Marijuana/Various - Novice - Tripping incredibly off a small amount of pot - Help!

[Davey123]

Hi everyone,

(I hope this is in the correct forum - if not please let me know).

I have been directed here by a friend as I wish to find people who can relate to my experiences with marijuana. My assumption is that they are totally different to what everybody else experiences, but I have no idea why.

Right now, I think it is best to keep the details and specifics of my trips to a minimum, because I could see this first post being too long where people will not read My hope is that some of you have had experiences like I have, and can then help me divulge the correct amount of information to figure out what is going on.

Ok, so basically I have done weed 4 times now. I'm mid twenties and my first experience with it was about 2-3 months ago. My friends have been giving me the correct amounts as I have no real knowledge on dosage etc. 3 of the 4 times was with my friends, the other was with my girlfriend (also a novice). The first time was using a vaporiser with my friends; I had a very small amount (according to them) of Sativa, and I had one hit, waited 10mins to take affect, then have another go if I felt ok etc. The night was relatively enjoyable, although I didn't feel a great sense of being high. I was a little buzzed, got the giggles now and again, but didn't have any feeling of "the munchies" or anything like that (which I expected).

The second time was by far the most intense. Again with my friends, again with Sativa but this time in an edible form (cake). We made a cake and cut it into 8 slices, which averaged out at 1x £20 bag (which is I think 1 gram?) + some vaped weed (idk how much - my friend added it) + some keef (again, idk how much, was whatever had built up in their grinder). I didn't know how much to have but I had the whole slice in 1 sitting. I won't go into too much detail, but it slowly built up to the point where physically the tingling feeling in my legs felt almost like my blood was bubbling/boiling, and I don't remember much visually until I tripped. Basically reality collapsed on itself, and I was dealing with a lot of deep concepts such as eternity, infinity, creation, evolution, the meaning of life, religion, etc. It sounds strange, but I specifically remember thinking that the dude who came up with the idea of the movie Inception has definitely been to the place I am now. At parts, it was the most terrified I've ever been. I specifically remember thinking I had stopped being human and "past on" to somewhere else. I was unconscious for about 1 hour, during this time all of my friends were freaking out (they were all super high too but nowhere near as bad as me). They deliberated calling an ambulance for me because I was unresponsive. I can remember the first thing I said when I came out the trip was to ask my friends something like "so I am conscious now? So this reality is the real one?" They confirmed and I never felt so relieved to be alive. The next day or so I still felt a bit "slippery" in terms of my grasp on reality, but for the most part I was ok and didn't trip again or anything.

The third time was with my gf. We used Indica. Again we made brownies (a recipe for 8-12 people) but only put in 1x £20 (1 gram I think). This resulted in us having to eat a lot of brownie to at most get to 1/2 of the dosage (minus keef minus vaped weed) I had the first time. I felt this would be a sensible way to keep track on how I was feeling and not let things get out of hand. I didn't really feel much all night, I had a slight body high, tingly legs but I didn't feel "under the influence" to the point I couldn't drive for example. At one point I briefly felt myself tripping again (it was starting the way it started the last time), but I quickly got up and washed my face a few times with cold water, came back and focussed on the movie and everything was ok.

The final time was last night. Was Indica again, with my friends and via the vape. They gave me a bigger dose this time than the first, but it was probably just a normal amount. There was 8 people with 1 bag having joints, they just gave me a little amount for the vape for myself (this is my best way to describe my dosage. I could ask my friend how much he thinks in grams if you need me to). I hit it a couple of times until it was used up (which took a couple of minutes). I was ok for a little bit, but then I tripped again. Originally it was just as terrifying and I was back in the same place I was when I first did the cake, dealing with eternity, evolution etc. I even got into the "Inception" mindset again (trying to figure out which reality was "real", what is reality? can we define it? etc). However, because this time we were in a different room and other visuals were different than my last trip, focusing on these things helped me eventually pull out of the trip. The trip is like a loop that I am caught in and get lost in and can't get out (this is how the ideas of eternity and "forever" and similar concepts come to me). When I came out of it I felt I had to struggle at times to not go back in, but focusing on what was on the TV distracted me from doing this. After a while I started to feel pretty good, I enjoyed the place I was in but I didn't ever feel far away from a trip. It felt more like a subtle struggle than an enjoyable experience. Today I still feel a bit uncomfortable about what is real even still (almost like I feel as if I'm going insane/having a nervous breakdown/etc), I think maybe the experience is perhaps still too vivid/recent right now. Even writing things in this post has made me have to focus so I don't start overthinking and potentially go somewhere I don't want to be.

