Marijuana and its use

I've been using medical cannabis for a slew of illnesses, and would be happy to contribute what I could towards your project if you are still working on it.

I got myself into trouble over the use of cannabis. I knew I had a pre-employment screening once a new job call came, but I made the choice to risk using it while on unemployment during the Thanksgiving break and then again in the first week of December. When the time came to take a UA, I planned on using a fetish kit to circumvent the test. However, I wasn't as smart as I thought I was, and they popped me at the shop instead of sending me to a place like Quest Diagnostics. So, I panicked, and tried to leave the site to heat up the kit. Unfortunately, they saw me leave and turned me away after that. As a result of my poor choice, my family has to pack up and move; I've got to take a new trade, and start over a five year apprenticeship after working two years on the first.

While I have nothing against cannabis use, I know that I have abused it. My family has addiction written into its DNA on both sides. Regardless of my noble intentions, the only substances I've never abused were "hallucinogens" (I prefer the term entheogens) like psilocybin, DMT, and the like. At this point, even if they stopped testing for it I question whether or not I would start using again. Certainly, I've cut out everyone in my life who does, because I don't want the temptation.

How do you broach the subject with a doctor. One of my cousins gets severe nausea and pain, and I think it could be good for her.

rrhodes67 wrote: How do you broach the subject with a doctor. One of my cousins gets severe nausea and pain, and I think it could be good for her.

I just straight up told my doctor I was using it, only because his office requires you to inform them of medications you are taking.

Unfortunately, most doctors in the states aren't going to have much of any knowledge of cannabis outside of treatment / addiction centers. Unless you are in a MMJ state, in which case it's still highly likely that the only practitioners who will have an idea on how to treat illness with it are practitioners of alternative medicine and dispensary specific clinics.

You're most likely going to have to do a lot of your own research and bring materials in with you when you visit with your doctor. Having reference materials will make it more likely that your doctor will work with you using cannabis as a medical treatment.

If you live in a MMJ legal state, consider looking on Leafly to find doctors and dispensaries in your area which offer treatment services including medical cannabis.

I hope that helps you somewhat.

Yes I think that it does help, but you can't get stoned off you a**. You have to find the right balance so it heightens your senses and sensitivity. We need a research group to work out a balance for those who want to try it.
But to those who don't I don't think it should be pushed on you if you don't want to don't, if you do then do. That's what I have to say.
May the force be with you always and forever.

Br. John wrote: If it was up to me - it's not - it would be a Blessed Holy Sacrament. And alcohol is so much more harmful than marijuana that saying otherwise is either a bad joke or a sign of extreme ignorance about the verifiable scientific studies on the substances.

If you use it just because it make you feel good and you're not abusing / misusing it - great. Our society has still not gotten over the Puritan crap - "The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” ― H.L. Mencken

Study: Alcohol Is “More Than Twice As Harmful As Cannabis” — So Explain To Me Again Why Pot Is Illegal? - See more at: http://blog.norml.org/2011/11/01/study-alcohol-is-%E2%80%9Cmore-than-twice-as-harmful-as-cannabis%E2%80%9D-so-explain-to-me-again-why-pot-is-illegal/#sthash.u07Sfvhx.dpuf

I agree with all of the above. Marijuana IS actually a holy sacrament for Rastafarians. It was just recently legalized in Jamaica.

Now, the health stuff I don't really want to comment on. I believe it does have a lot of medicinal uses and I think the reality is that things are sometimes made illegal based on a profit motive. Once the state figures out a profit model that is better than the criminal justice system's fines and penalties for locking up people for marijuana sales and possession, then you'll see more acceptance. The legality has nothing to do with whether it's good or bad, right or wrong.

The other thing that was brought up was "force sensitivity". Now THIS.... is very interesting.

Now for me, most weed I've had I would say could only be used for meditation. I remember the first time I smoked it (which wasn't all that long ago really) and I instantly had all these insights about how it worked and what it was doing. The ability to slow/quiet the mind enables/aids meditation, especially for people like me who think a lot and are distracted easily. If I turn off external stimuli and try to meditate, my brain will quickly use that opportunity to catch up on whatever subjects it wants to discuss; which are usually more mundane.

Because I'm half Jamaican I get to go to Jamaica occasionally for family -related events. So I went to Jamaica for a cousin's wedding. Our driver told us that weed was legal now and there's always someone selling to tourists. We went on a tour of the Bob Marley house, where he grew up. An older Rasta gave us the history and during the tour, one of the other Rastas noticed my dreads and offered me some marijuana.

