"Experiment" in living without Marijuana

[cvillain]

Mobil1,

I've been a daily reader here for years but never post. Had to comment here though, simply to say I have had similar experiences with laying off the smoke after years of relatively heavy use (all while productively employed in...finance). The only "symptom" I have had is a period 2-3 weeks out of extremely vivid dreams as THC leaves the system. The first time this occurred it was quite disturbing, but now I've come to expect, even enjoy it.

Good luck.

[mobil1]

Mobil1,

I've been a daily reader here for years but never post. Had to comment here though, simply to say I have had similar experiences with laying off the smoke after years of relatively heavy use (all while productively employed in...finance). The only "symptom" I have had is a period 2-3 weeks out of extremely vivid dreams as THC leaves the system. The first time this occurred it was quite disturbing, but now I've come to expect, even enjoy it.

Good luck.

cvillain,

YES ! I've been meaning to post about this. I have the same, and this is the main symptom I've seen on other occasions when I go for at least a few days to a week or more without pot. I've probably noticed this for 20+ years now; at least since I used virtually daily.

I went two days a month ago without, and had a VERY vivid afternoon "dream" or at least an nap "image session" with several dozen kaleidoscopic symmetrical shapes spinning around within a square tv/monitor like frame.

About 4-6 days ago I had several dreams I recalled upon waking that were VERY vivid. Good or neutral dreams I presume, as I recall no distress.

I've wondered if regular pot usage prevents dreaming or just suppresses the memory of the dreams.

I've long had a theory that cannabis intoxication is like a dream state, and might reduce the psychological need to dream.

OTOH, I wonder if my almost constant usage is what has caused me to be tired and need to sleep so much that I am unable to work now. AFAIK, those who do not dream (via sleep deprivation or othewise) basically go crazy.

If I google 'marijuana dreams' I see that this is a pretty common thing:
http://www.articlesbase.com/addictions-articles/quitting-marijuana-dreams-memory-symbolism-628260.html
http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81071
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_marijuana_stop_dreams


General consensus seems to be that pot just interferes with short term memory and thus causes one to forget their dreams.


Anyway, I'm still rather bored and tend to be tired, but on Sunday and today, I managed to get through the day without a nap. I'm not absolutely convinced that laying off of the pot is responsible for an increase in my energy, but I feel like and hope that I may be improving...

Cheers... Mike.

[Grower]

Good luck, Mike! It must be kinda interesting, watching yourself as the subject of your own experiment! I hope you're writing stuff down, so you can keep track of the changes. It might be fun to go back and read it some day.

[ElectricMonk]

VERY vivid afternoon "dream" or at least an nap "image session" with several dozen kaleidoscopic symmetrical

Mandala

Deep meditation can bring you to a state where you experience them as well.

Check out some of the sacred and diviniatory artwork at Erowid (warning, bandwidth intensive link here http://www.erowid.org/culture/art/art_swarm.php)

Also Alex Grey is out of this world  www.alexgrey.com

[mobil1]

Good luck, Mike! It must be kinda interesting, watching yourself as the subject of your own experiment! I hope you're writing stuff down, so you can keep track of the changes. It might be fun to go back and read it some day.

Thanks Grower.

Yeah, I can't say this "experiment" is rigorous or scientific, and as my own subject I'm certainly subject to bias.

But after 12 full days now, the only noticable change to me is dreaming more while sleeping, or at least remembering the dream when waking. I think this effect may be wearing off more now

I MAY be coughing less now, even though I might be smoking cigarettes a bit more. I couldn't get to sleep until 4:30 the other night; usually go down about 1-2 AM, but that's always been highly variable to me. I feel I used to play off pot versus cigarettes and caffeine/tea, the nicotine and caffeine would keep me up and the pot would bring me back down.

Beyond that, no noticeable difference.

Wife and I had a bit of a mini-argument tonight after I mentioned the 2 month experiment aspect. She kept going on about how Dr. Phil and every doctor or therapist say that pot is nothing but bad.

I've recently converted her to a 911 conspiracist and Obama questioner so I pointed out how 90% of random people think 911 was 19 terrorists and that Obama will bring nothing but good change... Apparently I have to "admit my problem" before I can heal... Yeah, whatever... I pointed out that the official 911 story believers have to admit their mistaken beliefs also...

