Cannabis card

I don’t agree with people saying cannabis should be legal. I smoked cannabis for years to self medicate for anxiety related to autism and it gave me drug induced psychosis, I was seeing shadow people and having delusions and extreme paranoia. Cannabis is NOT an innocent plant from Mother Nature like most people seem to believe these days. I used to think it was safe and would be good for me because all my friends were doing it and the news websites were posting headlines saying it cures anxiety, pain and a lot of other conditions. I found out the hard way the damage cannabis really does to your mind. I am now on antipsychotic medication for the rest of my life (probably) because I listened to what the news told me. I can only warn others of the consequences of smoking weed as with everything in life there are consequences for your actions. The consequences of smoking weed can sometimes mean becoming schizophrenic and having to take medication for the rest of your life.

That's really hard and I've heard of this happening.  If you feel OK to talk about it here, do you mind me asking what strain(s) and what sort of amounts you used?  Also whether you only smoked or maybe used oils or edibles?  

Reading Prof Nutt's book on the topic allayed some of my concerns, but I think there's still a risk, especially if you are very young when you start smoking it and the THC is very high. 

Have the doctors said that you'll have to take medication for life?  Just wondering because I've also heard of people improving once they ceased or moderated their usage.  The shadow people sound horrible though - not something I'd wish on my worst enemy.  

Thanks for your kind reply, It’s all a bit of a blur for me, I was just smoking whatever was going. I know for sure that all the weed I smoked was really high THC though and I was smoking frequently day to day. I still get paranoia even though I haven’t smoked for 2.5 years, so it may just be a permanent thing for me now. I don’t know if this new medicinal weed is safer because it’s regulated and controlled unlike street weed that can have anything in it but hopefully that is better for people. I never used oils or edibles but I might have known people who used brownies once or twice.

Thanks for your kind reply, It’s all a bit of a blur for me, I was just smoking whatever was going. I know for sure that all the weed I smoked was really high THC though and I was smoking frequently day to day. I still get paranoia even though I haven’t smoked for 2.5 years, so it may just be a permanent thing for me now. I don’t know if this new medicinal weed is safer because it’s regulated and controlled unlike street weed that can have anything in it but hopefully that is better for people. I never used oils or edibles but I might have known people who used brownies once or twice.

There are many strains that are much more expensive, of course, but I go for the bargain basement ones as I need quite a lot.  The oils are quite expensive too - I pay £80 a bottle.  However, each bottle lasts me 3 months, which I don't think is too bad.  

£5 a gram??

If that doesn't make most of the readership sit up and take notice, I don't know what will...

My son was phoning up a dealer and then arranging brief drop offs, no chance to ask anything.  So I felt I had to step in and save him from that.  

But yes, there are certainly very different kinds of dealers around.  Many of the patients at the cannabis clubs were still technically "dealers", but they were ready to advise on the various strains and their properties and listen to customers about their needs.  A vast difference!

On the web too there are so many scammers (High and Polite lists them) as well as a couple of trusted shops that I use for my top ups.  It's unfortunately very much a case of "let the buyer beware".  

And beyond that, I'm put off by the dealers' prices.  If it's the difference between £10/g on the black market and £5/g at a cannabis clinic, then the choice is clear for anyone with a qualifying condition. 

Ah, I'm beginning to understand why "Dealers" get such a bad rep here. I only ever buy off someone who is of a similar background to me and who weighs it out in front of me, in his own home. Generally the service I have received has been good to excellent.

Whenever, I have been exposed to the dealers who, er, aren't like me in their aspect, the amount is not as described, the product knowledge minimal, and they tend to add enhancements like ground glass etc. to be more "competitive". 

You are best off growing you own, at least we were until they price of the required energy just doubled.

Apparently that won't affect the cost of the mass produced stuff, because well once you've gone that far out into the area of illegality, there really is no point in paying for the electricity... (I asked my guy!) 

I've found the whole subject quite fascinating, it's given me an exposure to criminals and their doings that I would not have had otherwise if it were legal, and it''s bizzarre to see that in the drug trade there are two classes of criminal, the honest and conscientious type, and the scrotes who just want your money any way they can. 

I'm not a "people person" so the "trade" side of it has never appealed to me, but if they ever legalise the stuff, I'd entertain the idea of dealing in high end speciality dope such as hashish and edibles etc.

Yes, we definitely need more specific research and we do seem to respond differently to some meds.

I just find it hard to find research that doesn't lump all cannabis consumption together, irrespective of source and mode of ingestion.  And I imagine that vaping your own organically grown, individually tailored strains or using them to make edibles is likely to produce different results from high THC strains bought from a dude that pulls up quickly alongside you, exchanges a bag for your cash, then drives away quickly.  So I wish the research would home in on that as well as on how it affects different neurotypes.  

In the meantime I'm reassured by the checks and safeguards in place at the clinic.  One thing they did ask before prescribing was whether there is any history of psychosis in the family.  So they're being careful in that respect.  However, I still wonder about how comfortably this sits with autism being listed as a qualifying condition when we quite often have co-occuring conditions like psychosis or schizophrenia.  (NB I'm not keen on the language here but just using their terms). 

That’s fair enough that it helps you I’m glad it works better for you than it did for me. There’s a lot of variables and hidden factors that go into peoples different individual experiences of different drugs/medicines. But weed and psychedelics are becoming really popular now a days, I think there needs to be more research done on why certain people have bad trips and psychotic like symptoms whereas other people have euphoric positive experiences. It’s a bit like how autistic people generally seem to find that antidepressants make them feel worse whereas non autistic people in general tend to have a more positive experience on them. I find it all very interesting.

I definitely feel safer with medical cannabis, that's true.  Plus I tend to make sure that the THC is balanced with CBD and choose the strains carefully.  And I favour oils and edibles because their action feels gentler and longer lasting.  I have to wait at least an hour and a half before re-dosing because sometimes the effects take a long time to become noticeable. 

The strains I get from the cannabis clinic are always labelled, include the percentage and ratio of THC:CBD, and state whether that strain is sativa, indica or a hybrid.  I think it's important for people to know exactly what they're getting - yes, for health reasons, but also because it's very expensive and people need something that they know will suit them to avoid wasting money.  

One of the reasons I first went to the local cannabis club was that my son was using weed from a dealer on the street and I had my doubts about the source and the quality.  And at the club they not only had samples but also experienced users of cannabis with a variety of long term health conditions they were managing.  Given that their needs were for pain relief, improving sleep and relaxation, they didn't tend to go for the high THC strains and were very knowledgeable.  

Overall, I support legalisation as I believe this might improve safety and, at least to some extent, take the market away from dealers.  But I can well understand you having a different view after everything you've been through.  There are definitely plenty of people who only talk about the upside of cannabis and mislead others but I much prefer it when they give a more balanced view.  Otherwise it's like recommending strong medication without any list of possible side effects or contraindications. 

️One thing that Sapphire do is ask all their patients to report back on any adverse effects they experience, plus patients are also asked to complete quarterly questionnaires which not only help to monitor their own condition but also feed into an anonymised database 

Anyway, I do hope that the effects on you don't prove to be permanent.  I prefer to believe that brain plasticity means that recovery is always possible, although I'd have to search for very  specific research to support this.  Many of the studies I find are quite short term, unfortunately.