I want to make it clear that I had marijuana from 2 different sources. One was a guy selling it on the beach and the other was a genuine Rastafarian. The Rasta wanted a little more for his but he assured me it was worth it.

It was.

On the balcony of my resort room I smoked this stuff and I actually had a vision/dream. I guess it had put me into a state of mind where this was possible. I don't know if I was really awake or sleep but I've never "seen things" from smoking weed before. It was basically the kind of high I would imagine you get from mushrooms, but maybe not as powerful as ayahuasca (which I've never tried).

I'm a very logical person. I don't believe in a magical deity. However... there are some things that exist on Earth that don't seem to have explanations in modern science. There's a really good book called the Cosmic Serpent that is about this guy's experience with ayahuasca and he talks about how he saw this serpent and this was a common vision. And that this was possibly a method that taught humans which herbs they could use as medicines and natural remedies and stuff. Oddly enough, that kind of vision reminds me of certain elements of Star Wars in which a person can actually communicate with an entity who is a force user. For all we know, there are beings that exist outside the visible electromagnetic spectrum. Saying this almost makes me feel silly but even with what I saw, I feel like I got a taste of what might be possible with the mind in an altered state of awareness.

Could you call this "force sensitivity"?

That's a good question. Who am I to answer that? However, it is definitely intriguing and if some people react differently than others perhaps that is a difference in "sensitivity" whereas the slowing of the mind... and whatever substance you use acts like a gateway to bridge the gap between your sensitivity and "the force"; assuming that it is something that can be felt/experienced in this way. I'd love to see more discussion on this.

Something I feel that this thread has sort of missed a little is that for some marijuana is smoked for pleasure. Not everyone takes it because they want control or focus, or to help their pain or nausea, they do it because they enjoy it and that's it.

Now, I don't want to smoke weed, that's not for me, but as someone around others who smoke I've done my time listening to opinions and challenging them.

Addiction, often an argument used against weed, may also be used as an argument against mobile phones, food, gaming, shopping etc. and is on shaky ground.

From what I have read so far (elsewhere), there is no definitive evidence that marijuana causes any serious health issues. As Ryujin pointed out earlier, no-one it seems has died from marijuana use and if they have, compared to the number of weed smokers, is miniscule, versus the number of people that die by being grossly overweight or from tobacco related issues.

If a person smokes weed for pleasure or for health, having done their own research, I really don't see why I should tell them no.
All I can do is educate and discuss (as we are doing here).

Well I think that's simply because the OP was specific to health and "force sensitivity". I thought recreational usage was irrelevant and probably a given.

ZealotX wrote: Well I think that's simply because the OP was specific to health and "force sensitivity". I thought recreational usage was irrelevant and probably a given.

It sort of became relevant when people starting giving their personal reasons for not wanting to take it...

Also, I did talk about health...

You're right. And that was a good post.

I didn't smoke anything until about 34-35. It just wasn't my thing and I didn't understand the attraction, honestly. I didn't have a reason so I felt it wasn't useful (to me) or worth my time. Now, I'll mostly just do it socially. For me, it would be a waste of money unless I was doing it for a particular purpose. I could see myself planning a meditation session and buying it as an aid, but unless I'm in Jamaica I don't plan to spend money on it. I think what you said about addiction was exactly right. I'm definitely more addicted to my phone (because of the games) than anything else and I don't think weed is addictive. I think the act of smoking could become addictive like cell phones but I don't think weed is chemically addictive. When the government turned against it I think there was a lot of propaganda that made it out to be this evil gateway drug that we should just avoid like the plague and that was very unfortunate. I think a lot of more tribal/native people smoke it to feel closer to nature.

I've tried it, in several variations, for my cancer and fibromyalgia pain as well as migraines. I didn't really notice a big help except that it distanced my mind from the pain a bit. Kinda how my prescribed opiates work only without the opiates, heh.

I use it when my pain is just too bad or too prolonged, or sometimes to be able to sleep despite discomfort. It's a good addition to my health toolbox.

First, I've smoked weed in a social setting before and it was amusing, but not really my thing. It just led to a shortage of mac & cheese in my college apartment. I haven't really bothered with it for the last 20 years or so.

When it comes to health purposes, thankfully I have always had a pretty high pain tolerance and haven't had to rely on pain killers much for anything, but after my most recent surgery, I was given the choice to include marijuana edibles along with the opiate pain medication I was prescribed. It really got me thinking.

