N
nahtanoj
Apologies if this is posted in the wrong section but I'd love some feedback and opinions.
As per my intro thread, I'm almost 30 and had never smoked marijuana.. until 5 weeks ago. I had to ditch my grow due to the summer heat but I did manage to find someone who I could purchase 1 oz from - no idea on what strain or how it was grown etc etc.
I'll preempt what I'm going to say by stating my father, his brother and their father are all schizophrenics. It's a big part of the reason why I avoided marijuana for the longest time. I figured at almost age 30, I'd probably be OK given I had never experienced any psychotic symptoms before.
About 5-6 weeks ago, I purchased an oz and started smoking every single day - from the moment I started smoking, I found it was something I wanted to feel all the time.
Over a period of 2 weeks, I managed to smoke half of it. I don't have the experience to say if this is a little or a lot and not knowing what type of strain it is also makes it difficult. I would spread it out from the moment I woke up until I went to bed.
It didn't take much to get the desired effect but after about 2 weeks, I had a psychotic episode; thought broadcasting, thought insertion and ideas of reference. I didn't completely buy into my delusions as I had some insight into them but I wasn't completely sure either; it was the most terrifying experience of my life. It started while under the influence but continued the day after at which point I called the crisis team for assistance.
The psych at the hospital thought that my insight into what was going on combined with my symptoms quickly resolving meant it was a drug induced pyschosis and not schizophrenia but still inline with a first episode pyschosis. He warned me not to use marijuana or any other drugs such as speed as the next episode could be much worse and develop into a mental health problem. After speaking with my dad, he said I might develop subtle symptoms (his experience) over the coming months but only time will tell.
They had me on valium and olanzapine (15mg) for a few days but once I was changed from involuntary admission to voluntary, I checked myself out and stopped taking the anti-pyschotic. They didn't agree with my choice and suggested I continue taking it for a period of 3 months but it turned me into a complete zombie and I could feel myself returning to normal.
I've not had any recurring symptoms since and I'm pretty much back to normal although I have not smoked any marijuana since that time. I figure even if I decide to smoke it again, it's probably best to give it a rest for a good period of time. I went from not ever smoking to smoking it constantly over 2 weeks. Besides the psychosis, I completely understand why people want to smoke it 24/7.
I know a lot of people will say that there is no link between schizophrenia,psychosis and marijuana while others will argue there is. Given my own personal experience, I can say there is some type of connection between marijuana and psychosis for people who have a predisposition to it. I think a simple analogy would be peanuts; some people can eat them with zero issues while for some, it's life threatening yet we don't ban peanuts.
Obviously given the history of schizophrenia in my family, I fall into a high risk category but I wonder if smoking high CBD strains would avoid such a risk of psychosis again.
This is just my personal experience, I'm not looking to stop others from smoking or even suggesting it. I'd love to hear from people who have had similar experiences and decided to smoke again and see what happened to them. My gut instinct tells me to leave it alone but another part of me wants to continue smoking if possible with a high CBD strain.
Thoughts?
As per my intro thread, I'm almost 30 and had never smoked marijuana.. until 5 weeks ago. I had to ditch my grow due to the summer heat but I did manage to find someone who I could purchase 1 oz from - no idea on what strain or how it was grown etc etc.
I'll preempt what I'm going to say by stating my father, his brother and their father are all schizophrenics. It's a big part of the reason why I avoided marijuana for the longest time. I figured at almost age 30, I'd probably be OK given I had never experienced any psychotic symptoms before.
About 5-6 weeks ago, I purchased an oz and started smoking every single day - from the moment I started smoking, I found it was something I wanted to feel all the time.
Over a period of 2 weeks, I managed to smoke half of it. I don't have the experience to say if this is a little or a lot and not knowing what type of strain it is also makes it difficult. I would spread it out from the moment I woke up until I went to bed.
It didn't take much to get the desired effect but after about 2 weeks, I had a psychotic episode; thought broadcasting, thought insertion and ideas of reference. I didn't completely buy into my delusions as I had some insight into them but I wasn't completely sure either; it was the most terrifying experience of my life. It started while under the influence but continued the day after at which point I called the crisis team for assistance.
The psych at the hospital thought that my insight into what was going on combined with my symptoms quickly resolving meant it was a drug induced pyschosis and not schizophrenia but still inline with a first episode pyschosis. He warned me not to use marijuana or any other drugs such as speed as the next episode could be much worse and develop into a mental health problem. After speaking with my dad, he said I might develop subtle symptoms (his experience) over the coming months but only time will tell.
They had me on valium and olanzapine (15mg) for a few days but once I was changed from involuntary admission to voluntary, I checked myself out and stopped taking the anti-pyschotic. They didn't agree with my choice and suggested I continue taking it for a period of 3 months but it turned me into a complete zombie and I could feel myself returning to normal.
I've not had any recurring symptoms since and I'm pretty much back to normal although I have not smoked any marijuana since that time. I figure even if I decide to smoke it again, it's probably best to give it a rest for a good period of time. I went from not ever smoking to smoking it constantly over 2 weeks. Besides the psychosis, I completely understand why people want to smoke it 24/7.
I know a lot of people will say that there is no link between schizophrenia,psychosis and marijuana while others will argue there is. Given my own personal experience, I can say there is some type of connection between marijuana and psychosis for people who have a predisposition to it. I think a simple analogy would be peanuts; some people can eat them with zero issues while for some, it's life threatening yet we don't ban peanuts.
Obviously given the history of schizophrenia in my family, I fall into a high risk category but I wonder if smoking high CBD strains would avoid such a risk of psychosis again.
This is just my personal experience, I'm not looking to stop others from smoking or even suggesting it. I'd love to hear from people who have had similar experiences and decided to smoke again and see what happened to them. My gut instinct tells me to leave it alone but another part of me wants to continue smoking if possible with a high CBD strain.
Thoughts?