I have experimented with pot a lot, but I don't do it often. It just isn't for me, but I am 100% for the legalization.
But one thing that bothers me is when people without any expertise "prescribe" it for people with anxiety. It's true that it can help some people with occasional anxiety, but for people with actual anxiety disorders, it often does the opposite. It's a sad irony and people with diagnosed anxiety disorders (like myself) should talk to a doctor and not rely on anecdotal opinions. It can make the parts of the brain that release chemicals that cause anxiety or balance (or cause an imbalance in) serotonin even more active in some people. Reading some of the posts in this thread that recommend certain strains to people who are truly desperate for anxiety relief makes me a little upset.
Here is a good write up on it:
https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article...or-some-people
Quote:
However, there’s another reason why people might feel anxious while stoned, even long after their first time. THC binds to the brain’s cannabinoid receptors, releasing the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and GABA, a neurotransmitter that stops neurons from firing, Giordano explains. Increased GABA and serotonin activity inhibits norepinephrine—a neurotransmitter involved in alertness and anxiety—which calms most people down.
But for some people, reduced norepinephrine has a rebound effect, stimulating activity in the brainstem’s locus ceruleus and limbic forebrain, which are involved in arousal and excitation, Giordano says. This activity in turn sends the sympathetic nervous system into overdrive, leading to a rise in heart rate and release of cortisol, which we tend to perceive as anxiety.
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