If it is negatively impacting your life then it is a problem. If you have depression you should speak to a medical professional about it rather than self medicating, if medical cannabis is right for you they will prescribe it.
this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2023
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Yeah…they don‘t. …let me clarify: at least in Germany they won’t. It’s a pain in the Ass here. All the conversations about weed in Germany is just so old fashioned. But hey, when you are 16 on Germany you can drink wine and beer till you die
They don’t prescribe it here in America either.
Hell, I’ve had multiple doctors tell me to stop using it, when I say it’s the ONLY thing that has ever made me mostly migraine free. They usually pretend to say it out of concern over long term effects. It always reads as “hey I know you had daily, chronic migraines, that no prescription drug even touched, but, yeah, you need to stop doing the only thing that has ever worked. How are we going to sell you more drugs, with horrible side effects, that don’t help?”
I think it depends on the doctor, and depends on the area. In illegal states, the doctors are going to be inclined to not rock the boat.
I'm in a legal state, and my doctor's completely cool with my cannabis use.
I tend to add some CBD to my THC on & off, so I can keep my dosages down to a dull roar.
I’m in CA. Can’t get much more legal than here. I’ve had multiple try to argue me out of using weed in favor of insert prescription drugs here. The prescription ones never worked or had too many side effects and they just don’t care to hear it.
It’s definitely doc dependent, but my experience is that the “mainstream” doctors your insurance covers are generally not onboard with it. The “doctors” that gave out prescriptions for medical cards were always some dude in a tshirt, that asked like 2 questions and gave a recommendation.
They don’t prescribe it here in America either.
My doctor wrote a note regarding my chronic pain and I got a MMJ card in 2017.
What are you talking about?
Yeah, I had one of those "doctors" too.
The doctor who signed also writes scripts for fentanyl and dilaudid. Not everyone is the kind of fuckup you are.
Still speak with a professional. Don't self diagnose. I don't know if you have and know for a fact that it's depression, but if you haven't and are just going from symptoms that can be dangerous.
There's a whole slew of mental disorders that might appear as depression at first but are something else, and for some of them, weed can even make them worse than they'd be without it. I speak from personal experience on that. I thought I was depressed, took weed and it turns out it was schizoaffective disorder with major depressive onset. Weed made it much worse than it'd have to be.
I'm not saying that to scare you or anything, cutting off weed and taking proper medication really helped me out personally. But if you're thinking it's some mental disorder, it's always better to get proper diagnosis and medication for it.
I wish you the best regardless. As for the question, when is it too much, the answer was given already. When it starts affecting your life. And yes, weed is not addictive, physically at least, but it definitely is psychologically. If you feel shit when cutting it off, or can only function with it, it's still addiction.
Well that's not gonna be a problem anymore next year
I mentioned weed to my doctor once and now the entire clinic treats me like a criminal every time I go there
Go to a different doctor/practice then. You don’t have to put up with that shit
I mean, if smoking weed is the only thing you do for fun you're obviously going to feel miserable off of it.
if you're missing out on things you want to do in life, purely because of the usage of this substance, then it's an addiction.
my suggestion? go on that date high as absolute BALLS lol
Lmao don't do this
I get what other folks are saying about addiction etc but I'll throw this out there..
There is a difference between addiction and dependency. They are 2 different things.
If it helps you, then you may rely on it. Think of medication. You aren't addicted to an antidepressant, but you are dependant on it.
This may be that for you. Or it may be addiction. If you "need" to be high to function, it's probably addiction. You should take a break and talk to your Dr.
But if it helps you, genuinely helps you, then what harm is it doing? I mean really, ask yourself that. Think of your situation in the third person. Objectively.
Ok and is there negative side effects to stopping? Going to burst you bubble and say yes. Most common symptoms are anxiety, irritability, anger or aggression, disturbed sleep/dreaming, depressed mood and loss of appetite. Addiction is caused by a chemical balance change in your homeostasis. Which any cannabinoids can and do cause. We shouldn't be saying this if it helps you it's good for you, I'm sure most addicts say the drug they take is good for them. If I take a shot of alcohol every day to help me talk to my co workers and be a more social person is that a good thing? No.
Withdrawals != addiction
Think about this from a prescription drug point of view. Will stopping am SSRI cause side effects? Absolutely.
Treat it as medicine, remove the drug/ addiction stigma and lmk how it goes.
Now I'm not saying weed is medicinal for everybody, I use it as such and don't abuse it to get fucked up. But that's just me.
That's a really good point. Replace cannabis with "my blood pressure meds" and see if it sounds right.
