreams. they would usually be so intense and real that i would wake up at least once or twice a night, and i would really have to think about if what just happened was real or not. sometimes it would even take me a little while to figure out. i would think that it had been a real event that happened a week ago or something at first, but then as the minutes would pass by, i'd finally realize it was just a dream. it was crazy cuz i'd lay back down and go back to sleep and 9/10 times i'd always end up being able to return to the dream, which is something that normally doesn't happen for me.

and i tried benadryl and pretty much everything (didn't try melatonin though), but i think i was just so used to being messed up in the evenings that my brain was like overactive too. plus i take adderall which doesn't help the situation, even though i normally sleep fine when taking it (either sober or high). drinking worked pretty well for me, although it would get tedious. i'd wake up at like 3 in the morning, then lay awake til 5 am until i couldn't take it anymore, and just pour myself shot after shot of vodka until i'd be able to pass out. then i'd have to wake up for classes lol. luckily i only woke up with a hangover twice. eventually i started tapering with just a little vodka, and a 25 mg of benadryl.

 

[Korn3x]

Before I start typing up my post, I wanted to go ahead and say thanks to everyone in this thread. I felt alone as hell with my problems but not any more.

So anyways I'll start my story...I was on probie for 2.5 yrs for arguing with my grandmother. She has legal connects and could get away with this. I tried pot a few times but got caught and never tried it until i got off. In the meantime, I tried many psychedelics, prescription stimulants, and a few other drugs since I couldn't really get in trouble via testing for them. I've been a pretty careful person and I've never been in trouble except with my grandmother getting me on probie.

Fastforward to when I get off. Obviously I want to smoke weed. badly. and every fucking day. I had to watch my friends smoke a shit ton for those couple years. I decided I wanted to smoke everyday to revel in my new freedom to smoke pot. I got off at the end of Sept. '10. I've missed maybe 7-8 days total since then. I've smoked A LOT of weed and developed a fairly bad habit.

I've started to notice my memory is shit, my appetite is odd, I get anxious, have trouble focusing and most of all, I'm lazy as fuck. I hardly have energy any more. So I've decided to cut back; a lot. I smoked this morning even though I told myself I wouldn't but that was 12 hrs. ago. I really really want to smoke but I know the only way I can be clear headed and normal again is if I smoke on occasion and make it more of a special thing than a constant one.

I just don't want to be dependent on pot and forced to go through w/d's when I can't smoke. I know they're not bad but they're just really annoying, like on vacation (out of town) when I barely eat 2 bites at most meals but at family get togethers, I eat like a beast.

I also overthink things quite a bit and I've noticed myself becoming bored more easily. I'm noticing more as I type :/ but I think I'm starting to go in the right direction. I actually tried to get something accomplished today.

It hasn't been easy; I got in a fight with this girl I'm talking to today and my grandmother is leaving any moment to back to the hospital. Her cancer is hurting her pretty bad. Its hard to stay strong but I'm trying. I just never thought pot could be like this. It may seem like I'm overblowing the situation but in all honesty, I'm just a kid, 18, and this has been a big issue for me.

ya i definitely don't recommend smoking pot all day at 18, unless it's like summer or something lol.

i haven't noticed too much of a decreased motivation or memory loss, and actually when i started smoking every day i actually had some of my best semesters at my university. i have ADD tho, so the weed probably benefited me more than someone who doesn't.

i always kept my smoking to nights, except for the rare occasion i'd smoke in the morning of a day of classes that weren't really that important.

you'd be surprised how normal you become on it over time. my roommates wouldn't even know i was high unless i told them.

p.s. just picked up a sack a little bit ago. tonight is the night i re-indulge in my long lost love lol. i actually was more productive at studying today, knowing i had this to look forward to earlier on. let's hope i can keep it up!

 

[rave_itsrealfun!!!]

Yeah I agree that I became very normal too. Nobody could tell I was stoned, they probably just thought I was a shy guy (which I'm not at all normally). In fact, at the end of it when I was smoking an ounce a week in bong, I wasn't even getting high anymore. I was just getting the negative effects that were mentioned in the first post of this thread, worse and worse as time went on. I eventually became suicidal which is what it took for me to stop.

@LSD, learn to control your pot smoking while you're young before you burn out for years and years like I did. Or better yet just quit and stick to the odd psych. You'll become so burnt out all you'll be able to do when you wake up in the morning is get high again. It weakens the mind. The longer you smoke, the harder it is to control and before you know it you might be 25 and realized you've missed out on a lot of life. For instance, since I became awkward socially around new people while burning out all day, and I was stoned from morning to night every day of university, I missed out on fulfilling my wildest sexual fantasies with many, probably 30 or so beautiful girls who clearly wanted my cock. At rare short times when I have been sober in life, since I'm a jacked and chill engineer I have had no problems with girls at all. I don't like the idea of regret but I can't describe my feelings any other way. I cannot stress how serious this problem has become; it is SO hard for me to stop now. And all it takes is the decision to smoke once, and there goes another, who knows how long, 3 months of my life you know? Before I run out of cash, or some random situation in life prevents me from getting high for a couple days and I realize what I've done to myself.

At the moment I am having roughly 10 vivid dreams per night. I wake up multiple times, recall my crazy experiences, and then fall right back into another alien world. My imagination is just out of control. I can experience all the senses on the flip side in the same way, and I have been lucid dreaming every night as well, often multiple times. I've been off it for weeks, not quite a month yet but it hasn't let up at all. I actually love this and look forward to visiting the flip side every night and it's further motivation for me to stay off pot. It really isn't getting any easier and I'm worried I'm gonna decide to blaze one day when I'm in a bad mood or something but I really can't afford to do that at this point. I need to get a job and a girl before I waste any more of my life.

 

[Chainer]

From what I've gathered, heavy cannabis use reduces serotonin levels which causes the anxiety, depression and anger symptoms. A simple remedy to this is taking a 5-HTP supplement, which is the precursor to serotonin. Personally, I've found that a slightly higher than normal dose is required when smoking heavily to counteract the side effect fully. I usually take 100mg before a session and also 50mg every morning and evening if I'm smoking regularly. Another route to increasing serotonin levels is taking L-tyrosine (the precursor to 5-HTP) with vitamin B6.

You've gathered wrong