The Straight Toke - THE Marijuana Blog

Hi Julius,

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I had been successfully (and without any problems) toking moderately once a day for about a year [...] Everything was going well, until eight months ago, when I suddenly started having panic attacks (on or off weed). Though the panic attacks eventually went away, a pressure in my head has been there ever since. I have been diagnosed with GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). For some reason during this time not only can I not smoke (I get a panic attack basically every time) but I even get minor panic attacks if I drink alcohol in even moderate amount, take even baby doses of any SSRI prescribed to me, or even smoke tobacco! So let me explain where this is going..

Two weeks before this anxiety disorder first showed itself I had a very bad experience with marijuana, my first bad one. I decided to make cannabutter with my vape leftovers, thinking that they would be “weak” remnants. Big noob mistake. In fact, they were not weak but super-crazy potent, and I was up all night tripping balls and eventually vomiting.

So, the questions:
1) Is it possible that this overdose triggered the anxiety disorder, or is it just a coincidence?
2) Could this incident have somehow psychosomatically affected me such that I cannot intoxicate myself in any fashion without negative repercussions as described above?

First, allow me to start by saying that I am not a psychologist or a physician. My interest in marijuana and other psychoactives is a hobby, and nothing I write should be interpreted as medical or legal advice.

Now with that out of the way, here are my thoughts on your experience:

Marijuana is known to induce anxiety in some individuals. While most users of the herb do not experience significant anxiety issues, it is not an unheard-of phenomenon. For this reason, it is often advisable that people with GAD or a predisposition towards anxiety attacks avoid the use of marijuana.

The development of anxiety disorder is something that is not well understood. While the timing might suggest a correlation between your use of cannabutter and the development of generalized anxiety disorder, it is impossible for me to say with any certainty what role it played in your development of GAD. I would speculate that if you had any pre-existing issues, your bad trip could have exacerbated them.

As to the lasting effects of the trip: I think it is incredibly unlikely that your trip resulted in any physiological change (I have neither heard of nor read about any case in which high doses of marijuana produced a permanent physical change in brain chemistry/composition.) My guess is that the memory of your unpleasant experience is in and of itself serving as a trigger for anxiety attacks; when you start to notice a change in mental state (as caused by any of the substances you mentioned) you think back to your past experience, and it is that recollection which triggers a panic attack. I know of many people who have experienced anxiety attacks while under the influence of a large quantity of marijuana, and most long-term cannabis users have had their fair share of "bad trips". While these people don't typically have any lasting effects from them, it is not uncommon for the memory of a bad trip to make one far more "on edge" during subsequent uses. I can't say for sure what is causing your panic attacks, but if I had to guess, I'd say that the "lasting effects" of the experience are purely psychological, stemming from your conscious recollection and contemplation of a bad trip.

Personally, I'd seek the advice of a physician, specifically one who specializes in the treatment of anxiety. Provided with sufficient background information and a psychological profile, he will be able to make a much more accurate assessment of your anxiety than I can, and will be far more qualified to speculate about what triggers your anxiety attacks.

In summary: I think that it is possible that your high dose of marijuana may have caused some of your anxiety issues, but as to how much of your anxiety is due to the "bad trip" and how much is due to other factors, I cannot say.

Remember: marijuana is a powerful psychoactive. While it does not pose any acute physical threat, it does have the potential to alter one's mental state considerably. If you suffer from generalized anxiety disorder, have experienced panic attacks, or have any other mental health issues, you might want to think twice before choosing to use marijuana. All users of marijuana should use it responsibly: never take more than you are comfortable with, and know your tolerance (and the strength of the marijuana) before using.

Treat the herb with the respect it deserves.

Your Brother in Peace,
Julius

P.S. I've written about how to stop/manage a panic attack when stoned before, so if you are an active user of marijuana, you might want to check it out. The tips that I present that post have worked well for many smokers, and you might find it useful to go over them prior to toking up.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 2:43 am and is filed under Experiences, Health/Medicine, Q/A. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.