Well, this post turned out much longer than I anticipated (can you imagine if I actually went into detail!? ) I hope it is interesting to everyone. My main questions are things like "wtf is wrong with me?", "why am I tripping off such relatively small amounts of this?", "is there something up with my approach to the process, or my mindset, etc?"

My understanding of weed is that it is a mellow drug to be enjoyed (although has the potential to be intense), but so much of my limited experience has been terrifying, almost to the point where I never want to do it again. I definitely will not do it again until I get answers to these questions, so maybe you guys can help me

Thank you in advance for your time reading this post, and I hope to hear from some of you soon.

 

[Black]

it's not unusual not feel much or nealy nothiner the first (or first few) times. also eating can be a lot more intense and trippy than smoking; i've seen totally trip out on cake.
maybe you're especially sensitive and simply dosed too high in your subsequent tries with vaporizing with the intense experience from eating the cake still fresh in your mind?
if you decide to dose again, i'd take one hit of a joint then wait for that to kick in before smoking more.

or maybe weed just isn't for you. but at least it puts you in a trippy mindstate and you feel sober again after a reasonable time. if i share a joint with two people it puts me in a dissociated half-awake state, that's not remotely interesting for a whole week. if i take just one hit that only lasts for 3 days. it's a strange drug that can have vastly different effects for some people...

 

[Davey123]

Thank you for your response.

A little update: my grip on reality was still very slippery almost 24hours after the trip. I think a lot of that was fear/paranoia. It got to the point where I was so frustrated that I mentally invited the trip back on, to which nothing happened. It was then that I realised I did not have to fight it, and the space I am in now is most definitely reality. I am still (almost 48 hours later) ok, but I do get absent minded and feel a little empty. My two trips have definitely made me question my definition of reality, and for now I don't know if I'm happy that I have opened this can of worms.

With regard to my last trip, if I was to learn anything from it, it would be that it focussed in on what is really important to me. Firstly my gf of almost 9 years, then my family and close friends. It was images and thoughts of these people which helped pull myself out of the never ending loop of positive and negative emotions. I also realised that I am happy with the person I am and how I treat people.

Visually with both trips there was a lot of loops, but there was definitely no kaleidoscope imagery. In fact the mental image I experienced during my blackout phases were almost entirely black and white. It was either a black blackground a white line or a white background with a black line; a line that had no beginning or end and I would follow it through different dimensions. Initially it was changing directions and formed a square, then a cube, then it almost fountained out to show a new dimension of direction. This happened continuously and each time I had a very "oh of course, why didn't I think it could do that" realisation about the new dimension the line was travelling in.

The most terrifying parts of the trips was definitely the onset. It was a sudden thought that would transcend into total negativity. The best way I can describe it at present, is that I figured out an answer to one of life's big questions, but I realised that I should never have found the answer, because the answer was horrifying. An example was that I had an overwhelming feeling that every single person who has ever lived is simply a manifestation of an emotion that a person can feel. Basically, it was as if I realised that I am God and I created anything but removed that fact from my memory so I can live infinitely through different human manifestations in ignorant bliss, but by "realising" that I am God it removed me from this world and took me back to the monochromatic dimension that all life was born from. The terrifying thing was that I was completely alone and felt as if I was trapped there forever. I have to be honest, writing this down write now is making me feel physically uneasy, my head is hurting and I feel sick to my stomach. However, reaffirming that everything here is real (or at least a reality I want to see through to the end) is comforting. However the entire experiences were both incredibly humbling, and I'm not sure I will ever be the same again.

FWIW, I do not wish to smoke in a joint form. I have a psychological issue with smoking and always have (at a young age I had a bunch of close relatives die because of lung cancer), and despite doing my research and realising that the smoking of it isn't related to cancer etc, I don't think I can smoke a joint without feeling real sadness. I would not feel good about it. The vaporiser is a bit of a grey area, but I tolerate it to experience the high in a form other than edible. The fact it's vapour and not smoke/combustion makes me slightly tolerate it. But maybe these mental barriers I have up about this thing make me more likely to trip?

So am I right in thinking that it is likely a dosage thing? I'm pretty sure my problem is that I'm getting too high, but it's probably a combination of dosage, my approach to the drug and how it is taken, but also my mindset towards the experience and how I actually deal with the high. I am a naturally cautious person and I tend to overthink things - perhaps these tendencies lead me to get more paranoid when high, fear of the lack of control, and the overthinking causes me to spiral into these trips of increasing dimensions and reality collapse to the point where time and logic becomes non-linear, and almost random.