In OPs case, I think it might be a problem. They want a girlfriend, but they are too high to accomplish that. It's standing in the way of their goals. Now, that's not to say it's ruining their life, but maybe we need to dial back the dosage.
To put it another way, imagine your blood pressure meds are preventing you from going out and getting a girlfriend. You & your doctor are going to be seriously considering whether or not the health benefit of that drug outweighs the side effects, and if there's another treatment option worth trying that might have better overall outcomes.
Oh yeah dude you nailed it. That's where I stopped too and was like oh boy this is a problem.
I get it, I don't like to be around my wife when I'm stoned personally. But I'm not baked all day only for bedtime. Definitely gotta keep that in check.
I got into the habit of smoking it everyday, even while working since I work from home, I started for the same reason as you also, weed would make everything feel better.
One thing you gotta remember is weed isn't actually changing your life, how you feel while stoned is absolutely possible for you to feel that way while not stoned.
I would suggest trying to take longer breaks off it, you will probably feel really shit and be moody to those around you for a few days, but once you break the cycle it becomes alot easier, also being productive helps my mood, almost works as good as being stoned.
Just my anecdotal experience here, but it sounds like your self medication plan of using cannabis for depression isn't working.
I frequently combat depressive and high anxiety periods and find that weed doesn't specifically help with those feelings. What it does help is my sleep so i can at least rest instead of staying up all night thinking about things i can't change anyway.
With that said, consider cutting back a bit and restricting your consumption to just before bed, and start working with a counsellor so you can start at a root cause of your depression.
I hope things turn around for you soon :)
Weed (THC specifically) impacts dopamine levels.
"What Happens When Dopamine Levels Rise Due To The Effects Of THC?
Elevated dopamine levels trip the brain’s reward system, causing feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, and achievement. Dopamine can also make time seem to go slower as mental activity speeds up, with increases to libido, energy, and focus.
But, if dopamine levels in your system stay too high for too long, the body will close off some dopamine receptors for a while, even after your high wears off.
This drops dopamine synthesis in your body, blunting the pleasure you would normally feel from other things in your life like food, physical contact, hobbies, and achievement.
This lack of enjoyment from other activities is a common symptom experienced by heavy marijuana users and those who abuse other drugs like opioids or amphetamines."
https://www.arkbh.com/illicit-drugs/marijuana/dopamine-levels/
So, yeah, like others have said, take longer breaks.
I got chs from smoking dabs all day. It sucks. What you are describing is addiction. You are psychologically dependent on weed (addicted). You have to make the change, and stop getting high all the time. It will actually be hard and probably take you a long ass time. Good luck.
I know weed isn't addicting
Wrong. It doesn't make a chemical dependence; but you can still become addicted to it psychologically. Addiction can apply to anything.
The fact you admit to it negatively impacting your life is a sign you should cut back or quit. That's addiction. It's problematic when it's problematic and you've already stated how it is problematic for you.
If you're always packing phat bowls, rolling blunts, hitting bongs, it's gonna turn you into the laziest version of yourself. Get away from the stereotypical weed culture; that shit's for kids.
Go on a tolerance break (at least a week, maybe a month if you're a heavy user), and when you come back, don't go full throttle. Microdose. It means taking one or a couple of small hits and waiting 4-6 hours, maybe longer. Stick to this regimen like a prescription. For what it's worth, I haven't had a break in almost 3 years and I never feel saturated by it.
I also feel that smoking flower (and sometimes even vaping flower) can make me feel groggy and tired. Concentrates (live rosin, badders, other waxes) hit cleaner, taste so much better, and don't stop me from whatever project I've got lined up. Stay the fuck away from oil cart pens, because propylene glycol shouldn't be inhaled and a lot of the oils/carts are made poorly. Pick sativa-dominant strains if you want to feel more active, both physically and mentally.
Someone fell for the anti-vaping propaganda...
PG is not dangerous, vitamin-e acetate is.
Black market THC cartridge makers were adding it to improve consistency, causing lung issues.
I had a bad reaction to it, even from legit carts. Rash, fever, my doctor thought it might be PEG allergy though it's rare. I just avoid it.
propylene glycol or pg is the same vapor base used in medical inhalers, fog machines, and regular vapes. It's not harmful. The bad standards of carts way back when caused other chemicals to be introduced as well as black market carts using similar packaging bought of Amazon and super bad refinement processes caused lung issues. That's why you only want to get carts from a reputable dispo now a days.
It's possible, but I've had bad reactions from legit carts too. It's the only delivery system that gave me a rash.
|I know weed isn’t addicting. Anything can be addicting, including social media.