Ah well, I'm happy to say our relationship is doing much better the last 3 months. I'm not sure if it's the marital therapy or her recovery from a week in hospital for depression/anxiety some 5 months ago, or that I'm feeling better (Although still way too exhausted physically to get much done) or all of the above, but whatever; as long as there is relative peace in our house.

[Grower]

Baby steps. It's still getting somewhere.

[HotRocks]

This is one of the coolest and most illuminating threads I think I've ever come across on these boards.  I hope posting about it helps you cope with everything, your writing seems incredibly lucid, and that you feel as good as you sound and that things keep on going smoothly!

And in case you ever feel yourself starting to crack, make sure to check out the most convincing anti-marijuana commercial ever made.

[mobil1]

This is one of the coolest and most illuminating threads I think I've ever come across on these boards.  I hope posting about it helps you cope with everything, your writing seems incredibly lucid, and that you feel as good as you sound and that things keep on going smoothly!

And in case you ever feel yourself starting to crack, make sure to check out the most convincing anti-marijuana commercial ever made.

Bwahahaha !   

Thanks HotRocks.

And here I was thinking you were getting all righteous on me, but hey, it's Chapelle, right ?

I had MAJOR hoops to jump through to see that clip, but it was worth it. Comedy Central video can't be viewed from a Canadian IP address. First I go to Wikipedia to figure out it's episode 207. Then I go to http://www.thecomedynetwork.ca/search/advancedSearchResult.aspx?q=%2bchapelle . The I have to install Microsoft's friggen Silverlight. Then I restart browser and go back to Comedy Network. Select episode 207, forward to about 3 minute mark, freak out over where commercial is going, then fall out of my chair laughing... !


I hope there are no MADD type people here to slam me on this, but I have a good deal of experience driving while high. I'll admit at least once, when I was a young 19 that it contributed to a collision. However, I am absolutely convinced the evidence shows the other guy took advantage of my unsafe lane change to hit me on purpose so he could make a whiplash claim.

I agree with the studies I've seen and read that driving high on pot is MUCH, MUCH less dangerous than driving after drinking alcohol. My alcohol tolerance may be low, but once I have more than 1 drink, it's very clear to me that driving is dangerous. With pot, the only time I feel it ever gets dangerous is if I become too sleepy to do anything, much less drive.

IMO, people on cell phones, or with screaming kids in the backseat, or those who just had an argument with the spouse are more dangerous than I was after I had a few joints.

I used to drive semi-regularly from my childhood hometown to my current city, about 360 miles. I virtually always did this at night, to reduce the stress from traffic, and because I'm a night owl, and it helped IMO that I could toke and drive without being noticed.

On one of these occasions I was 15 minutes from home, and did an illegal U turn on a federal road, to save 5 minutes. Flashing lights suddenly appeared. OMG ! The federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police ! It's 3 AM, I'm sure the car smelled like pot, I have half a pound of weed in the hatchback of my Mustang GT, and here I am getting pulled over by the friggin Mounties !

I quickly open the windows, put the fan at highest speed, hit my right blinker and SLOWLY pull over and come to a stop. I grab my registration and do my common maneuver of exiting the car slowly to meet the cops half-way. This was mid 1990s when here in Canada one could still do this without freaking out the cops too much. Around 2000 or so, cops here in Canada were starting to make it clear they wanted you to stay in the car.

One cop comes over and checks out my hatchback with his flashlight. Asks me about the box back there and I think he saw my cat. I ask if he wants me to open the trunk (ALWAYS better to offer). He probably figures some guy with his cat in the car can't be out doing robberies or whatever. Nobody comes to stick their nose in my car, thank god...

I got off with a warning ! Always pays to be nice and polite and co-operative ! Whew !

[comrade simba]

My life is absolutely FULL of achievements I've done while high, whether personal electronics and computer based projects, or career projects. For about a decade I worked from home, often high, and made very good money doing so. Being high helped me IMO to be creative and to obsessively focus on the project, and not think about the personal problems in my life.

Measured at the time I quit, I did my best stuff when using. Now, ten years later, what I have done with my life runs circles around what I accomplished in my using days.

[periol]

My life is absolutely FULL of achievements I've done while high, whether personal electronics and computer based projects, or career projects. For about a decade I worked from home, often high, and made very good money doing so. Being high helped me IMO to be creative and to obsessively focus on the project, and not think about the personal problems in my life.

