[GordonS]

Just one data point, but I'm neurodivergent, and suffered with depression from childhood.

A few years ago I was prescribed medical cannabis to treat chronic pain, and aside from being great for pain - wow, it's changed my life!

The right cannabis strains can do wonders for my mood, but it also makes me feel... less autistic, for want of a better way of putting it; suddenly I can understand why somebody said something, or how something I said could be taken the wrong way. For the first time in my life, I can really try to see things from someone else's perspective, and I'm thinking about other people far more than I ever have - I feel empathic.

Over time, cannabis has also allowed me to analyse and think on the past, which, has greatly helped me. For the first time in my life, I would no longer describe myself as having depression (it may come back if I stopped cannabis treatment, so maybe I should say I'm in remission).

Cannabis use may of course pose some risks for a small percentage of the population, but I'd wager it's in general far less dangerous than alcohol. And of course, my experience will not be universal.

[acessoproibido]

Like with every drug it depends on set setting and dosage.

Personally I get very anxious if I smoke too much (and in the wrong setting); it helps me a lot with other issues if I only consume a small amount occasionally.

Also it matters a lot if I mix it with tobacco (then its a lot harder to consume responsibly).

So I think both you and GP have good points.

And yes its a million times better than alcohol, that stuff is literal poison for body and mind.

[wholinator2]

Yeah, smoking week is basically guaranteed to cause anxiety for everyone if you smoke "too much". I used to hang with lots of stoners and basically everyone had stopped because while it was fun as a teenager, the anxiety slowly crept back into lower and lower dosages until the only time it was doable was if you're alone at home playing video games. Then the social circle fragments and disintegrates until everyone grows up enough to realize that that sucks and we'd like to hang outv again please. Similar cycles can be seen with friends groups based around pretty much any other drug besides coffee and cigarettes i'd assume

[GordonS]

Strain matters for anxiety/panic too - in particular, strains high in the terpene terpinolene can cause anxiety (these tend to be sativa-dominant strains). Even now as a seasoned patient, I have to be careful with high-terpinolene strains!

[pphysch]

> Over time, cannabis has also allowed me to analyse and think on the past

There is danger in attributing something broad like this directly to drug use. Can you only reflect while high?

It may be that the initial psychedelic sessions helped break through some mental/emotional patterns you were suffering from (positive impact), but that continued regular use has an overall negative impact on mental health. That's been my experience with psychedelics and how I've seen them work on those around me, at least.

[acessoproibido]

I have a very different experience with psychedelics so its very hard to make generalized statements here. Not saying your experience is not valid but these diagnoses should be done by someone who knows the person _very_ well.

[GordonS]

> Can you only reflect while high?

Personally, yes; at least effectively.

> It may be that the initial psychedelic sessions

I had a few experiences with mushrooms in my youth, so I know what you mean - but cannabis isn't psychedelic.

[pphysch]

Cannabis is psychedelic to the extent that the term means anything. It's not a "classic" psychedelic like acid or shrooms, but there is no obvious category difference between microdosing shrooms vs. smoking a joint vs. having a proper trip vs. greening out, and so on. It's all spectrums of psychedelic experience caused directly by something you ingested.

The opposition to the term likely has more to do with proponents and lobbyists wanting to distance weed from the "harder" psychedelics that are known to fry people.

[GordonS]

> The opposition to the term likely has more to do with proponents and lobbyists wanting to distance weed from the "harder" psychedelics that are known to fry people.

I don't know about any of that - my own opposition is because I've tried psychedelic substances a few times during my youth, and cannabis isn't remotely like that.

[wholinator2]

The terms here get kinda vague and smushy. I wouldn't necessarily call cannabis psychedelic, but i would call it a hallucinogenic. And very high doses of weed, especially edibles will give you closed eye visuals and auditory hallucinations. It's certainly not the same as LSD, but it's not entirely separate either.

[GordonS]

Unless perhaps you've got other problems, cannabis certainly is not hallucinogenic at any sensible dose, even for edibles (which I use daily in combination with flower).

I've been discussing therapeutic use of cannabis here, not huge "recreational" doses.

[Aloha]

Benzos do the same thing for me, they slow the brain enough so you’re not overthinking everything.

[GordonS]

I've had diazapam prescribed a few times, but it doesn't help my mind, and I don't feel like it makes me any more empathic.

[throw0101d]

> The right cannabis strains can do wonders for my mood, but it also makes me feel... less autistic […]

Is it the same strain(s) for everyone, or does each person need to figure out which ones work for them?

[somebehemoth]

You can get a lot of mileage out of making the indica/sativa distinction. Regardless of strain, inidca heavy tends to chill people out, while sativa heavy strands give energy and more anxiety. Everyone is different and ymmv.

[GordonS]

It's a bit of a mix. Some strains affect most people the same way, while others don't - in particular, neurodivergent people often seem to have a different experience.

And some strains are better at different times of the day too - some can be stimulating, for example.

I'd say it's best for individuals to experiment and find what works best for them, to treat their specific symptoms.

