Pot Psychosis or what?

[Abby]

Hey . . .
I've been playing around with this site for a while now, and think I've got up the confidence to start a new topic (got a bit scared after those first few mishaps!) also this is an actual 'problem' for me, and I'm thinking you guys might be able to off some insight.
Basically I cannot smoke weed anymore. Not any way or any how. Background info is that I had a 'problem' with weed about 9 months ago (among other things). I reached a point where I smoked buckets all day every day. At my worst on average a stick per day.
However I got to a point where I turned around. I 'quit' all drugs (including antidepressants) cold turkey, and didn't touch anything for 2 months.
At this point though, I ran in to 'old friends' and ended up having a session. I had one cone and flipped out completely. The minute I had it, this nightmare began. It was like a bad trip, E, speed. Horrific ideas, thoughts, voices in my head, restless, nearly threw up (ironic considering weed is actually a nausea suppressant). I was feaking out awfully and thought the people I was with were involved in a conspiracy to kill me. I actually (cringe) ran out of the house and ran for a few kilometres until I thought I'd shook them off. This freaking lasted about 3 or 4 hours, total. Then I just felt weak, mellow, upset, angry at myself.
Now I couldn't understand why this had happened off one cone when I used to have upwards to 10 in one sitting. I thought of many things, maybe it was 'weird' weed, laced maybe?? or Maybe it was the people, the scenario.
I missed weed. I loved weed. So a couple of weeks later I tried again. Different people, different scenario, different weed:
SAME RESULT.
Call me stupid, I know you get burnt every time you stick your hand in the fire, but fellow pot lovers may understand.
I missed the feeling, not being completely wasted, just that floaty feeling. Also I missed the routine, I liked pulling buckets. Then I also missed the sessions. 4-5 people chilling out, laughing, and I'd not be part of the unit.
So I tried in a variety of situations, alone, with people. I also tried smoking while on E's again. That fucked up the E, freaked out and then started coming down.
I haven't had a cone in months now. I've given up. I just freak out. And it's sad because I like it, I just can't do it. Another down side is the fact that I have to battle comedowns completely alone these days. No comedown cones for me. Which is harsh.
Okay, so what I really want to know is WHY after I stopped smoking weed after smoking heavily, do I know freak out and receive no benefits???
I've smoked weed for a couple years in total now. For quite a while BEFORE I ever even took e's, or anything else, and this never happened. Only after I stopped.
Is it that I just smoked too much over a short period (say 6 months) and now my body, mind cannot handle it???
A couple of times before I stopped smoking I had a weird experience. I'd have the last in a line of huge buckets. Then I'm told I'd pass out for maybe a minute, and then someone would be shaking me and I'd have no idea how I got on the floor or recollection. Total mental blanks. This was one reason I realised I had gone too hard.
Um, I think that's about all the info I can give. I don't so much want a solution as I am curious as to what's wrong with me.
Any help is really appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Kid A]

...although this may sound corny...I no longer feel alone!
I have/had the exact same experience. Moreover, it WAS the reason I stopped smoking. I used to smoke everyday for around three months and casually for about two years, I cut back for a while and then when in a typical session with some strong hydro and my friends - I lost it. The most horrific and horrifying thoughts and images were pervading everything, I couldn't escape and became panicky - I've not tripped but figure this was similar....I've tried everything, but as soon as I start to mellow out I now have a sub concious fear that its going to happen again, and then by implication it does. When I'm coming down its fine if I stick to J's. And all I want to do is be able to punch out a few in good company, but I can't do it anymore...!?!?!?

 

[GoOsH]

welcome to club

I used to smoke pot quite regularly, now I hardly ever smoke, and i have found the same thing, but a bit more mild.
My side affect of a decent amount of pot is... paranoia! it's creepin up the walls!
Shit like, "how am i gonna do all my assignments" "there's no way i'll graduate uni!" etc etc etc
Anyway, I think it has a hell of alot to with tolerance. These affects weren't around when you were smoking regularly right?
My solution now is to simply smoke very small amounts, and in bongs instead of buckets. You'll be very surprised at how small an amount will now get you stoned, I can get wasted on half a cone these days, whereas before it was 3-4 big buckets. Also things like not holding it in for ages, not trying to suck the whole thing in one toke, basically all the things you used to do before heheh

thats what i've found anyway, just go for very small amounts, and you'll probably find you won't have these problems, at least not to the same degree

