While I'm relatively new to the world of true psychedelics such as DMT or LSD, I'm not so new to the world of cannabis. I'm Dutch and the substance is legal in my country so it's quite easy to acquire it. I started regularly smoking about a year ago on a regularly basis due to severe sleeping problems. Before that I smoke highly irregular, sometimes just once a year.

I obtained sleep meds from my doctor a few times, and while they worked like a charm, the tolerance to them is quite strong and the addictiveness is even worse. Take sleep pills for a month and sleep becomes nearly impossible without them. So I switched to a much more natural substance, the beloved tetrahydrocannabinol(THC) which can be found in many of the fine herbs that are sold in various shops around here. It worked and still works like a charm. A few puffs from my bong and I'm floating in my own little box in a totally relaxed state. The moment I lie down in bed and close my eyes and I'm gone.

Over the course of the year my smoking habit changed from a pre-rolled joint with hash that would last 2 or 3 days to purchasing a bong(much cheaper in use) and smoking pure hash. I smoke every night before hopping into bed and quite lately I started to get into the habit of smoking during the day when I'm bored out of my skull. That habit got started after I've spent a few days in the cold due to no heating.

However, I'm starting to experience some of the side effects. There are days where I feel completely devoid of energy. I don't do much on those days and just chill around my place. My memory is affected by it(cannabinoids are the brains neurotransmitter for forgetting). So here I am, stuck with a mental addiction to weed and I need to stop smoking. At least until my mind isn't thinking about smoking pot the entire day.

Yes, I love weed. If I had to pick 1 substance that I could use the rest of my life, it would be either cannabis or DMT, and I think cannabis is winning due to the extremely chill vibes it gives. Smoke responsibly!

Are you asking for help? Warning us about weed?

Not sure, neither I suppose. Just wanting to vent for a bit / share a bit of my world with the rest. Wondering how others feel / think about it.

But no, it's not a warning.

Cannabis can be a brilliant sleep-aid indeed.

Cannabis is an amazing natural gift. One needs to seek balance with it, however, in order to get the most benefit. Not just THC, but there are lots and lots of helpful complex chemicals in cannabis that differ from strain to strain. CBD is one that is really starting to make scientific news these days as it has very promising pain relief, muscle relaxation and cancer fighting abilities.
You might already know this, but it is extremely helpful to understand if your cannabis strain(s) are Sativa dominant or Indica dominant. Sativa's are better for high energy creative work and Indicas are better for relaxing and sleeping and pain relief. Some are 50/50 hybrids or anywhere on the scale. Most reputable places that sell strains should be able to tell you the relative % of Sativa to Indica. It is advised not to use Indica during the day for most people because it makes them feel tired and lethargic and unable to get motivated and do work. Sativa on the other hand, especially the ones closer to the 90% pure Sativa level give most people great bursts of energy like a cup of coffee. It is also suggested to use a vaporizer for cannabis and hash whenever possible, the GVG is great for this. Rolled joints are also better for the lungs than most water pipes as most water pipes do not strain out any of the tars and chemicals known to be not so beneficial for lungs. GVG gives one the best option, but there is also a "water pipe' called an Erbo pipe that uses a Hydrofuge to remove a significant amount of the oils and tars that cause problems. Not affiliated with any of these products or companies, just passing on good info received over the years. Peace!

believe it or not, cannabis is physically addictive when you use it daily like that. If you are starting to experience the feeling of being burnt out from smoking too much of it, then stopping is a good idea. I smoked cannabis al day for a few years and finally I had to stop alltogether for 6 months. The first few days to a week I could not sleep, I lost my apetite and had mild anxiety the whole time and a few times mild panic attacks. Be prepared for some mild withdrawl..some people dont experience it, many do. Cannabis is a dopamine agonist so it makes sense and all this has been scientifically verrified. The idea that some people have that you can take cannabis all day forever and never get burnt out or have some physical addiction is just archaic by now.

It is a great medicine and I love it, but wont ever use it heavily again unless maybe I am dying.

Supplementation with melatonin is a good idea as well..as daily use of cannabis over long periods of time is going to use up alot of your brains storage of melatonin.

"Supplementation with melatonin is a good idea as well..as daily use of cannabis over long periods of time is going to use up alot of your brains storage of melatonin."

Do you have any more info or links on this? I cant find anything, and have looked into this before i think

cannabis increases melatonin production by like 4000%..but i didn't think it could 'use up' our storage of it. Its synthesized by the pineal and i assumed that synthesis depends (generally) on the pineals level of activity, not that the brain had an overall supply of it..and therefore more production of melatonin wouldn't necessarily mean the pineal will 'run out', or else wouldn't we would run out eventually or already have run out from all the melatonin pumped out during sleep?

If your looking at cutting down or stopping all together the smoking, which I do recommend, I would suggest edible cannabis treats. Much safer/easier on your body.

Try making a cannabis tincture with a mostly indica blend. Your lungs will thank you. But as for your brain, the best thing is probably stopping for a bit.