Thoughts?

 

[Rorthron]

Davey123, thanks for your really interesting report. I myself am a late bloomer to world of drugs in general, having had very few experiences with cannabis in my teens, I got to understand its power better in my late thirties. I can relate to your experiences and I believe that age may play a part. If you are not used to "stimulate" the cannabinoid receptors, Your are certain to have a stronger response. This, coupled with adequate genetic factors (as is obviously your case), is certainly a part of the solution to your question.

But now what I say to you is: learn from your experience even if it was not particularly pleasant. You were lucky, you got really important insights about the nature of reality that will find echo in many experiences in this forum. Cannabis is great to trigger psychedelia in some lucky persons like you and me. My perspective about the world changed dramatically and, I dare say, for the better.

My suggestion for you is for you to wait before another trip at least one or two months. And next time, if you dare, be prepared to absorb as much as possible from the experience. Do not fight it, live it, and let it transform you.

 

[Davey123]

Thanks Rorthron.

Do you (or anyone) think that there could be a placebo affect happening with me - particularly in relation to my most recent negative experience? In terms of dosage, it was apparently very very small. Could it be that fear of tripping like I did on the edibles actually resulted in me doing so? Like the fear/worrying/anxiety around not wanting to go through that again served as a self fulfilling negative prophecy kind of?

If so, what do you suggest I could do to get over this? I wish to enjoy pot relatively casual (as an alternative to beer etc), relax, watch movies, eat food etc. I do not intend to trip on this drug (not often anyway). However, I fear that I am associating high with tripping to the point I cannot have one without the other.

With regard to my mindset now: I am feeling much more comfortable with this reality and confident that my experiences were just experiences/trips. I'm not 100% certain, but I guess I'll never know for sure, and maybe that's the point. Right now I just have a real sense of frustration about my apparent inability to just get high and chill with friends etc.

Any advice?

 

[Morninggloryseed]

Great writing. I wish I had more to offer beyond 'pot isn't for you' at this point in your life but that is all I can muster. But wanted to slip in that you are a very good writer.

 

[wayab]

Great writing. I wish I had more to offer beyond 'pot isn't for you' at this point in your life but that is all I can muster. But wanted to slip in that you are a very good writer.

that doesn't need to be necessarily true. he took huge doses for his first time - i mean 1 gram eaten, then vaped and smoked...

i would suggest not eating pot for the time being until you get the feel with smoking, also ask your friends to get you a lighter strain im sure if they smoke regularly they are getting the strongest they can. also the experiences you described are totally possible. if after a few more tests with smoking still freak you out then just leave it like mgs suggested.
i used to smoke a lot before but stopped - it just didn't give me what it used to. it's not great and cool for every one and it's definitely not as risk free as a lot of people are trying to make it look like(i still 100% think it should be legal though )

 

[Dancing Chick]

Weed has always been a powerful psychedelic in me. When I first started smoking it all the time, I had intense time dilation all day every day and practically kept myself in a manic state. Friends and I would get caught in thought loops, and I one time found myself floating outside of my body thinking that what I was seeing was only a two week old memory.... These days I don't get effects nearly that strong, but I have I would say around a 75% chance of having some deep personal revelation every time I smoke it. And I still smoke it almost as regularly as I used to, though I'm trying to cut back on that significantly for unrelated reasons.

I've also known a couple of people to have the kinds of trips you're talking about from it. Both of them had a similar theme actually, and so I introduced them to each other so they could discuss it. They both ended up talking to their 'souls' about reincarnation, among other things. I've also met a couple of people who I would say, relatively speaking, have stronger reactions from weed than you do.... Heck, probably stronger than most people alive from what I've seen. One of them is a guy I met online who can't smoke without having true hallucinations of people suddenly bursting into the room and attempting to communicate with him; he reacts to all drugs this strongly though, having vivid psychedelic hallucinations from MDMA and hallucinating for over 24 hours from a single dose of amphetamine. The other is a girl who is a close friend off the 'net. She seems to respond relatively normally to most drugs, and has built up enough of a weed tolerance that normally she just gets regular highs from it.... However, when she smokes just a bit too much, things get crazy. The first time that I was aware of, after a single bong hit (a huge one, but still, just one) she was getting multi-colored patterning and hallucinations of gnomes running around on the floor, and a flanging lattice of Furbies appearing behind closed eyes. The next time was just recently, and it has currently scared her away from tripping.... She took a hit out of a four foot bong, which has made even me have strong open-eye visuals, and had a full trip comparable to a strong mushroom trip, including the intensity of the visuals. She became convinced that she was stuck in hell, and saw demons coming after her. Obviously, it was uncomfortable for her.

