Black pepper a cure for cannabis related anxiety?

[DrZiggy]

I haven't tried any other method personally as I find that sniffing is more than sufficient for me when the need arises. I do tend to eat a fair amount of pepper though and that hasn't ever made any difference that I am aware of. I do know that the white paper I read stated that mangoes were to be ingested an hour before smoking for the a-pinine to have the same effect, so it may well be possible that pepper is the same. But like I said, I do tend to eat a lot of pepper (creamy mash with loads of ground pepper, mmm)

top those delicious sounding mashed spuds with some med-rare ribeye steak au poivre...you will get your black pepper dose

 

[Weaselcracker]

I crushed up a heaping tablespoon of peppercorns for a couple cups of water, half a lemon and a bunch of honey. Drinking some now- it's very good!

 

[ShiggityFlip]

Now I have to try it! Awesome Weasel. Could be my pre smoking tea ritual.

 

[Weaselcracker]

It's not so much that I've been feeling the paranoia lately- but since 4/19 I have been continuously smoking myself into the outer limits of functional consciousness, and in the last four or five days there have been lots of times I thought 'where am I?' I thought that pepper might help answer questions like this.
I couldn't detect a calming effect from the tea though it would be hard to quantify. But I'm happy to see that it's palatable. I could easily make it stronger and still enjoy it- and maybe it would work better. The strength of the stuff I brewed reminded me a little of mulled wine - about that level of spiciness and catch in the throat when you drink it. The smell of it cries out to me make some sort of soup out of it. But honey and lemon was also good.

 

[TheFertilizer]

Wow so this is very interesting to me. I noticed back when I would smoke "mersh" (our slang for commercial weed) that it would have a pepper smell to it. I never had many anxiety fits on that stuff.

Does it have to be fresh ground? Or will regular ground pepper work?

Also I read on the first page that pinene was one of the terpenes that helped? This is interesting because a while back I had shaved up some pinewood heavily impregnate with sap for kindling and fire starting. People call it fatwood, or lighter wood, etc. Anyway I had a jar full of it and whenever I took a pinch I would smell it and feel calm. I always just assumed it was an associateed thing... Reminds me of the smell of a camp fire. Now I wonder if maybe it was a real physical effect. Over time I found myself periodically opening the jar to sniff it, I never really thought it was actually making me feel better but I would do it thinking it was putting my head in the right place, thinking about camping and the great outdoor instead of life in the rat race.

I get really bad fear over things that are somewhat reasonable, like every once in a while after smoking I will think "Fuck man its not legal federally, and the DEA has a local office, you don't know they won't fuck with small growers, what if the local cops just called them instead? I should tear it all down!" Other times I will randomly worry about the house burning down or something. Thing is when I am not high, I do not get overly concerned about the growing, or posting here, etc. I still worry about the house burning down but I think that's part of my actual anxiety disorder. When I get anxiety about something when high, it's usually something one would actually have a cause to worry about. My normal anxiety is more like "Oh fuck what if I lost my eyesight tomorrow?" for no reason, like complete randomness.

Also I always thought it was Sativa that caused anxiety...

 

[ShiggityFlip]

Both sativa and indica can cause it for me. I agree with you on the Dagwood scent. It really draws you in and the linens also expands your lungs, giving you a nice influx of oxygen and the feeling of well being.

Fresh ground will work better than pre round pepper. I find when grinding in my little grinder that the scent goes away fairly quickly. I use one of the grinders in the spice section of the grocery store. Very cheap and the grinder is on top with a lid. So I can grind it with the lid on and the tilt it back so the pepper stays in the top of the grinder. After a few minutes I dump it in the ashtray and grind more if needed.

I don't always think the anxiety is a bad thing. Like you said sometimes cannabis is trying to tell you things. Like a few times I got anxious when smoking about my electrical outlets. So it pushed me to hard wire a light controller and be safer. So it can be seen as a good thing. My greatest potential for cannabis induced anxiety is when I have a lot of things I am procrastinating about lol. But still there are those times when the anxiety is about something silly and I like to avoid that downward spiral of thinking. Or at least reduce it to the level where I can see that it's really no big deal.