 

[Fry-d-]

Just like goosh said Tolerance .
You smoked it hard for years then gave your brain a rest and lost that tolerance u had built up.
I've been there before.
Its easy to build up a resistance to weed.
Ever wondered Y you need 5 or six cones to just feel slightly bent when half a cone used to do your head in.
Well thats where your at now but you still think like a Full On Bong Head and go with your routine and suck back 3 or 4 cones and your floored.
Then on comes the intense paranoia.
You get yourself so wasted into a state of 'Wiggin Out' where u get paranoid as hell and as you said freaked out.
Not Fun but a lot of us have been there.
It sometimes happens to me after a night out. Had a few pills and come back and smoke one to many cones. As my tolerance to weed is a lot lower after I've been pillin. One to many and Im in La La Land. Just last weekend after ministry 5 or 6 pills later smoked myself stoopid and found myself in quite a hole passin out infront of my mates stereo at one point( big mutha fuckin stereo turned up full ) hehe
Ah well the shit we do all in the name of a good time

 

[riichiee]

Yeah... I had the same problem when I was smoking constantly... and it caused me pretty much to give up bongs completely...
It only been until recently (I'd quit for about 18 months.. only having one cone every blue moon when I was on a good e or blind drunk) that I've actually been able to enjoy pot again... I started smoking J's and I enjoyed them (I was over the moon the first time I got really stoned without getting paranoid) and now I can handle a few bongs again (and I used to smoke the shit everyday)
My advice to you is to give up smoking for a while, then next time when you feel really comfortable (like after a nice MDMA pill) have a really small joint or cone.. (all my friends used to laugh at the size of the cones I packed.. but that smallest amount would still get me comfortably stoned...)
If you do get paranoid again (and I hope you don't.. cos I've been there.. and it isn't nice..) then just take a longer break or smoke a smaller amount next time you do it..
I hope that helps

and don't worry... it's happens to more people than you think.

 

[sweet leaf]

Well , my advice would be to never touch a bucket again unless you want that lovely paranoia feeling we all like...And , ditch the hydro gear as well.
Myself, i used to smoke hydro heaps(we're talking before school here- as in , 8:45am , time for a hydro cone!) - and especially to go to sleep at night. This went on for a year or so , but then the paranoia became waaaaaay too strong for my liking - freaking out at 1am after a few cones... not good..
The answer? NATCH BABY NATCH!! Natural weed is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much nicer on the head , doens't give you anywhere near as bad paranoia if any , and smoked in a nicely rolled J , its a beautiful way to spend the morning!
I found that billy's,bucket bongs etc were doin my head in a little too much - i'd only have them if i wanted to get fucked up - which i soon learnt wasn't very nice about 5 minutes after..
So , as i said, go natural , plant some ditchweed daddy's , and smoke up Abby!

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fly high , but watch your head

 

[funkyfella]

One word for y'all; joints!!
Less of a hit but more of a buzz, and a distinct lack of paranoia!! Well, thats what I've found anyway....
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BOYAKASHA!!!

 

[Tarsarlan]

Well I had the same problem 'cept I hardly ever smoked at all... but for some fucked up reason the tiniest amount would royally screw with my head... I'd end up freaking out after a few puffs on a joint (yeah, just about nothing!) But my head is slightly off tangent anyway, nothing about me makes sense

So anyway, I gave up on mull and never smoked again... I never really got into it hugely, so I don't really miss anything...
But for you Abby, I'd agree with sweet leaf and funkyfella and anyone else who said to just smoke some J's ... just take it easy, no need to try to get back to the same level...

