Paranoia is something that just about every cannabis user has experienced at one time or another.  

Usually, it’s a fresh bag of flower or a hit off of a friend’s joint that does it. Waiting for that pleasant, baked sensation and it hits you.

Crippling paranoia or anxiety. It’s generally a safe assumption that the user wasn’t hoping for this as the intended effect. As a matter-of-fact cannabis is often consumed to treat anxiety, not amplify it! So how does this happen?

If you smoke and read about weed, it’s likely that you’ve heard somebody say that cannabis affects everybody differently. At least, since it’s been legalized that gets said a lot – and for good reason. Depending on many factors, including everything from how your brain and endocannabinoid system handle cannabinoids down to how much and what strain you smoke, it is possible to suffer paranoia or anxiety.

In this article, we dive into how this works, some things you can do to avoid paranoia altogether, and what to do if it’s already hit. Let’s dive in.

As mentioned above, cannabis is often used to treat anxiety and depression. That gives us insight into how adverse paranoid effects can occur. That is because cannabinoids affect the amygdala – the part of the brain responsible for things like your fight/flight reactions and stress and anxiety responses.

The amygdala is what keeps you from putting your hand near the burner of the stove – especially if you’ve been burned in the past. This function has proven exceptionally important to our survival throughout history. Fear and heightened awareness have their place in nature it turns out.

Usually, when we ingest cannabis, it works to replenish the endocannabinoids that occur in our bodies naturally. People who have experienced a lot of trauma tend to have depleted stores of these endocannabinoids, which is why it is often found to be helpful. (Endocannabinoids occur naturally in the body where cannabinoids come from cannabis, FYI)

It is possible, however, for THC – the notoriously psychoactive component of cannabis – to overwhelm the amygdala and trigger paranoid and anxious feelings and thoughts. There are a number of factors that can contribute to this.

Where the psychoactive element THC can overwhelm the amygdala, the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD doesn’t get the user stoned and is often used to treat anxiety. So you can try to avoid that paranoid feeling by smoking or ingesting cannabis with a high CBD and low THC ratio.

Another thing to take into consideration is how much cannabis you are taking, period. Less is more. The less you take, the more you might enjoy it. Always start low and go slow!

If you’re new to cannabis, then re-read the last sentence of the previous paragraph. It can be easy to overdo it, especially with the THC content of some of the strains these days – it’s through the roof! 

Pace yourself, young padawan, Snoop Dogg has had years of practice.

Alternatively, people who have recently quit using cannabis have also reported feeling anxious and paranoid. If this is still occurring after 4 weeks of quitting, though, it is a good idea to talk to a mental health professional.

Genetics and your individual body’s endocannabinoid system can be a factor as well – we are all unique. Some research has shown that people who process endocannabinoids predominantly in the rear of their brain can be prone to paranoia and anxiety from ingesting cannabis.

Research has also shown that people who have higher levels of estrogen can be more susceptible to cannabis-induced paranoia and anxiety.

Well, this is all fine and good if you haven’t already smoked a funny strain and had a full-blown panic attack, but what if you have? Don’t panic, there are some things you can do!

No don’t break your glass (you may need that later) – Here are some strategies for getting 

yourself un-paranoid.

Wait, aren’t those already in cannabis? Well yes, they are. But they are also present in other things like pine, pepper, lemon, orange and most fragrant fruits and plants. Taking a good whiff of pepper is a good way to ingest beta-caryophyllene. This terpene is known for its ability to fight cannabis-induced anxiety. 

Another way to get terpenes is to squeeze some lemon and shave some zest in and shoot it! You might make a funny face, but the limonene present might get you feeling better!

This is an exercise in mind-over-matter and won’t work for everyone, but talking yourself through your anxiety can be a powerful way to overcome it. Nobody has ever OD’d from cannabis and you aren’t going to be the first! Much anxiety and paranoia is irrational, so talking some sense into yourself can be a helpful way to circumnavigate the negative experience.

No not electric shock therapy. Doing something to shock your senses is a proven way to get grounded again. Take a cold shower or smell some really gross garbage. Do whatever you can think of to shock your senses – without hurting yourself, of course! 

Basically, you overwhelm your body and brain with the sensory overload and essentially forget what you were paranoid or anxious about. Nice one.

Not possible for everybody – especially depending on the severity of the anxiety, but some fresh air and a walk in the woods or by the water can be just the thing you need to calm down and reground. Not to mention, if you live near the woods, you’ll also be ingesting the terpene pinene.

There you have it. How and why cannabis makes you paranoid, how to avoid it – and what to do in the worst case scenario.

La entrada Does Consuming Cannabis Make You Paranoid? se publicó primero en Ecomeds.