 

[TheFertilizer]

I have generalized anxiety and OCD so it's really crucial for me to stay regularly medicated. Before I smoked cannabis I was like, I don't know the best way to put it was a nervous wreck. It really made life so much better but I had to use it so much my tolerance would go up and I would have to take breaks and that's when I noticed the cannabis induced anxiety. I basically live in a world of anxiety and worry, so I can distinguish the cannabis paranoia pretty easily, but once I keep it pretty regular it goes away. I really don't smoke to get stoned anymore either so it's like I go "Oh, whoa, I forgot what it feels like to be this high" and when the paranoia hits it's a familiar, almost palpable kind of feeling. It's not so much I want to stay worry free, anxiety for me never really goes away but the paranoia is a totally different feeling. Plus it's good to avoid the OCD symptoms, it's really not how they make it out to be like in Hollywood. I mean I don't do the handwash until my hands bleed thing, but I rip my toenails out--like nail completely tore off skin and all. It's pretty screwed up, and I pay for it for days, gotta keep it from getting infected, etc. I wish I just wanted to clean shit!

 

[ShiggityFlip]

I really feel some of the worlds most successful people are just OCD where their compulsion is to just work hard all the time. Lucky bastards. You don't get to choose your compulsions and that sucks. It would be nice to be able to funnel our energy into purely positive outlets but it seems like humans just aren't wired that way. I'm glad the herb can give you some form of relief. Try a little lavender oil around the house. It may help. I remember years ago that compared lavender pillows and a sleeping pill and found they had equal calming results before sleep.

 

[masonman]

I have generalized anxiety and OCD so it's really crucial for me to stay regularly medicated. Before I smoked cannabis I was like, I don't know the best way to put it was a nervous wreck. It really made life so much better but I had to use it so much my tolerance would go up and I would have to take breaks and that's when I noticed the cannabis induced anxiety. I basically live in a world of anxiety and worry, so I can distinguish the cannabis paranoia pretty easily, but once I keep it pretty regular it goes away. I really don't smoke to get stoned anymore either so it's like I go "Oh, whoa, I forgot what it feels like to be this high" and when the paranoia hits it's a familiar, almost palpable kind of feeling. It's not so much I want to stay worry free, anxiety for me never really goes away but the paranoia is a totally different feeling. Plus it's good to avoid the OCD symptoms, it's really not how they make it out to be like in Hollywood. I mean I don't do the handwash until my hands bleed thing, but I rip my toenails out--like nail completely tore off skin and all. It's pretty screwed up, and I pay for it for days, gotta keep it from getting infected, etc. I wish I just wanted to clean shit!

cannabis induced anxiety... CIA for short

 

[TheFertilizer]

Lol that sounds about right actually

So I have been having good results with the fatwood shavings. I pretty much just notice it and then take a few sniffs, it's really interesting its like it makes me stop thinking. Just stopped dead in my tracks. I think the smell is so powerful it's just kind of sensory overload, my brain has no choice but to shut up and go into overdrive to put feeling and sensation to all the wonderful aromatic vapors entering my nostrils. Head rush might be too strong of a word, but it evokes some kind of strong sensation, pleasant but strong, and then when I open my eyes (because for some reason they instinctively shut) I am feeling the cannabis much more strongly but whatever train of thought I had going is gone. I don't think it makes the effect of the high greater, it just seems to make me more aware of it.

 

[FrankyG]

It depends what is on your mind at the time, if I need to forget something, then booze is probably the way to go for me....
Pot seems to amplify emotions for me, if I'm worried about something before I smoke, chances are I'm going to be bummed out a lot more about it after smoking....
It just brings up stuff that I want left buried deep in my skull, bad experiences and memories....

 

[masonman]

Well Shiggity... I did it!

I sat down with a packed bowl, coffee cup, and the pepper grinder. First I ground up about a teaspoon into the coffee cup. Stuck my nose in there and breathed in deeply 10-15 times. Then I hit the bowl. Repeated for a total of 3 hits.

Damn if it didn't work! I never felt the slightest bit of anxiety. First time in probably 22-25 years I was able to enjoy a buzz.

