Trusting the Marijuana Experience

Trying Marijuana for the First Time

A few months ago, a patient of mine called and asked my advice on whether his girlfriend, who had never tried marijuana before but wanted to, should do it or not.

I asked him what her concerns might be and why he was asking. He said that she was a middle-aged woman with a history of heart and circulatory problems. I immediately responded that I thought it was not a good idea at all for her to experiment with marijuana due to its highly volatile effects on the heart and blood vessels.

He thanked me, and I didn’t hear from him again for several months.

Different Effects on Different People

The same patient called me again yesterday and asked the same question. I asked him what had changed since our last discussion. He said that the girlfriend had tried marijuana a couple of times, and that each time she experienced dizziness and crushing pains in the chest.

When I asked him why on earth she still wanted to take marijuana, he said that she really wants to do it because all her friends do it, tell her that marijuana’s harmless and she’s really missing out on something by not taking it.

I had to explain to this man that marijuana has different effects on different people, and that whether marijuana will benefit a person or not isn’t a matter of desire, belief or aspirations. It has to do with physiology and the psycho-emotional package s/he brings to the table at the time of the experience.

People are Denying Their Own Experiences

There’s a really important issue going on with this encounter that I want to address because I know it represents many others. We’ve reached a moment in history where pro-cannabis spin, propaganda and cultural attitudes have so profoundly influenced our society that people are actually denying their own direct experiences with the drug in favor for what they’re told they should be experiencing.

I don’t believe that these people are for the most part making an effort to fit into society’s mold or succumbing to peer pressure. Instead, what I observe is that people are brainwashing themselves into believing that their experiences aren’t real, or that they are somehow wrong because cannabis is ‘supposed’ to be harmless.

This is just like when people take pharmaceutical drugs and side effects occur and their doctor tells them that it’s not ‘supposed’ to happen, or that the doctor has ‘never heard of that side effect before.’ This attitude makes an attempt to cast a shadow of suspicion on the person having the experience rather than on the drug.

The Lessons of Cannabis

As I’ve been taught, the entire purpose of taking a mind-altering substance is to pay attention to what it’s telling you while you’re under its effects. If a person doesn’t pay attention to these teachings, s/he’ll squander the healing potential of the drug and the meaning of the experience itself.

This is exactly what happens with many marijuana users. Instead of learning the lessons of cannabis, people often ignore them and distract themselves with myriad activities and indulgences when they’re high. In cases such as the one above, ignoring the lesson of the marijuana could have very serious consequences.

Imagination or Reality?

This same patient also said in that conversation, “It’s probably just my imagination, but I go into a brain fog for several days whenever I smoke pot.” What possible agenda could this man’s imagination have to trick him in such a cruel and unusual way? Instead, it seems to make more sense that the experience is actually happening, and that this man’s body is giving him very direct and substantial feedback that there is a consequence for him in using cannabis.

The Effects of Cannabis are Many

People who are strongly pro-cannabis are very often the people that cannabis is working for on one level or another. That doesn’t mean that it’s going to work for everybody. The effects of cannabis are many, and whether those effects are helpful or harmful will depend on many factors.

Cannabis has a very strong adaptogenic quality. The primary utility of this effect is that cannabis can help to point a person in the direction of healing if s/he uses it responsibly and has the wisdom to be attentive to its lessons in the moment. Why squander this potential benefit of the drug? If a person is going to use marijuana, then at the very least s/he will want to pay attention to what these lessons are and use them to heal, grow and become a better person.

For extensive details on how to balance and optimize the effects of cannabis using Traditional Chinese Medicine, please refer to

Marijuana Syndromes
How to Balance and Optimize
the Effects of Cannabis
With Traditional Chinese Medicine

Home

More Resources

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For extensive details on how to balance and optimize the effects of cannabis using Traditional Chinese Medicine, please refer to

Marijuana Syndromes
How to Balance and Optimize
the Effects of Cannabis
With Traditional Chinese Medicine

Home