As someone who does not rely on medication heavily for pain, why was the doctor prescribing me 30 pills of Norco when I would likely only use 3 or 4, creating the opportunity to either become addicted myself or sell them on the street to other addicts? And he gave me 30 pills of 800 mg Acetaminophen (Tylenol) as well! The doctor just filled out the slip according to protocol, the pharmacy filled it, the insurance got billed and big pharma gets rich, but was any of it really necessary? Every case is different, but I certainly did not need it, and now I have 26 Norco pills in my medicine cabinet waiting to expire.

Then I considered the edibles. I used them twice and they did help me sleep and distract me from the pain. Enough for me to rest and heal, anyway. And what's the worst I could do with them? Maybe I share them with friends or if I'm really stupid, a child gets their hands on a cookie by accident and goes for the ride of their life, but that seems way less harmful than that same kid popping a handful of Vicodin. And they gave me WAY fewer to take home, thus encouraging me to save them for the times I really needed it.

I also came to understand that I was given the Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and Hydrocodone (Norco) because Aspirin/Motrin could damage my colon where I had just had surgery to remove a tumor and could cause bleeding and stomach issues. Well, guess what Tylenol and Norco screw with? Your liver. And guess where else I have cancer? My liver. And guess what you shouldn't take while on chemo because it will damage your kidneys? Tylenol. So I was screwed either way.

But you know what doesn't screw with your liver, kidneys, stomach, or colon? Marijuana. In comparison, it pretty much defends itself.

I'm a very open minded person. This has gotten me into trouble in the past with drug abuse. Particularly opiates. That being said I still use Marijuana occasionally.
Having once been on 5 or so different medications I can tell you that marijuana helped me get off of those pills. Pills for depression, ADHD, insomnia, generalized anxiety, and panic disorder. Now I don't need the marijuana. It's just fun on occasion.
It should be noted that it is decriminalized in my area.

Such an interesting topic. Appreciate everyone's thoughts

First off, it's presently legal here for recreational use. I'm pleased my state has allowed this. In my opinion it's ridiculous that it can be so categorized as a criminal offense. I do agree with one user's assertion in an earlier post that it should be restricted to adults only. And I'll admit that I've used it since I was a wee 12 years old and I seem to be fine. However, there's been times in my life, especially when younger that I'd used it as an escape. It seems I've gotten more moderate in my usage and am not a daily,weekly, or even monthly user.

I believe it is a very healing herb. The new strains being created are quite impressive with what can be felt and how they can relieve pain. One can buy cannabis that is very low in the psychoactive compunds of THC and higher in the pain relieving and anxiety quelling compounds of CBD. Likewise, one can buy ridiculously high THC strains. For some this can cause intense anxiety and paranoia. If buying or growing unkown strains it's a crap shoot as to its effect. You simply take your chances. As with any medicine or mind altering substance, one must test and find out the minimum required for desired effect; it takes practice and patience.

Force sensitivity: Since cannabis alters brain chemistry, I'd say yes, it can make one more open to the Force. In this forum some have shared their experience of having insights and realizations. I too have found that cannabis does open my mind and relax my body. It makes me feel more attuned and sensitive to the world around me. I thus no longer tend to do it socially, preferring to utilze it when I have a span of alone time that I may enjoy the expansive and peaceful nature it brings out in me.

I am one of the largest producers of recreational and medical cannabis in the state of WA. My thoughts are mixed on this.
1, Medical: Medical doctors are for the use of cannabis for treatment of many conditions involving the endocannibinoid system, which basically covers the whole body. Anywhere you have a nerve, cannabinoids act as receptors and agonists. So it makes sense.
2. Recreational: This really pisses me off. I see that everyone wants to buy extracts high in THC and damage their brain. It's like buying everclear to get black-out drunk.
3. Religious: I have been doing some experiments with jediism and cannabis. One idea is to make a coconut oil extract with high CBD and cover one's body with it. It's like epsom salt baths but cannabinoids instead of magnesium sulphate. The idea is that the surface of your body is covered in nerves and so this replenishes any cannabinoid deficiencies, plus the coconut oil with added vitamin E is like lotion that rejuvenates skin. We all know that "the force" is mythical and that our senses are biological so you could say that this enhances your senses... just of the physical force and not the mythical force. As for the mental stuff, well that's all on you, but I do know that high THC and low CBD produces paranoia while equal THC/CBD creates an entourage effect that is stronger than either alone. We have some strains called blueberry that are only 15% THC but also 10% CBD and people love them, but out OG Kush that is 22% THC and 0% CBD freaks people out.

My father smoked it in front of me as a child it's something I am familiar with. I will say that I probably from the ages 2-12 probably got second hand intoxication from it. I don't personally like the smell it brings back bad memories as a child. My dad would get violent when he would smoke it and beat my mother in front of us. We're always told not to tell anyone.