The weird thing is the high wasn't like I remember. It felt more alcohol buzz-like. Although, I did go full-stupid. Kind of like walking around the house looking for your shoes, and they're in your hands stupid. Maybe this is the different kind of buzz Hi-Brix gives you?

Just want to say thank you, I will be trying this again soon after harvest

 

[ShiggityFlip]

Well Shiggity... I did it!

I sat down with a packed bowl, coffee cup, and the pepper grinder. First I ground up about a teaspoon into the coffee cup. Stuck my nose in there and breathed in deeply 10-15 times. Then I hit the bowl. Repeated for a total of 3 hits.

Damn if it didn't work! I never felt the slightest bit of anxiety. First time in probably 22-25 years I was able to enjoy a buzz.

The weird thing is the high wasn't like I remember. It felt more alcohol buzz-like. Although, I did go full-stupid. Kind of like walking around the house looking for your shoes, and they're in your hands stupid. Maybe this is the different kind of buzz Hi-Brix gives you?

Just want to say thank you, I will be trying this again soon after harvest

OMG Masonman! I had a tear in my eye just now because I am so happy! That my friend is the best news all month. I am really stoked for you. On the subject of buzz, it is probably strain specific and the fact that the buds you grew look amazing. You may not have had such great herb in the past. Only experimentation can tell.

This is just...well... If I was there...

 

[Arctic Bowl]

Great info Thank You!!

 

[TorturedSoul]

I just stumbled upon this thread.

Was reading up on anxiety and paranoia while smoking cannabis and came across someone recommending black pepper as a means of reliving cannabis induced anxiety. I don't normally get anxious during smoking so personal testing may have to wait a bit.

I don't get anxiety (due to cannabis, I mean - it's more like the antidote for anxiety to me), because I don't tend to harvest my sativas too early, lol. But I can see where snorting black pepper would remove anxiety - it's hard to be anxious when you're p!ssed off enough to beat someone into a bloody mess. I got a whiff of pepper last time I ground some up over my food because I got into a hurry and I bet it'd be a real buzz killer.

If you want to have watery eyes, a runny nose, sneeze, have precious little buzz, and be angry at the entire universe, you don't need to treat pepper like it's some kind of dry snuff, lol - just don't smoke cannabis. Because when I DO smoke cannabis, my eyes dry, my nose doesn't run, I don't sneeze, I have a great buzz, and I am only angry at small portions of the universe. Oh... and I stop getting panic attacks, feeling like my heart cannot decide between trying to jackhammer its way out of my chest or simply exploding so it ends up trying to do both at the same time, et cetera.

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

 

[Kriaze]

I just stumbled upon this thread.



I don't get anxiety (due to cannabis, I mean - it's more like the antidote for anxiety to me), because I don't tend to harvest my sativas too early, lol. But I can see where snorting black pepper would remove anxiety - it's hard to be anxious when you're p!ssed off enough to beat someone into a bloody mess. I got a whiff of pepper last time I ground some up over my food because I got into a hurry and I bet it'd be a real buzz killer.

If you want to have watery eyes, a runny nose, sneeze, have precious little buzz, and be angry at the entire universe, you don't need to treat pepper like it's some kind of dry snuff, lol - just don't smoke cannabis. Because when I DO smoke cannabis, my eyes dry, my nose doesn't run, I don't sneeze, I have a great buzz, and I am only angry at small portions of the universe. Oh... and I stop getting panic attacks, feeling like my heart cannot decide between trying to jackhammer its way out of my chest or simply exploding so it ends up trying to do both at the same time, et cetera.

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

I think you may be misunderstanding the usage of the black pepper here Tortured Soul. Nobody is sniffing it, it's literally only smelling the terpenes (a-pinene) in particular from pepper which works in conjunction with your mind to lessen the chance of anxiety. There is more and more scientific evidence accruing all the time in relation to terpines and their effects, in fact there are even anti anxiety tablets made by pharmaceutical companies using the two main terpines a-pinene and myrcene that are of interest in this field. I originally linked the journal written by the British Journal of Pharmacology when I mentioned this on a friend's thread, if I can find it I will link again as it makes quite an interesting read, unfortunately I'm on my phone atm and do not have it saved here.

