Tokinstars

I'm really new to smoking weed (just started a week ago). My first time i smoked waaaay too much and ended up blacking out. It scared me so bad that now i have panic attacks eveytime i even smoke a little bit. The thing that freaks me out the most is feeling my body going numb and i'm not sure whether it's the weed or the panic attacks i'm having. Okay now my question: When smoking is it normal for your body to go numb due to the weed?

Hypchronic

Heh, that's the bubonic chronic! Seriously though, I know a lot of people that for some reason or another, can't handle weed. Marijuana is not for everyone, it seems to affect some people much differently than other people, similar to the panic attacks you describe. A good friend of mine has a mild panic disorder paired with social anxiety (sorry for all the psych stuff again, i gotta use my major!) and simply put, weed just agitates him in an uncomfortable, anxiety provoking, unenjoyable way.

It's too bad your first experience was a bad one, do you still feel panic after even one hit? The numbness you are describing is perfectly normal; marijuana is a teriffic analgesic (pain killer) that you can feel throughout your body, especially after smoking a dank indica.

Hugz and Nugz,

Hypchronic

Buzzby

I don't know what analgesia has to do with numbness. Analgesia is not anesthesia. Aspirin, ibuprofen, and morphine are all analgesics. None of them make you feel numb. I've been smoking, on and off, for 38 years and I've never experienced numbness.

I'd ascribe the numbness to the panic attack. When your body is full of adrenaline, as it is when you're panicked, you lose a lot of sensation. That's why soldiers can often continue to function with horrendous wounds in the heat of battle.

I suggest you look at the panic attack threads in this forum. My advice is to start off with tiny amounts of marijuana, gradually increasing dosage as you get over the conditioned panic attack response until you find your comfortable level.

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Tokinstars

Yes, Hypchronic, I do feel panicky after just one hit. I feel anxiety just being around the stuff. I think it has alot to do with growing up in a house where "weed is bad" has been drilled into my head since i was born. And Buzzby, thanks for the advice i think i'll try that.

Hypchronic

Hmm. After smoking a good indica, I feel numb every time.

Correct, they are analgesics. However I think you will agree that comparing the effects of aspirin to a serious narcotic like marijuana is a moot argument. Have you every taken opiates? Are you going to tell me they don't make your body feel numb? Marijuana is an analgesic roughly equivalent to a mild opiate dose.

Higher Logic

Quoted from the Panic Attack thread:I've had the numb feeling before, but only when I have some good bud, which is exactly what you had. It's not a "sympton" of a panic attack, but it's something that inexperienced users tend to focus on because it may not be normal for them if they don't smoke quality bud all the time, or ever. There's nothing to worry about man

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Buzzby

Since marijuana is not a narcotic I don't see your point. Also, narcotics are analgesics, not anesthetics.


I was on IV Demerol after knee surgery. I've taken oral opiates after dental surgery. In neither case did I experience any numbness, just pain relief, relaxation, and a bit of euphoria.


If only it were! I experience chronic back pain. Marijuana doesn't help a bit. Doesn't work for headaches, either. I think the analgesic effects of marijuana are very idiosyncratic and depend a great deal on set and setting, i.e. you have to believe it's going to work that way for it to work that way. Opiates work whether you believe in them or not.

Hypchronic

Sigh.

Narcotics are not exclusively opioids, which is a common misconception:

Search results from Dictionary.com:

nar·cot·ic
n.

1. An addictive drug, such as opium, that reduces pain, alters mood and behavior, and usually induces sleep or stupor. Natural and synthetic narcotics are used in medicine to control pain.
2. A soothing, numbing agent or thing: “There was the blessed narcotic of bridge, at the Colony or at the home of friends” (Louis Auchincloss).


adj.

1. Inducing sleep or stupor; causing narcosis.
2. Of or relating to narcotics, their effects, or their use.
3. Of, relating to, or intended for one addicted to a narcotic.

nar·cot·ic (när-ktk)
n.

A drug derived from opium or opiumlike compounds, with potent analgesic effects associated with significant alteration of mood and behavior, and with the potential for dependence and tolerance following repeated administration.

adj.

Capable of inducing a state of stuporous analgesia.

Main Entry: 1nar·cot·ic
Pronunciation: när-'kät-ik
Function: noun
1 : a drug (as opium) that in moderate doses dulls the senses, relieves pain, and induces profound sleep but in excessive doses causes stupor, coma, or convulsions
2 : a drug (as marijuana or LSD) subject to restriction similar to that of addictive narcotics whether in fact physiologically addictive and narcotic or not



Need I go on? And who's talking about anesthetics? Numbness isn't exclusive to anesthesia. I'm sorry marijuana doesn't suit your pain management needs, but just because it doesn't work for you doesn't mean marijuana is not an analgesic. The general concensus in the scientific community is that marijuana is an analgesic, however you don't hear about it often because opiates are much better.

http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz.../marijuana.jsp
"In the second century, the Chinese physician Hoa-Tho, used cannabis in surgical procedures, relying on its analgesic properties."

http://www.nih.gov/news/medmarijuana...lMarijuana.htm
"Although there was evidence of analgesic efficacy, the studies indicate there is a narrow therapeutic margin between the doses that produce useful analgesia and those producing unacceptable adverse CNS effects."
"These studies indicate that 9-THC has some analgesic activity in humans."

http://www.euroanesthesia.org/educat...enna/14rc2.HTM
"Oral cannabis was reported successful for labour pain, painful spasms, neuralgia and migraine. Cannabis was given to Queen Victoria by her court physician, for migraine. Cannabis tincture was reported as a potent local anaesthetic in dentistry."

"Cannabinoids such as delta9-THC have a wide range of pharmacological effects such as antinociception. The cannabinoids cause antinociception in rodents through spinal and supraspinal mechanisms."

http://www.whitman.edu/biology/Stupr...diseases3.html
"These two studies, though far from being conclusive, do show that marijuana can help to alleviate the pain associated with spasticity from MS."



The list goes on and on Buzz. Marijuana is not effective for chronic pain like yours, but I think when the Queen of England is given weed for her migranes, it's safe to admit it's an analgesic effective for headaches.

Higher Logic

...but it's still not a narcotic. I haven't taken aspirin since I started smoking marijuana. It gets rid of headaches for me, but not for others. An opiate on the other hand, works for anyone. That's what he's trying to say. That's why it's not a narcotic.

Hypchronic

The definition of a narcotic isn't conditional; If people are able to use a substance as a narcotic, then that substance is classified as a narcotic. But we should stay on topic, the only reason we're discussing narcotics is that Buzzby didn't see my point that marijuana and aspirin are both analgesics.