Measured at the time I quit, I did my best stuff when using. Now, ten years later, what I have done with my life runs circles around what I accomplished in my using days.

this makes sense to me.  i've used off and on for the last five years, and i see the weed as a tool that blurs the veil that normally stands between us and the real reality.  there are other ways to get to that place (meditation, fasting, not sleeping, shrooms, etc.), but the tools aren't necessary to get there. 

[Chesyre]

I like dope ,  it will be handy for keepin the cannon fodder / concubines and field hands pacified  post crash 

[ElectricMonk]

If you have any extra send it my way.....I can't even walk into a head shop without getting the "must be a cop" sidelong glace (I tried today....fucking damnit).

Really, it amazes me the superficial nature of every subset of our culture.

Which is all by way of saying...if you know anyone in the area....

 

[mobil1]

If you have any extra send it my way.....I can't even walk into a head shop without getting the "must be a cop" sidelong glace (I tried today....fucking damnit).

Really, it amazes me the superficial nature of every subset of our culture.

Which is all by way of saying...if you know anyone in the area....

 

Hair length can be an issue. Undercover cops rarely have the time to grow it long from the normal cop short length.

Only time I remember the "must be a cop" experience was when I had it shorter and was observing the protesters at a G8 summit here in Ottawa... Yes, I was "observing" but kinda wishing I was younger and protesting too.

I only have my 1 local contact here in my area. Are you in the US ? In my observance/experience LOTS more (justified IMO) paranoia in the US. AFAIK, cops here can't entrap you with offers to buy; I'm amazed and disgusted by what I saw years ago when watching some COPS episodes.

Was vacationing in Florida in 1996 and some guy asked me to buy a bong from a head shop; I guess he was under 21 for this "tobacco product". I DID buy it for him but later realized I could end up in major shit if I had been caught.

It was March break and my friend and I had no pot; we would never consider bringing it with us over the border, and we were well aware that the vast majority of people would refuse to sell any to us. VERY frustrating having none and walking past hotel room doors where the smell poured out in droves.

I'm very glad to live in Canada where we have IMO MUCH less to be paranoid about in regards to weed at least.

[mobil1]

"Monkeys on Acid"  (I.E. LSD).

I read that somewhere as an explanation for how young children seem to be. I LOVE that definition. IMO, it's a very accurate characterization.

Monkeys LOVE to have fun, and swing and bounce around, and generally create havoc, perhaps even flinging their poop around.

Imagine that, but compounded with the crazy aspects of LSD consumption !


This pops into mind because my wife wanted to sleep in this morning and I had to take care of the kids; 3 and 6. It's just general havoc, and it seems like nothing I can do or say calms them down. To a certain extent, I envy them. I have vague recollections of being a kid.

I don't think I've done any LSD in 15-20 years, but I'd do it today if I had some. It just hasn't been readily available. I HAVE done mushrooms a few times over the last 2 decades or so. It's always pretty cool, but not quite the same.

Every time I start (or even stop) taking my anti-depressant, it feels like I'm on acid. I guess it's because my serotonin levels are being messed with in some way. This makes me wonder if my "acid freak" phase when I was in my late teens was an indication that I should have been on an anti-depressant.

Unlike "monkeys on acid", I never freaked out, never hallucinated or any such thing. Just enjoyed a wondrous experience with lots of laughter. It's like I was a young kid again, and a happy one at that.

In my late teens, my friends and I often partook and went on long walking trips and had interesting conversations. Those were the days...

[ElectricMonk]

Frankly I wouldn't touch LSD again if you paid me. Mostly because there is no guarantee you are getting the real deal, too much garbage. Not to mention the time invested....my memories of it are a bit nasty/chemical for my tastes.

Now organic psychedelics are another matter entirely. Set and setting would matter a lot however. A naturalistic surrounding with few or no people (maybe a fellow adventurer and maybe a sitter - someone to drive just in case) would be the extent of my desire to go down that road.

That being said, there is a place in the Netherlands which sells all sorts of "incense" and ships worldwide. Caveat, you need to check your local laws before ordering as they will sell to you and you might potentially get into hot water.

http://www.shamanic-extracts.com/xcart/customer/home.php

Note: this is not an endorsement, just happened across the website the other day YMMV and all that