DOSE:

smoked

Cannabis

(plant material)

I've habitually smoked pot for about 10 years. The sort of high reported in another 'Panic Attack' report is one I seldom get these days, and when I do I enjoy it aside from the physiological symptoms. Personally the edge of awareness that pot gives, that some call paranoia, is what I like. I enjoy being challenged by uncomfortable thoughts and the like that seem associated with these panic attacks to other users. One thing I have noticed though, is that with certain 'high grade' pot, I will get a physiological reaction (a heavy, tight feeling in my chest around my heart, cold extremities, strange breathing, etc.) that seems exactly what people describe when they have 'Panic Attacks', drug-induced or not. During these experiences however, I will not be panicking psychologically at all, not about my physiological symptoms, nor anything else. Also, this reaction generally only happens with my first experience in a day with a batch of pot that whas proven to produce this reaction in me. So I believe that there may be chemicals in marijuana that can induce these symptoms out right, and given the strains of marijuana being produced these days people are probably being exposed to higher concentrations of chemicals whose pharmacological profile we probably don't understand very well.

In my experience of pot smoking, those who have decided not to smoke pot, or at least can not do it habitually seem to have this panic attack reaction to pot even more readily and therefore they choose not to smoke it. I also know of more than a few stories of long-term pot smokers finally quiting due to the fact that they 'started getting heart attacks' everytime they smoked. Of course they didn't really but it began to feel that way.

I do wonder what the long term effects of such experiences are, since I can't imagine having non-drug induced panic attacks all the time is very good for you either.

Exp Year: 2002	ExpID: 19783
Gender: Not Specified
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Sep 28, 2005	Views: 8,991
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Cannabis (1) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Not Applicable (38)