Try a valerian extract if you're having trouble sleeping.

Lately I have found that when I smoke good ole Mary Jane. I begin to trip slightly. Nothing too heavy, and only some hallucinations, but It feels a lot like a DMT trip. Even though it may just be MJ. I was wondering if any of you guys can relate to this. I'm wondering if it's some sort of mental connection since I normally lace my MJ with DMT during sessions. As in maybe when I smoke just MJ, my body associates it with DMT and produces the effects.

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I have had many extreme psychedelic experiences after smoking cannabis. One had me tracing back my memory to see when someone might have slipped me LSD. That trip was very Alex Greyish with the biological visuals. I had one just a few months ago. Was watching 128 Hours for the second time and was hitting a vape. I started getting extreme anxiety about the movie, so went outside to take a break and get fresh air. I was dizzy, and suddenly the world was awash with open eye visuals. Was feeling intense tingling on my head and saw a sort of neon octopus on my head, tiny tentacles that wove into the geometric patterns covering my vision. I was sure I was having a heart attack, but turned out to be a panic attacks. This was the only marijuana fueled psychedelic liftoff where I was dizzy.

Tripping with zero body load is nice though!

I dunno but I felt like I was low on melatonin when I smoked alot..plus people say they stop smoking and suddenly are dreaming vividly again..which points to something going on with melatonin. Melatonin is not recycled that much I do know..so what is released in urinated out of the body..and when you smoke cannabis ALOT of melatonin is released. Combine a heavy cannabis habit with tons of artificial lighting and a variety of other things that impact melatonin levels I dunno if that is a good thing.

I have never read that canabis increases melatonin production..only that it increases the release of melatonin that is already stored by something like 4000%

also if you want something else to help you sleep---harmaline, in light doses.

Wow! I'm surprised at the amount of responses and kind of. I've seen a few good tips in here and various good discussion points. While I currently have no access to harmaline(seems like I need to extract it myself) I do have access to melatonin. I'm going to try some of that coming few days and kick the bong for a while. However I can only do that when I'm capable of sleeping without the melatonin. Because if I get only 2 hours of sleep a night it's no use.

However, I need to be careful if and when I start smoking again. Previous times the frequency in which I smoked increased after stopping for a while. These were mostly short periods(1 or 2 weeks) to help reduce tolerance. However, once I let myself smoke again I'd indulge a bit too much.

I've ordered myself some MHRB from Don Jose and according to the MexPost Track & Trace it's currently being flown to the Netherlands so with some luck I have it within the week. By then I can try to find some b. caapi over here and try to do a harmaline extraction as well.

When you quit cannabis, it can be interesting to monitor how you´ll respond mentally. Cannabis works it´s way into your mind and daily life, by gently rubbing your weak spots. It´s those weak spots that will be exposed if you quit. That´s why it´s so addictive.

Panic attacks can be a common reaction with some people. The tripping you experienced sounds like you got too high if you're positive you just had cannabis.

You mentioned your body might associate the marijuana high with DMT and that sounds like HPPD to me. If you think they may be related than I highly advise you to take a break or even stop altogether. I wish I did when I was getting into psychedelics (although probably more LSD related) and now have permanently developed HPPD. It started with profound psychedelic experiences on marijuana which are now common when sober. Don't let this scare you off as it's not all too common but definitely be aware.

I can only speak for myself and not xsparkyx but I would rather this continue in frequency then stop. I don't see it as a problem. In fact I see it as being helpful. I would love to only need MJ to blast off.

Cannabis is a known psychedelic substance. I know more than 1 person who tripped on cannabis and they know for sure their pot wasn't cut with adulterants as they bought them in a Dutch coffeeshop. None of these shops would take the risk of have cannabis products that have adulterants in them. They could loose their license and the owner sued / jailed.

One guy I know had a full blown out-of-body experience followed with a severe panic attack as he had no clue what was happening and he never did psychedelics before. He called an ambulance but by the time they arrived he was back to normal(and it's not like they could've done anything). Another friend saw Amsterdam city core turn into a 16th century city. He had a great time walking around in a city that he perceived as 500 years ago.

Psychedelic experiences on cannabis are rare, but they do happen. I'm still waiting for mine to happen.

Cosmic Rift: Sorry to hear that man. How often do you get flashes and how severe are they? And how do you cope with it?

EDIT: I slammed down one of those melatonin pills my mom gave me. And well, that stuff works as great as the hash does. Except I miss the high, but I'm going to push through!

Cannabis is at it´s most psychedelic when taken orally, and it works better as a sleep-aid also when taken that way.

It reduces REM so when smokers stop suddenly they get the REM re-bound effect which causes vivid and long dreaming.

Sources:

Feinberg, I., Jones, R, Walker JM, Cavness, C, March, J. (1975). Effects of high dosage delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on sleep patterns in man. Clin Parmacol Ther. 1975; 17(4):458-66.

http://lucidguide.com/dr...arijuana-affect-dreaming