Cannabis as medication for anxiety?

[GageSA]

I too was intrigued by this question and just joined this site. My personal experiences with cannabis have all been positive. I was a moderate smoker in my late teens. I was one who stated I would never touch drugs. Until.... the anxiety/ocd/depression came and hit hard years before. When I got to a point that I just didn't care about life or anything, I tried it. I had someone who was experienced with it at the time let me know NOT to smoke more than a few puffs. I believe that is why lots of people get paranoid heavily their first few times, or first time, and have a bad experience. They quite possibly smoke too much.
Anyway, my anxiety went from a 10 down to a 4 or so, depression lifted away, it was great for me. Too bad it's illegal in so many states still. It can definitely help some people. That has been proven. But as stated above, it is not a front line medicine. Plus the type indica/sativa can play a decent role in how you react.

[DrStrangeluv]

Just dont...

There s a common pattern between stoners and that is self denial, pot is an ILEGAL DRUG, used only as a last resort to treat ONE type of cancer...when there's nothing else to do, no better than opiates.. period. I don't buy the medicinal crap propaganda... It affects your mind and body with its over 400 chemicals, so... you have to ask yourself this question.. it s your life so bad that you really need to resort to a GATEWAY drug to escape reality? And if your life is so great why should continue y doing it in the first place? Why are you not facing the real issues, like your inability to cope with REAL life, and being yourself with no ARTIFICIAL ingredients. The worst part is that it rewires your brain in such a way that the thought of quitting is the same as not breathing. That's why people smoke it for years thinking it's ok, and if you tell them to quit to go on a rage trip, it ain't addictive, right... Pot smokers are numb to the fact that their lives are passing them by, they lack motivation because they are tricking they brain into thinking everything is OK when it fact it s NOT. So i have anxiety/depression. a job, a LIFE? Doesn't matter i'll just hide it in this cloud of thc... And then i need to get my next fix, and next fix, and sometimes it's not enough, gotta try LSD, shrooms, etc, just to make it all away....

I'm talking from experience, I was one.

[GageSA]

Your response to the OP's question is beyond retarded. Besides your horrific use of the English language, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. From experience? My man, you must have dropped way too much acid and MDMA to sound this stupid. The only propaganda going on is the shit you watch on television making up the decisions for you. Stop watching TV! Stop reading bullshit books! There seem to be so many people on this forum that have jobs, a wife/husband, kids, etc. Their anxiety cannot be that bad. For christ's sake, these people are complaining like they cannot even leave their house. Yet they get to work everyday, feed their kids, go to church. I actually thought for a minute that this place might be useful. Instead, its just more bullshit. Fuck y'all! I'm out.

[Ponder]

Hey, come on over to my thread ... Most of the people we know are either dieing, in prison, hooked on drugs, - I'm always failing at this or that - I have several outbursts a day, rave on about hey loving I am one moment, and then apologize for being a raving lunatic the next. It's not an easy job being fucked up - whilst on the subject or work ... half the people in my thread work pretty hard ... I'd say coming to places like here helps many of them keep their jobs. Anyways man, if you want a good dose of despair come on over to my place. I am pretty sure I can accommodate ... only thing is ... for now I seem to be picking up despite the ongoing drama of life I seem to make for myself ... or live in the one others make for me - hmmmmm damn it ... I'm staring to short out again.

If you make it back ... you can catch me in the social phobia section of this forum ... pull up a chair and give me your best and your worst.

Take care man.

All the best - please do drop in if your reading this.

Edit --- I do understand where your coming from - you'll be right ... keep looking and you will find what your looking for eventually. Some of us are still under rocks is all. Mine has a toothpick holding up an opening for those small enough to fit in. Sometimes I have a bad habit of blowing the roof off. I can make room if I have too.

[JohnC]

smoked it for thirty years and its all about the type ( strain ) and ones state of mind. If its not legal where you live then you will have a hard time getting the strain you need. Today's weed is very strong and 99% of the time it's going to increase your anxiety.
The increased risk of damage/cancer if your smoking it and as RM said laziness and paranoia are some of the ill affects.
I QUIT ..................

