Marijuana Paranoia

Why it happens and how to handle it?

I used to think feelings of paranoia were isolated to that one time (almost 30 years ago) while smoking a joint with friends when I thought there was a “pervert man” standing behind me. The feeling didn’t seem too far from reality because there had been plenty of times in my 20s when unsolicited advances came my way. Luckily, the paranoia didn’t last long, as I soon realized that I was in a safe environment with no uninvited guests.

It's no secret that society has become obsessed with creating safe environments. With every porch camera and computer virus protection program installed, we feel more in control of the comings and goings of our property. Although, could this lifestyle be contributing to a widespread paranoia that cannabis has nothing to do with it?

“Paranoia describes an irrational suspicion of other people. You might believe people are watching you, following you, or trying to rob or harm you in some way.”

- (healthline.com)

The reality is, we know people are watching, following, and trying to rob us. That is why we don’t answer spam calls or open click-bait emails. It’s also the reason we act like detectives when receiving notifications on our phones that someone is approaching our front door.

Are these “irrational suspicions?”

In the 1950s, one might consider the installation of security cameras all around a house as a sign of paranoia if the installation was done only after hearing about a break-in at the local drugstore. Yet today, that family would be considered proactive, not paranoid.

Even though paranoia might be a part of our daily lives, the fact remains… some people experience feelings of paranoia after they consume a certain amount of THC.

Can anyone else hear Ozzy singing?

“All day long I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy”

- (from Paranoid, by Black Sabbath)

Consuming cannabis is an adventure. And consumers must be willing to sail the occasional rough sea before they reach the “X” that marks the sweet spot. Since cannabis has traditionally been consumed among family and friends, newcomers generally rely on experienced consumers to help navigate the trip. We’ve all seen the movie clips of an adult giving the young whipper snapper his first smoke or first drink. That first time is almost always too much for the young person to handle.

My recommendation would be to take it low and slow regardless of what works for someone else. Low dosage and/or slow consumption. Every person is encouraged to find their own way.

I’m happy with consuming my tailored regimen of CBD oil and 2.5 mg gummy a couple of times a day. It took over a year to find the right product and dose combinations but that’s why I love this adventure. I could take dosage recommendations from everyone I know AND I’m pretty sure I would experience paranoia on a regular basis. There are individuals who can consume 100mg, 200mg, or even 1000 mg and report no adverse effects. With that said, keep in mind that not all milligrams of cannabis are created equally.

Your best defense against experiencing paranoia is to trust yourself… trust yourself AND wear gloves.

I have had two bad experiences with cannabis. My first was from a rookie mistake of not wearing gloves when I made my first batch of canna-butter. Yep, strained that butter with my bare hands. What happened next? Well, I’d like to say that I was aware of my mistake at that moment, but things didn’t kick in until much later. In fact, it didn’t kick in until after I had whipped up a batch of brownies with my newly created butter and treated myself to the batter spoon. I couldn’t believe how good the batter tasted! Not sure why I was surprised because all I did was modify the butter portion of my grandmother’s delicious brownie recipe.

Before the brownies were done, I found myself clinging to the couch begging my husband to stop the boat from rocking. One might say the feelings of paranoia came crashing in. My paranoia didn’t involve someone watching, following, or wanting to harm me, but my world was spinning and I had no previous experience to draw from that could help me understand that things were going to be okay with time.

This might be a good time to encourage consumers to always have a trusted person with them when experimenting with the levels of cannabis consumption that works best for them. Had my husband not been there, I’m not sure what I would have done – and I’ll most likely never know because I plan to always have safeguards in place when I consume an untested amount. Sometimes all we need is hindsight to help us navigate a smoother trip, but for the sake of education, let’s say that I do consume too much THC, what would I do? I would take double my usual dosage of CBD oil since CBD has been noted to reduce the negative effects of THC and hope for the best. (Disclaimer: don’t count on CBD bailing you out of a bad trip – go low and slow).

Cannabis consumption is about making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. If we don’t learn from our mistakes, whose fault is that? It’s certainly not the dispensaries or the lawmakers. As a cannabis consumer, you may have unwillingly become a scientist, on a quest to find your best self. Why not use your quest with cannabis as an opportunity to improve your overall mental, physical, and spiritual well-being?

Dr. Freeman, a Professor at the University of Oxford offered a statement about the results of a study done with individuals consuming cannabis and the many factors that relate to the measure of paranoia.

"I think what it highlights is that if you have greater confidence in yourself, you improve your self-esteem, and if you try not to worry or ruminate about potential threats in the world... then the effects of the THC should hopefully be less capable of inducing paranoia.”

(Daniel Freeman, Ph.D.; Webmd.com)

It seems much of modern technology is geared at reducing the paranoia we feel - when we think we’ve left the garage door open while we are boarding the airplane, or when someone is messing with our mail. And we can do our part in reducing paranoia from cannabis consumption by learning to trust ourselves and our abilities to know when enough is enough. Sending you love and light as you navigate cannabis with your higher self.