[wholinator2]

There's a general vibe to the strains that's the same between people but you won't know which one you like or which improves your life until you try. It's more some-sizes-fits-most but not one-size-fits-all

[treis]

I am suspicious that strains are much beyond marketing terms. Both in the literal sense that people will sell the exact same crop under different brand names. Or sell different crops under the same brand.

I'm also generally dubious that you can maintain consistency in a crop across seasons and growing cycles.

It's theoretically possible that there are growers using clones and exacting greenhouse conditions to replicate the same product over and over. But it's way easier to slap a brand on something so that's what people will end up doing.

[flufluflufluffy]

Strains are very real and the general concept exists in not only many other farmed plants as well, but domesticated animals, like dogs. All members of the same species, specifically bred for a certain phenotype through manual selection.

Now some people might say that X strain is good for sleep, Y strain is good for anxiety, Z strain is good for creativity, etc… That type of “phenotype” is much harder to quantify and I agree a lot of that type of stuff could be mumbo jumbo, though there could be something to it. But overall high THC strains (more stimulating) vs high CBD strains (more relaxing) have a clear difference.

However flavor is also a big differentiator among strains and that is much more easily quantifiable through the terpene/flavonoid profile, and plain old smelling and tasting. And people have been breeding plants for specific smells and tastes for thousands of years, so it’s not like this is some new concept specific to cannabis.

[fragmede]

Same as with everything else in life, the people doing that are going to run the gamut, from the lazy basically con artists to the OCD mfer that's a pain in the ass to work with because they're so meticulous about everything. One trip at the store isn't going to tell you if which of the two extremes (or somewhere in between) the grower of a particular strain is, but repeated use of a particular strain will either be consistent, or not.

[jermaustin1]

Strains are a marketing term, and also a set of "expectations". Same with indica/sativa distinction. They aren't true, but they set an expectation. What actually drives the high, is a mix of the terpenes and other cannabanoids in the flower.

Terpenes (the smell and flavor compounds in the trichomes) will guide you toward a feeling. Limonene (citrus smell) is uplifting, just like kitchen cleaner. Pinene (pine needles) is another uplifting scent/flavor. Myrcene (musky smell) is a sedating terpene. And many others.

Then there are the other cannabinoids: CBD, CBG, CBN, CBC. CBD will modulate THC effects. CBG is almost non-existent in most commercial crops, but new strains are being bred to increase this as it gives a focused high. CBN comes from the degradation of THC, and it potentially causes couching and sedation (though might be myrcene).

Now as for harvest-to-harvest differences, this is true, which is why every harvest is tested and you can get the CoA of any harvest that will give you the full breakdown of the cannabinoids in the flower.

Cannabis is not typically grown from seed, it is grown from propagation off trimmings from mother plants. They are all the exact same plant genetically. So the harvest will be VERY consistent from harvest to harvest at an industrial scale since almost all of the environmental variables are accounted for and controlled.

[wookmaster]

Look into terpene profiles if you’re open to learning.

[bitxbitxbitcoin]

Super curious what strains do the trick for you and which ones don’t.

[GordonS]

This is a big topic, but here are a few random bits:

Pretty much any strain will make me feel more empathic to some degree.

In particular "orange" strains work well for me during the day. They're slightly stimulating, and not too sedating; they clear my mind and allow me to focus on a task; I get good muscular and neuropathic pain relief; I feel much more empathic, better able to understand subtleties of spoken and body language, and just better able to understand other people in general.

I find strains with myrcene and ocimene best for pain.

Strains with alpha-pinene are very relaxing.

Some high limonene strains can cause me anxiety even worse than terpinolene-based ones. Maybe it depends if they also have enough of other, calming terpenes such as myrcene, alpha-pinene, caryophyllene and linalool.

I try to avoid strains with limonene at night, as they can keep my mind going when I'm trying to sleep.

[hereme888]

Which strains, if you don't mind me asking?

[GordonS]

This is a big topic, but here are a few random bits:

Pretty much any strain will make me feel more empathic to some degree.

In particular "orange" strains work well for me during the day. They're slightly stimulating, and not too sedating; they clear my mind and allow me to focus on a task; I get good muscular and neuropathic pain relief; I feel much more empathic, better able to understand subtleties of spoken and body language, and just better able to understand other people in general.

I find strains with myrcene and ocimene best for pain.

Strains with alpha-pinene are very relaxing.

Some high limonene strains can cause me anxiety even worse than terpinolene-based ones. Maybe it depends if they also have enough of other, calming terpenes such as myrcene, alpha-pinene, caryophyllene and linalool.

I try to avoid strains with limonene at night, as they can keep my mind going when I'm trying to sleep.

[hereme888]

Very interesting. I'll have to try them out. Thanks for sharing.

[dsabanin]

Much love to you, brother.

[dingjgdtui]

This, listen to this guy, not multiple psychiatric committals guy. But I appreciate crisis guy incorporating HN in his therapy regime, you are heard bro!