[mrslizzyg]

Your response to the OP's question is beyond retarded. Besides your horrific use of the English language, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. From experience? My man, you must have dropped way too much acid and MDMA to sound this stupid. The only propaganda going on is the shit you watch on television making up the decisions for you. Stop watching TV! Stop reading bullshit books! There seem to be so many people on this forum that have jobs, a wife/husband, kids, etc. Their anxiety cannot be that bad. For christ's sake, these people are complaining like they cannot even leave their house. Yet they get to work everyday, feed their kids, go to church. I actually thought for a minute that this place might be useful. Instead, its just more bullshit. Fuck y'all! I'm out.

Hmm. As much as I disagree with the post above this, I also equally disagree with this.

I struggle with GAD and depression, I have a husband and a full time job. Did you know that my marriage has been through hell and back because of my anxiety? Or that getting out of bed and going to my job every day is literally a struggle?

I went through a period of two years where I didn't work really. I just wouldn't get out of bed. My husband and I fought so much we were better off being in different rooms.

I also know there are other people on this forum that have a lot of struggles, they are just doing what they need to face them. It does not mean things are easy because to you their life seems "normal." You can't judge a book by it's cover.

So please, don't make generalizations about all of us based off one post. We are all entitled to our opinions and you aren't going to agree with all of them. The beauty of this place is that we are all different.

As far as marijuana goes- I think it's a personal choice. If I already have anxiety and I smoke, it makes mine worse. But I like to smoke on occasion when my anxiety isn't very high. I find it super relaxing and even fun.

If you can function day to day and smoke weed- if it helps you- I say go for it. If it starts effecting other areas of you life: works, relationships, etc.. Then it probably isn't worth it.

I hope you come back and give this place another shot.

[ShaunAlex]

I'd say it's an awful idea. Far from the relaxing feeling some people experience, it encourages anxiety to spiral

[MiST]

It varies from person to person. I have never had a single negative experience with weed in the 20+ years either smoking or consuming it. It's not for everyone though that's for sure.

[gypsylee]

Your response to the OP's question is beyond retarded. Besides your horrific use of the English language, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. From experience? My man, you must have dropped way too much acid and MDMA to sound this stupid. The only propaganda going on is the shit you watch on television making up the decisions for you. Stop watching TV! Stop reading bullshit books! There seem to be so many people on this forum that have jobs, a wife/husband, kids, etc. Their anxiety cannot be that bad. For christ's sake, these people are complaining like they cannot even leave their house. Yet they get to work everyday, feed their kids, go to church. I actually thought for a minute that this place might be useful. Instead, its just more bullshit. Fuck y'all! I'm out.

We're devastated.

[Ahlstrom]

Before I developed anxiety disorder when I was around 17 or 18 I used to drink, but one night I drank far too much on Lexapro and then hit a joint, sent my ass to the hospital, when I got out the next day I decided to smoke a bowl and BAM, first anxiety attack, starting going nuts, thought I was dying. I didn't smoke for around 2 years.

One day, years later, I worked up the courage and put my brain to the test. I drove two hours to the city to hang with my friends, and smoked a bowl... and felt amazing. Overtime however I've noticed that my daily smoking habit can actually sometimes make me more anxious. I usually avoid pot if I'm feeling really anxious. However, I'd consider myself a heavy pot smoker (atleast once a day, sometimes up to 5 times a day on weekends or when I have nothing to do.) I recently ran out of money and can't afford to buy any weed, and I've noticed that I definitely feel much more anxious overall. Looking back, I think that for me personally marijuana is a very very effective medication for my anxiety (plus it gets you high and you can jam out to amazing rock n roll - NICE!) But yeah, I definitely avoid smoking when I'm having panic attacks, also I take maybe 2 tokes and leave it, smoking too much marijuana can definitely freak me out and make me worse. But overall I'd say it has a positive effect on my anxiety. I think the release that it gives me mentally is extremely useful and keeps me from getting nervous and depressed in general. It definitely helps my anxiety, but I don't think it helps me in the same way that benzos or anti-depressants help me, catch my drift? I should note that indica strains are much easier on me than brain-altering sative strains. It's borderline impossible to tell what kind I'm getting though, since it's still illegal where I live, hopefully when it's fully legalized in Texas I'll be able to give more insight as to what strains affect my anxiety and how.

I've always smoked pot for recreational use and music, never intentionally used it for my anxiety. I love the sweet leaf!