 

[rc1n]

I used to smoke up a fair bit last year. At one stage it was every night to "help me get to bed" but i never got to the stick a day by myself sorta league.
Like Goosh said, small ammounts or joints. I've had one bad experience on bongs when i smoked up some really really strong hydro buds after a bickie and i completely flipped out, when i was driving home i swear i must've been going about 30km/h i was completely freaked out and stuff and i kept seeing double and stuff, it was kinda scary. I put it down to weed that was too strong and being too stoned.
I've had a few nice weed experiences in the last couple of months and i only smoked a little, like half a cone or 2 cones, and i got the "nice floaty feeling" again and went to uni... but thats another story.
Also i agree with sweet leaf, bushies r much more fun than hydros, not as much paranoia or hydro leaf with a *bit* of tip in it is fun as well

If you want to smoke up again, smoke less and have "weaker" stuff, and make sure u smoke up with people you trust and who'll look after you *if* you decide to. Hope this helps

*HUGEEEEE HUGSSSSSS*

Peace
rc1n
[This message has been edited by rc1n (edited 06 November 2000).]

 

[MachT]

Definately J's!

I love J's, and I hate quick hits like bongs, buckets, etc... mainly because EVERY time I totally flip out... not as much bongs, but definately buckets... Argh...
J's kick the shit out of bongs + buckets imo, coz first of all you can share J's (or in my case 'snorkles' around(hehe), and if you need more, just roll more! Simple!

Plus J's kinda get you stoned more gradually which means you can easily determine when to stop, ie you can feel paranoia creeping up on you, or you start to think up really weird shit that normally you would not give 2 fucks about... ie that funny painting on the wall that seems to wanna... Nevermind... idle ramblings of yet another psychotic individual!

Yea, Go J's Abby, and share them with your cone buddies, go easy, have just one drag when it comes to you, while they have 2... that way u're all getting stoned together at the same time, AND at your own pace also

Hope this helps!
RollemtallyhoeRollemquick...RollemRizlamakeitsik ... (wtf... hehe)
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"Keep Dropping!"
Drop 'What' you say?...

 

[sonicbaby]

I used to be the same, Abby, where I developed a fairly full-on pot habit. Then one day after acid and E I smoked and then completely lost it- paranoia, conspiracies, reading into everything, totally different thinking, like I was someone else. Then I smoked again without drugs and same effects. it was like I had flipped a switch in my brain and couldn't turn it off. Then everytime I smoked the wonky and paranoid thinking would set in. It took me quite a while to realise something was up. I didn't want to admit that pot wasn't working for me anymore. So I stopped smoking for 5 years! Just this year I have been brave enough to try smoking on E. All I need is a tiny puff and I'm really stoned but I still don't feel comfortable with pot and since my terrifying experiences, will never fully feel like it's a safe drug for me.

 

[Fry-d-]

I have decided to go clean and give up weed for a couple of months.
So how the fuck do I do it.
I cant sleep without a cone

A few of you guyz have quit for a while so how the hell did you get to sleep?

 

[Abby]

What a fantastic response! Thanks people.
Um, I noticed a commone peice of advice was that I smoke j's . . . well not to be difficult here, and hopefully not sounding like a weirdo:
I don't smoke joints. I never have. I refuse to. I don't smoke ciggarettes either. Never even had a puff! And never will. I'd like to explain the reason but it's based on completely twisted logic, and is actually really sad.
I've had that adivce before, have a joint, and would love to, but I can't and won't. So in that sense I may be a bit of a lost cause, unless I manage to get over this some other way.
I had another theory as well. Having been a psych student and all I like to play with my head, in the attempt to understand it so I'm not afraid of it:
I was thinking that maybe because the pot addiction caused me to reach such a low point in life whereby things got fucked up, perhaps it's not a physical problem with the pot now, but a mental one.
Maybe my mind associates pot with horrible outcomes, and therefore in order to protect myself from another fuckup, refuses to let me feel the pleasurable effects which may result again in addiction???
I'm all for theories of the subconscious, though I don't really find comfort in them, thinking a more obvious physical explanation would be much more reassuring.
What do other people think???
I've found that using a pipe fucks me up less than buckets (prolly because you can have tiny baby tokes to control the amount), still though one little puff and I start to feel funny, or if I'm e'ing, it takes a dramatic turn for the worst.
Ultimately when I can't seem to come up with any explanation, I try to tell myself at least I'm saving money by not having to buy sticks. Pffffffft.
Still though, it's reassuring that I'm not a freak and other people have had similar experiences. Between my friends (a mix of potheads, 'ravers' and the in betweens) I'm known as the queen of paranoia! It's good not to feel so ostracised anymore.