It was illegal then and was in WA state up until about two years ago I think it hasn't been long. Before, that they had what was called "Medical" Marijuana which, I am not sure what the difference is between I guess you could say Reg. Marijuana and Medical that I am not certain of. But, why is it legal now after all these years it was illegal? Why the change? I've read studies on what Marijuana does to the human brain. I've heard the resin from the pot burns your brain cells overtime slowly. I don't think that's such a good thing if you ask me. Often, times I heard people who've tried it the first time and got that "Big High" once they continue to use it regularly it's not the same as the first time they lit up. They're always chasing that "Big High" and often times they move onto worst things like illegal drugs like meth, concaine, ect. However, I've also read that it does have some good properties to it. Helps, with Arthritis, Parkinsons, Lue Garrets, Certain types of cancers and so on.

This is my opinion and that's all it is but, I don't think it's such a good thing. Force Sensitive Practice? You don't need pot to do that I am sorry. I get that from mediations, yoga, really reaching out within myself I don't need Pot to do that. Heck, some of the deep mediations I've gotten into I wouldn't be too surprised if people thought I was smoking pot...honestly lol...now this is my opinion please don't take offense.

Whyte Horse wrote: We all know that "the force" is mythical..

...Wait, what?

The reaction to it varies person by person so you will never find 2 of us with the same answer when explained completely from each perspective. First, note it is an intoxicant, this in mind (I am a mid to heavy smoker during summers, occasionally in fall thru spring weekends only (school)) it is still altering a perception of reality. There for it automatically distorts your connection to the force, wither that is good or bad is up to you. The only thing i would say I say about any substance (I'm a recovering Alcoholic) if it brings negative consequences you or others notice to your life then it is important to really take a look at your use.

In my experience, it has helped me cut down on need for the benzo I was subscribed for anxiety and depression. That's a huge trade and much less damaging than benzos can be. However, again it's relative to the individual. In the end "it makes you ok with doing nothing"-South Park, don't fall into that trap. Also, minimum age 21.

As for the shamanistic use of it, well again it warps your perception of reality and therefore The Force. Again, good or bad up to you. What is not is that you do have to understand that is a altered perception and placing more meaning into it's ideas should be cautiously approached. (I.E. personal example I play guitar I'm not bad I can chop a little and being high when jamming amplifies that feeling to me, however, even though sometimes that's good I will often "wander in songs" and then they end up not sounding as good (listening to recordings *cringes at some of them) as they do while I'm caught in the groove at that high state.

I suppose I didn't have much to add that some body already didn't say but I figured I'd throw my 2 cents in the hat.

I feel like I should weigh in on this subject, being a musician. Although, the first time I got high was in Germany, in the military, in the early seventies, and that was from smoking hash. What a buzz that was! And, I don’t know if it was being drafted into Uncle Sam’s Army and being away from home, or just the availability of all the drugs that were there, but I pretty much tried them all. One month I remember taking blotter acid every day! We snorted heroin and cocaine, but never got to the point of using a needle. For me it all seemed like an escape from the drudgery of army life. And, I’m a light weight drinker at best. I’m pretty sure I had a glass of Sangria about a month ago with dinner.

Having said all that, marijuana is a nice ‘escape’, not unlike alcohol in that regard. Although from experience I can tell you you’re MUCH more in control after smoking pot...most of the time. When I got back to the states the first thing I wanted was to get back in a band. The first gig I got I figured what the hey, I’ll have a couple of tokes before we play. I played like crap. I never did that again. I’ve had many moments of focus and creativity while I was high. There’s nothing quite like sitting back and taking a few tokes and listening to your favorite album. Or just sitting in a quiet spot and meditating.

There must be a dozen or more medical uses for weed. And, even though I quit smoking years ago, I won’t sit here and be high and mighty and say anybody shouldn’t smoke. It feels to me like the ones who speak the loudest against smoking pot are the most clueless, like it’s some kind of devil drug. After all it’s ‘herb’. Being in the mountains I see planes and helicopters flying over trying spot people ‘growing their own’. They recently arrested two ladies in their fifties who were growing the stuff for their own use. Shouldn’t they be using that money to hunt for meth labs?

I'm going to out myself as a regular cannabis user. However, I use a vaporizer or e-juice and I don't consume THC. Cannabis with less than 1% THC content is legal where I live as it doesn't make you high. I consume it as a sleeping aid as the other major component in cannabis is CBD, which is a mild sedative and works great for insomniacs like me who don't want to take highly dosed pharmaceuticals to sleep. If you, like me, have trouble sleeping and CBD cannabis is legal wherever you live, I suggest you try it.