It's worth noting that even though weed is not as commonly noted for this, cannabinoid receptors can have very powerful psychedelic effects. Just read the reports of anyone who has used a high dose of a synthetic CB1 full agonist and you will find all the evidence you need; in fact, I can point you to several reports that sound extremely similar to your experiences if I just take the time to dig them up again.... The THC in weed is nothing but a weaker version of these drugs, and so if your cannabinoid receptors just happen to be sensitive enough and you just happen to have the right mindset or brain chemistry for it, you can definitely have these kinds of trips. It's nothing to worry about, and remember that everything that happens in a trip is up to your own interpretation.... Don't let something scare you, you are in control of your own mind. The fear and anxiety you describe is actually one of the most common aspects of strong cannabinoid trips, far more consistent than any visual or other psychological changes if you ask me. What you are experiencing is a totally and completely normal reaction.

As for advice... as was suggested, I would ask your friends to get you some weaker weed to start out with. There is weed out there weak enough that most people don't buy it for that reason... go find it. You may find that your sensitivity is a blessing if you can get from that what most people usually need to shell out big bucks for. Once you've found a good level of high to cruise on too, then you can just start building up tolerance and those effects should lessen, as with anything. Then you can just work your way up to smoking when your friends smoke, and all will be good. It's just about finding what works for you, but you'll get it. If you can get that strong of an effect from it, then you can definitely get the much weaker level that you're looking for as well.

Good luck.

 

[CFH]

I had a discussion about this with a friend and she says, at least with the stuff we are smoking now it plays off the environment you are in. Chilling at home it feels really relaxed, being at a gig or around lots of people seems to sway from being a bit anxious to being completely open and free and out there. The thing I have noticed is that I stopped smoking weed years ago and have just started up again and the stuff now is much stronger than it used to be. It's no longer just a relaxant but there are some nice effects to it now that are so good, nothing psychedelic though but certaintly a very euphoric high and going towards that trippy direction which is amazing.

 

[frontbluntt]

I am also extremely sensitive to weed, for me it is a proper drug and I don't just smoke it willy nilly like most people do I have to consider what I have to do that day, etc.

I can tell you this: eating it is VASTLY more intense, long-lasting, and notorious for producing full-on psychedelic trips. Also, when vaping, it's hard to gauge how uch you're actually smoking because you can't eel the smoke and it also varies based on the vaporizer.

What seems to be fucking you over is that you're jumping into the boat late but have friends who seem to be long-time smokers with big tolerances and advanced methods of smoking that most beginners don't have or use.

I recommend you try smoking some weed out of a pipe, that way you can really feel how much you're smoking. Then keep the hits small and space apart, waiting a few minutes in between each one until you get where you want to be and no more than that. Often all I need is one single hit and I'm good. For this reason consider buying a one-hitter, they're tiny little pipes that hold exactly one hit's worth that cost like ten bucks at a smokeshop.

For the love of god stop eating it especially at unkown amounts incorporating kief until you are much more comfortable with the drug!

 

[mestro]

I know exactly how it is man. When I started smoking weed I would get "stuck" and my friends would not understand what was going on with me. This was back in high school. But they would get their high and I would be totally gone off in another world. I would say everyone reacts differently considering the plethora of variables ex expectations, metabolism,etc. As I have smoked more and more over the years it has regressed. I would like to talk about the place I visited though when I was "stuck".
It always began as spacing out and focusing my vision until everything was kind of blurry. Then everything seemed to be moving or shaking in a vibration. My vision would melt everything together and my mind would go somewhere else. Then the thought loops would begin. I would question reality and be so entranced that I could not move. The phrase that would go through my head is that this feeling is "seeing with your mind, instead of your eyes" and that you "only know your here when your here". You feel vibrations. I hated being in lack of control and when your in this state of mind you want to be out of it. But when everything is said and done..you want to be back in that place. At least I do. Because it is a place away from the bull of this world.

Any similar experiences?

 

[Davey123]

Thank you for all of the responses.

@Mestro: we definitely have had similar trips. Mine were definitely not enjoyable, though, but I have "tripped" 3 times now and they all have this same 'loop'. However, when I come "out" of the trip, I find myself questioning whether I am actually still in the loop, but just at a different part of the loop. For example, every time I have tripped, the thing that triggers it is the suddenly smack in the face "Holy sh*t, I'm back here again". As you can imagine, this almost reinforces that the 'loop' is always there, and I only realise it is when I realise that I'm back there. What helped me not get totally lost in there was to focus on my timeline and things that are not in the loop. For example, knowing the date and time, and knowing that it was that same date and time before I tripped, knowing that "tomorrow I have x and y planned". Somehow it was focussing on to the linearity of this reality that took me away from the chaos of the place where I went to in my head. Does this have any resonance with you?