 

[Abby]

Fry-d-
about sleeping . . .
I found that when I smoked weed I slept heavily, deeply, soundly, apparently snored and had nightmares or on good nights just weird dreams.
Whereas these days I sleep so lightly that the softest sounds wake me up. I do sleep better though. No more nightmares, and I don't snore unless I've got a cold.
As for your immediate problem of trying to get to sleep now without weed: I think you just have to battle through it. There is no relief unfortunately. I'd try alcohol, but depends how you are the next morning with that, ie work. Otherwise temazapam (sp), is quite nice, but relying on that short term you may actually end up needing it long term. I think the only way to beat something is to go it alone, properly. So basically deal with the no sleep for a few weeks, months, and you'll find your body WILL eventually sort itself out.

 

[j_swift]

abby,
i know exactly what you mean about associating pot with negativity. the last few times i've smoked it has reminded me of a time in my life which i don't ever want to go back to. i still like hanging around friends when they're chilling out with a billy or a j but i just don't feel like partaking anymore. for a while i had this philosophy that downers make you content with your situation....it's easy to smoke a bowl and watch telly for a few hours. i wanted to do substances which would make me strike out into new experiences.
lately though i've become reaquainted with downers...mmmh GHB, nothing like it the morning after an egg..... but i'm going to be carefull with this one, i don't want to lose my affection for it like i did with the weed.
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uberzone drop the tone

 

[riichiee]

Fry-d- : I found that taking a herbal anti-depressant, such as Hypercium, worked pretty well for the first few weeks (months actually..) when deciding to kick the bongs..
.. it won't send you to sleep like a nice big cone.. but it helps with the withdrawals that come from pot addiction.. (it's good to start taking about 2 weeks before you actually start kicking the habit.. )

 

[scratch]

Am currently there as well Fry-d! Hard I know, however what you have to ask yourself is do you really want to give up, and I mean really? I've tried many a times, only to find myself scoring a baggie the next day! Yet I can honestly say now that I don't have that craving because I have found that little voice in my head saying "No, I don't want to be a mung been anymore!" and the cravings have stopped, it might sound weird but what I'm trying to say is that if you are not ready to cut down/give up from the inside you are pushing shit uphill - be patient and strong - if you are thinking this now then you are on your way - be patient - it will become easier when that time comes! A good tip too is to keep active, don't sit around doing nothing because that is when the mind relapses into thinking "Let light up! Dude!"
Peace

 

[Mr. Horse]

j_swift: Just a quicky. I wouldnt worry too much about getting addicted to G, unless you are using it everyday. Also, dont use it as a sleep aid as it sucks ass. I found after abour 4 hours all the dopamines would be released and id wake up in a cold sweat.
fry-d: I had the same problem. Try relaxing tea and also make sure you have no pot in the house, otherwise the craving will get ya. If you dont have any, you wont smoke it!!

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"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" - F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

[Acid_Reign]

Hey Abby,
If you have some bizarre thing against j's maybe you could roll a j that doesn't look like a j...... there some weird looking j designs. Do a net search.
Or even easier just buy a nice pipe. Pack a full cone and just have little tokes.
I had really nice pipe once....... check out JV's in town and get some really lush pipe

 

[Abby]

I've got a pipe.
Actually I've had many in my time.
They seemed to be like pens.
Always getting taxed or lost.
The last one bought is one of those tiny metallic ones about the length and width of a finger.
Not too flash but easy to keep in your pocket.
I've decided I'm gonna have a cone.
Sometime before delerious summer festival (sorry it's a perth thing).
Because I'd like to be able to parttake in a session out in the wilderness.
But I don't want to risk fucking up the whole day/night/event/other drugs should I freak out.
So I'm planning to have try at some point before then.
But hey someone I know had this weird theory:
That I need to build up tolerance again to enjoy it. Ie. smoke and smoke and battle through the freaking in an attempt at beating it. Eventually that ought not to happen anymore.
Seems good in theory.
But the freaking is so horrendous I couldn't do it.
It's been a few months.
So I think I'll see how this 'test' cone I'll have soon goes.
I'll be sure to let people know how it goes.