Personally I found that it worked, whether by placebo or not I was uncertain of for awhile, although research would say that it is no placebo.
Like you say, different horses for different courses, but some people chose to believe that the sun was not a God a long time ago, some chose to believe that the world was not flat, it didn't necessarily make them wrong though. Really I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone

 

[TorturedSoul]

I just played catch-up a little bit, reading through this thread. Not all of it - I started at the beginning of page two (post #41) and read through the current post (end of page three). Some semi-random thoughts:

I think you may be misunderstanding the usage of the black pepper here Tortured Soul. Nobody is sniffing it, it's literally only smelling the terpenes (a-pinene) in particular from pepper which works in conjunction with your mind to lessen the chance of anxiety.

Ah. Well, it's smelling it that sends me off, lol.

I'm actually trying to give up black pepper altogether, because between my genes and my local environment, cancer is... Well, if cancer was a weather event instead of a health one, NOAA would have skipped "Cancer Watch" and gone straight to "Cancer Warning."

Have you folks tried red pepper instead of black? If I remember correctly, it comes from a completely different plant and, therefore, should not have safrole or any other known carcinogens in it.

Personally I found that it worked, whether by placebo or not I was uncertain of for awhile, although research would say that it is no placebo.

I suppose... At the end of the day, if something works for you, it matters not whether it is a placebo or "actually" beneficial. And since anxiety is a mental thing... Throughout history there have been documented cases where non-medical (literally - in some cases, they were external objects - such as a certain color rock or a crystal) things have successfully helped with mental issues, because the subject's mind thought/felt that it must be fine now.

To those of you who have experienced anxiety after smoking cannabis: Are you quite sure that it was not harvested early? By that, I mean did the number of days from the day that you switched to 12 hours of darkness to the day when the stretching phase of flowering stopped equal 40% of the flowering period, with the remainder of days that the plant was flowered equal the other 60%? Harvesting early can screw with the cannibinoid profile/ratios.

To the person who mentioned that their wife reported an early cannabis experience caused a lifetime of anxiety attacks: Does your wife have schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder? I have seen lasting effects a few times when such people tried cannabis (and once, in a person who was genetically inclined to schizophrenia, it seems to have been the initial trigger). Oddly enough (or perhaps not?) some strains have actually seemed to help them. Of course, hunting down the "right" strain(/phenotype) when you are in that situation is, well, a nightmare in and of itself.

To the person from Michigan: Are you sure that you are growing your cannabis as cheaply as possible, lol? It has been many years, but once upon a time I grew with a 70-watt HPS (initially, in a very large aluminum trash can - but that wasn't the best for yield). I harvested between 2 and 2½ ounces. Knowing what I have learned since then, I assume that I could do at least a little better (depending on the strain I chose, obviously). Does the cost for your electricity vary depending on the time of day/week? I do not have that, but a friend who lives elsewhere does and he told me that he noticed a difference in his bill after setting things up so that his lights were on "over night." Not to mention (but I will) that he slashed his cooling-related expense by running his lights during the coolest part of the day (night). Which might not even be an issue with a very small HPS (most likely, less of an issue than if you used enough CFLs to produce a comparable amount of illumination :rolleyes3 ). Also... I realize that many people simply cannot grow outside, for various reasons. But might you be able to cut some of your vegetative growth costs? One can grow a cannabis plant... as a houseplant. You won't see explosive growth - however, in many cases, ambient lighting alone can prohibit flowering, and in others it only requires a very small amount of efficient lighting to accomplish this. In the past, I managed several mother plants in this fashion. I still vegetated my clones (after the cuttings grew roots) in this manner. And how much are you paying for your nutrients? I don't recommend it in general any more, because the company has been purchased by the Scotts Miracle Gro monster - but General Hydroponics' MaxiGro and MaxiBloom dry nutrients are practically dirt cheap (as in, 2.2 pounds for about $10.30). And many have grown all the way through with only the MaxiBloom.

That's all the rambling I seem to have in me at this time....

 

[ShiggityFlip]

For me torturedsoul it is not a matter of harvesting too early, there are just certain strains that make me get anxious, typically high energy sativas at high doses or on the other end of the scale a really couch locking indica. But a few painless sniffs of pepper really mitigate any problems for me. It is truly a small price to pay.