As many of you have advised, I have not since had any edibles. I don't know if I ever will again, but if I do it will not be for a very long time. I did buy myself a pipe, though, like many of you have also suggested. It has been a while since I last posted, and quite a lot has has happened. It may be best to respond by providing a brief update on my journey with cannabis since I last posted, so here goes...

The trip that caused me to write this thread left me feeling very uneasy for a good few days - maybe even a week. I felt very detached from my environment, almost alone. I could function, but I guess my mind was still processing the trip I had recently been on. A lot of this time was spent doubting whether I was in fact "out" of the trip, or that there was no trip and the loop I experienced is just exactly what reality is: we are all one, and everything is just everything (please pardon my writing at times, it is hard to put down in words my experience or even my integration/understandings from then, but I hope you understand my point.

Anyway, after some time, I felt ready to try cannabis again. I decided that I definitely was not going to do edibles, and I even decided against vaporising after learning about them being stronger than simply smoking. I have a pretty big problem with tobacco and never want to use it, so I got my friend to roll me a miniature joint/blunt, take one hit, see how i feel, and do more if needed. This happened last Wednesday. I realised once he made it for me that it had a tiny amount of tobacco in to stop it from burning out but also to make it easier to roll, but he made the end pretty much all weed (as this is what I would be smoking when I take my desired 1-2 hits and be done with it). If he would have told me this beforehand, I would have not done it due to the (apparently 5%) tobacco content, but he made it for me and I had designated my night for this and so had my two friends (and had no alternative), so it was a consequence I was willing to accept. So I did it. At first I didn't really know what to do technique-wise, but I got there in the end i think. I got pretty mellow, nothing intense, and I enjoyed my night. I didn't feel any euphoria etc, just relaxed.

So after the realisation of the tobacco, and the relatively positive experience I had, I decided to buy myself a pipe. It was one of the cheapest and smaller glass ones there, looks relatively standard size and shape as many I've seen online etc. So last night, I decided to try it out. Again I had to learn how to light it and inhale etc. My friend made a "bowl" for me, I had a couple of 'false starts', but I eventually took one decent hit. It wasn't the full amount, because I'm sure in my previous 'false starts' I wasted some by accident, and my friend said there was a little bit left (which I didn't want) and he smoked it himself.

After about 1.5-2hrs later, I start to feel pretty sober and decided to have another hit. I loaded a small amount (maybe half a bowl) and hit it, but nothing really happened. I didn't cough, I didn't feel anything, etc. I hadn't got the technique fully down so I probably did it wrong. I decided to give it another 20-30mins to see if I felt anything (which I didn't) before trying again. The amount I had left for my second go turned out to be a full bowl and not a half, but I did it anyway. This time I REALLY took in a good hit. It was far harsher on my throat and chest so I knew I had done it properly this time. Unfortunately, though, after some time, I tripped again. The exact same way too (the "oh sh*t I'm back here again in the loop!" feeling/'realisation')

The good news however, is that I have found these trips easier to come out of each time. The first one was like "uh oh..." and into the abyss, the second time was the exact same "uh oh..." but with far less time unconscious, and far more of a battle trying to drag myself out. The third time "uh oh here again back in this loop...wait snap yourself out of this is is stupid, earlier on today you were doing x, y and z. Tomorrow you are going here and there. Today's date is Monday Feb 11th, you have been here before you are just too high and will be fine." I decided to make popcorn to distract me, which helped a little, I also went for a walk outside around the block to clear my head. This did help, and again I think this is because these were things I didn't do in my last trip, which helped proved that there was not a 'loop' because what I'm doing now is not what followed on last time, etc.

In conclusion, I am still not sure if weed is for me, but I would still like it to be, and it just seems like a dosage issue. Maybe I'm just stubborn and won't let it beat me However, I am pretty sure I shouldn't have gone back for the second hit. I probably got a little ahead of myself, I had a good time with the joint last Wednesday, I should have continued with baby steps and stuck to the 1 hit on the pipe as it was new. I could have done 2 hits next time instead.

I am definitely sensitive to this drug, whether thats to do with my age, brain chemistry, personality, or simply physical tolerance level is anyone's guess, but possibly irrelevant. One thing I know I must do if I am to continue developing some tolerance is to stick to baby steps.

Thoughts?