I never had any serious psychosis before I quit smoking pot. I was heading on vacation to the good old US of A and obviously couldn’t bring it with me so I quit. Cold Turkey. Had a full on episode of psychosis. Went to see a psychiatrist and he says its schizophrenia. I have a family history if it so it makes sense. Been on antipsychotics for a month now. I hate it. I’m shaky and weak. Tired all the time. My question for everyone is if I was self medicating with pot for years, and was happy, why shouldn’t I go back to the way things were.
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For most folk pot and psychosis don’t mix well. It increases positive symptoms and probably aids psychosis.
Many of us have been there. I gave up when I first got on meds but I was really struggling before if I look back on it! Chat to your shrink. Most schizophrenics need to avoid street drugs…that is just the reality of it!
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Marijuana doesn’t agree with most schizophrenics, it can make your symptoms worse. Smoking pot may have been fun before you had these problems but now things are different and you have a diagnosed mental illness. Marijuana can make it worse.
A lot of us smoked pot before we got ill and it was fun, but when we have psychosis most of us can’t handle it anymore. It’s better to leave it alone.
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This. 151515151515
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Where in Canada are
You from?
I have a problem with that term. Street drugs. I’m(was) getting it from a licensed medical cannabis producer. Nothing street about it. I know exactly how much THC is in it and how much CBD is in it. I know there are no pesticides or growth additives left in it because its grown properly. I know what you’re saying though. I just found the positive symptoms weren’t an issue for me until I quit. And its relieved many of my negative symptoms as well. I just feel so flat now. No joy in anything. I haven’t been reading or playing my guitar. Video games are ok but they’re just a distraction.
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No matter how much you try and rationalise this, it won’t help you recover if you take it. Period. One of my biggest regrets is that I smoked too much of it when I was a kid, and now I cannot touch the stuff without going full-blown psychotic.
Not saying we’re experiencing the same thing, I just think you need to accept that any drugs you take in this way are not helping or dealing with any underlying issues, and the benefits are short lived, which makes it addictive. My opinion.
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Think about it like walking on thin ice. You spent years walking out further and further to the center of the lake, and the ice was cracking all around you but you didn’t notice. Then, the ice broke, and you fell in. You’re not going to be able to get back up on the ice and walk back, because it’s all in shattered chunks. Now, you have to learn how to swim to shore.
Statistically, THC makes you 80% more likely to experience a psychotic episode if you’re prone to psychosis. The likliehood goes up the more you smoke. Your brain isn’t going to go back to normal if you start smoking again.
There are some studies that show CBD alone, with absolutely 0% THC, can act as an antipsychotic. But the dose required is one gram per day, which costs roughly 60$. Therefore, it’s not economically feasible at this time to treat yourself with CBD alone. Some companies are trialing synthetic CBD antipsychotics, which will be cheaper and more consistently dosed.
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This post seems to have a common theme.
Just because you were happy doesn’t mean you were healthy. You may have been in very bad shape and not realized it and were an absolute nightmare for those around you to deal with. Personally, I cleaned up (booze, weed, and uppers) before the SZ landed on me like a tonne of bricks. Yeah, the meds suck, but they help you function. No way I’d go back and trade my meds for drugs.
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Very similar storyline to my own. I was chronic since age 11. I worked for $5 a day and weed was $10 an ounce. It truly was my best friend for 30+ years. For me, quitting high powered weed as you were probably getting, takes months of readjustment. If you start smoking again things get weird all over again. I haven’t smoked weed in a long time. I really enjoy the clarity of being drug free. I do miss the smell though.
@mike23 I was born and raised in Chilliwack BC but now call rural Saksatchewan home. Love it out here. Peaceful and quiet.
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@ArchStanton. Yeah I started smoking grass when I was 16. Havent had a drink in 5 years. Blow and ecstacy even longer that that. I’m down to my nicotine now and that’s it. Even that isnt cigarettes anymore its vaping. My lungs are loving this change. No more smoke.
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I think I’d rather have fewer years on this earth and be happy than have more years on this earth being “healthy”.
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I had to laugh at this.
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@KCdub, there is a difference between prescribed medical marijuana and street marijuana. The first is legal and has minimal to no THC and the second has high THC. Street marijuana is terrible for sz’s/sza’s. You should probably not use it. But, medical marijuana has minimal to no THC and actually has anti psychotic properties to it. And that is why when you take it, you don’t have sz symptoms.
Ahhhh the same thing happen to me to yo! 
i went cold turkey when i was going to visit my dad but my voices kicked in prior to me leaving. I was smokin on sherbert i think all the time then i switched to blueberry haze and the voices started talking to me but all of my weed was from medical dispensaries so i know you not lieing about the naturally grown part. Aye but if your anything like me once u take that break your tolerance level becomes lower and then itll make your symptoms more noticeable u smoke again. My advice is to you is either quit for a while and see how it is in like a year or 2 maybe 3 or just smoke cbd for now. The second one i would be doing myself but they dont have medical marijuana in my current resides. plus i gotta say this yo but high amounts of thc can trigger psychosis and mental illness doesnt necessarily have to run in your family. For example im the only one in my whole family whos ever heard voices from weed but im the one who use to smoke it the most so just becareful and be aware of the signs.
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@SkinnyMe you’ve been misinformed on the THC thing. Medical cannabis comes in a range of potencies from High THC/Low CBD to Low THC/High CBD. If you’re looking for pain relief or relief from insomnia you’ll want that THC. There is one strain I’ve been looking at that has a low THC level and Tonnes of CBD in it. It’s an indica, so shouldn’t bring on any manic or anxious feelings. My psychiatrist is 100% against medical cannabis. Period. He says that there is no medical use for it. Which in my opinion is BS. But what can I do? Hes the only psychiatrist around for hundreds of kms. There is no one else I can see.
I relate so much to this post.
I self medicated with marijuana for years and years,
It was effective and kept me out of the hospital.
Soon as I started seeing a doctor they loaded me up on meds,
Now I feel like half the person I was.
I think we just have to adjust,
Weed isn’t medicine.
My pdoc says I can smoke still, and that does help, but the side effects from the meds makes it so it doesn’t help in the same way.
I should note that I live in a state where medical and recreational marijuana is legal and I’m prescribed.
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If you’re able to foot the bill for being unhealthy, go for it. If someone else has to subsidize or outright pay for your refusal to follow sensible medical direction, then they are within their rights to ask you to become med compliant if it will cost society less. He who pays the piper calls the tune, etc.