We all experience the herb differently so I am glad you don't have any cannabis induced anxiety. For those that do, this is the best news ever.

 

[Kriaze]

I just played catch-up a little bit, reading through this thread. Not all of it - I started at the beginning of page two (post #41) and read through the current post (end of page three). Some semi-random thoughts:



Ah. Well, it's smelling it that sends me off, lol.

I'm actually trying to give up black pepper altogether, because between my genes and my local environment, cancer is... Well, if cancer was a weather event instead of a health one, NOAA would have skipped "Cancer Watch" and gone straight to "Cancer Warning."

Have you folks tried red pepper instead of black? If I remember correctly, it comes from a completely different plant and, therefore, should not have safrole or any other known carcinogens in it.



I suppose... At the end of the day, if something works for you, it matters not whether it is a placebo or "actually" beneficial. And since anxiety is a mental thing... Throughout history there have been documented cases where non-medical (literally - in some cases, they were external objects - such as a certain color rock or a crystal) things have successfully helped with mental issues, because the subject's mind thought/felt that it must be fine now.

To those of you who have experienced anxiety after smoking cannabis: Are you quite sure that it was not harvested early? By that, I mean did the number of days from the day that you switched to 12 hours of darkness to the day when the stretching phase of flowering stopped equal 40% of the flowering period, with the remainder of days that the plant was flowered equal the other 60%? Harvesting early can screw with the cannibinoid profile/ratios.

To the person who mentioned that their wife reported an early cannabis experience caused a lifetime of anxiety attacks: Does your wife have schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder? I have seen lasting effects a few times when such people tried cannabis (and once, in a person who was genetically inclined to schizophrenia, it seems to have been the initial trigger). Oddly enough (or perhaps not?) some strains have actually seemed to help them. Of course, hunting down the "right" strain(/phenotype) when you are in that situation is, well, a nightmare in and of itself.

To the person from Michigan: Are you sure that you are growing your cannabis as cheaply as possible, lol? It has been many years, but once upon a time I grew with a 70-watt HPS (initially, in a very large aluminum trash can - but that wasn't the best for yield). I harvested between 2 and 2½ ounces. Knowing what I have learned since then, I assume that I could do at least a little better (depending on the strain I chose, obviously). Does the cost for your electricity vary depending on the time of day/week? I do not have that, but a friend who lives elsewhere does and he told me that he noticed a difference in his bill after setting things up so that his lights were on "over night." Not to mention (but I will) that he slashed his cooling-related expense by running his lights during the coolest part of the day (night). Which might not even be an issue with a very small HPS (most likely, less of an issue than if you used enough CFLs to produce a comparable amount of illumination :rolleyes3 ). Also... I realize that many people simply cannot grow outside, for various reasons. But might you be able to cut some of your vegetative growth costs? One can grow a cannabis plant... as a houseplant. You won't see explosive growth - however, in many cases, ambient lighting alone can prohibit flowering, and in others it only requires a very small amount of efficient lighting to accomplish this. In the past, I managed several mother plants in this fashion. I still vegetated my clones (after the cuttings grew roots) in this manner. And how much are you paying for your nutrients? I don't recommend it in general any more, because the company has been purchased by the Scotts Miracle Gro monster - but General Hydroponics' MaxiGro and MaxiBloom dry nutrients are practically dirt cheap (as in, 2.2 pounds for about $10.30). And many have grown all the way through with only the MaxiBloom.

That's all the rambling I seem to have in me at this time....

I'm not sure if that's a lot of rambling or a lot of attacks going on there TS. Questioning pretty much everybody's competence in harvesting windows, nutrients, amount they spend and did you just call me mental? You could be right as per me but please don't be so passive aggressive and then call it rambling, we've been there before and attacks are attacks no need to paint it as anything other than it is.

I'm curious as to the question of red pepper being better than black pepper though, is it the link to stomach cancer and ulcers that you mean? That's just another side of a theory with no concrete evidence that I'm aware of, I'd like to know more if you have evidence otherwise.

 

[Buckshot]

What? lemonade, peppercorns.... I just smoked WAY more weed

not an elegant solution but it worked