Finding your Pot Blend.

So, I've noticed that a lot of people tend to come to me for advice on pot blends for PTSD online.

They don't usually do it openly, but I have a huge number of emails, personal messages and instant messenger conversations about it on a monthly basis. I admit that my own personal experience is somewhat limited, since I've only been using pot a total of 4 years as a therapy.

And we need the proper musical selections. Pick your poison. Smile
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1ei5rwO7ZI][video:https://www.youtube.c...

So, I decided that I'd create a blog post that I can point to in the future. It won't answer all the questions, but the main ones. I'll share what works for ME and how I arrived at that place. It may not work for you, because everybody's biochemistry is different.

So, first pot I tried for PTSD was lucky out of the gate. Blueberry is a fairly high THC Indica, and as a result tends to be a bit sedating for most people. For me it ended up being a good boon to my creativity. I started making videos again after a long depressive hiatus. I primarily used Blueberry as much as possible, but it was dependent on a illegal distributor in California, as all of the Dispensaries had been shut down by local cities, and they arrested compassionate care delivery people.

I was also told by the VA at that point that I could NOT smoke Medical Marijuana and remain in the system, so that was the end of that.

Got back to Portland, and after 3 months and getting into my new place decided to try again. I started with the local dispensary, and after telling them what I was smoking, they informed me of its properties. High THC, for the anxiety, but a lot of other cannabinoids were also helpful. I also tried a High THC Sativa for the firs time called "Chronic of Narnia."

This was when I learned my first lesson the hard way. Pot can be very unpredictable. What I expected would be a nice pleasant experience ala what I usually used, instead I got a knock out drug that put me out for over 12 hours. Which is when I learned the smell test.

This is more of an Art than a science, but after a while smoking you get to learn what various scents mean. The stereotype of the stoner who can't enjoy food and must seek gluttonous satisfaction is complete bullshit. I find that I enjoy things and sensations more, and smelling my pot is a big part of it.

There's a certain tang to various blends that works. For baseline daily relief, the amount of THC is not as mandatory. More anxiety, I up the THC. More Depression, I up the CBD. There's a certain smell that a properly blended bowl will have. Yes, it's once again more an art than a science, but so is medicine, honestly. There are far too many variables in play to pretend that anybody can immediately jump in and do exactly what someone else does and get relief.

So, I apologize If I'm waxing a bit esoteric here. Using pot for your relief really is an art. Some of the folks behind the counters at pot shops get this, and don't try to foist something that won't work on you. Many are salespeople, however, and legal treatment is still in its infancy. I honestly hope we can take this type of therapy in a different direction from the current symptom treatment of most current corporate medicine and instead treat it as a health mentoring.

It won't cure everything, and anybody who claims it will has been enjoying it too much. However, as a addition to a life, and a responsible, sane way to let go of some of the modern imposed drudgery, it works very well.

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Good morning dmw, good morning all. The fancy science word for cannabis stink is terpene and it is the real deal I think. I smoke a lot of bud, always sativa hybrids never indica, and always something with pinene. Pinene makes me feel happy when I smell it, so why not when I smoke it? lol, makes sense.

There are many "successful" (make a lotta money) entrepreneurs who wake up and smoke first thing in the morning. I do wake and bake sometimes, depending how awful or good I feel. Sativa makes me want to get busy and do something else besides kill myself every day. And there was that time the rub made my bursitis disappear. The stuff is amazing so of course corporations and their cronies have come to ruin it. of course

TERPENES Fruit of the Earth Organics

Terpenoids are secreted inside the Cannabis plant’s glandular trichome. More than 100 terpenoids have been identified in Cannabis, and they exist in all plants and are responsible for smells and tastes. They do play an important role in the medicinal properties of each cannabis strain as well as foods you eat. The most common and most studied in cannabis include limonene, myrcene, alpha-pinene, linalool, beta-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, nerolidol and phytol. To help you better understand we are including information below to explain some of the properties of the various terpenes that are common in cannabis.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that alpha-pinene is alerting, limonene is “sunshine-y,” and beta-myrcene is sedating. As the names suggest, pinene is abundant in pine needles and limonene in lemons. Myrcene is found in hops (Humulus).

The fact that most terpenoid compounds are common components of the human diet and “generally recognized as safe” by the Food and Drug Administration has made research possible, and scientists employed by flavors and fragrances manufacturers have investigated their properties over the years.

I recommend any talk people can find by Dr. Raphael Mechoulam if interested in science and medical cannabis, I think he is great. Don't listen to politicians, listen to the scientists and small farmers that's what I do.

Cannabis in the Brain

--- trichomes
Purple cannabis
purple_trichome.jpg
Purple basil
basilx60.jpg

peace

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detroitmechworks's picture

@eyo But that works for me well because I tend to over panic in the morning. (Still expect to have to be at PT every morning, even after seven years...)

My "Rule of Thumb" is most "Fruity" strains are a good fit for me. Orange Juice, Tillamook Strawberry and Blueberry work well as do derivatives. Orange Cookies is one of my "Fun" strains, but I am waaaay too wacky on that. I use it mostly for writing. Smile

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

@detroitmechworks this is where used to live, in south county Petaluma. Bubbleville.
Lagunitas Brewing Company | HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE

Even wake and bakers can be assholes, I think there should be a cap on income and wealth. Enough is enough. Let them become rich but not so stinking rich they forget what made them so. Did they build any worker housing anywhere as people went homeless? NOPE

but a shit ton of beer!
woo hoo priorities

Now (years later) I live in north county Cloverdale where Bear Flag Brewery is the private corporation that paid the city for some new water wells. Moar beer! I call them our beer wells, there are two right along the river path.

Georgia Pacific Sawmills, Shamrock Gravel Mines, Bear Flag Beer Wells, we got 'em all baby! Plus moar homeless, that problem just keeps getting worse.

of course
extract until extinct
wah

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Pricknick's picture

No two people will react to any strain in the same way.
I have helped others since the medical law went into effect in 2008 here in Michigan. I never have and never will recommend a specific strain to anybody. I let them try several until they find what works for them.
As for me, I tend to stick with sativas as they keep me energized and peak my creativity. Indicas are my go to when I need to shut down and relax. High cbd is a definite pain relief.
I have two patients with PTSD. One swears by indica while the other uses sativa.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

detroitmechworks's picture

@Pricknick I just say what works for me and grin. Smile

One other thing that totally needs to be addressed which I didn't do in the main text...

Don't Fly Solo if you can help it. Since you don't know how you'll react, it helps to have someone nearby to help if things go south.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

@detroitmechworks uses mostly Indica to sleep and relax. One time I bought one of those soda type edibles and she asked me if she could share it so we did. MISTAKE! Edibles do not really do much for me at all but for her they induced some nasty vertigo. Another friend and I sat with her til the worst of it finally wore off but that was a huge lesson for me.

When my mother was ill she once asked me if she could try some of mine but damn, she was on so many meds I didn't dare do it. The people at her assisted living had an episode with a resident eating a brownie her granddaughter had brought her and asked us to make sure not do to that! You just never know what it will do with some people, caution is best even if it seems like it's only "harmless" weed.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

LeChienHarry's picture

If the blend isn't working well, as in a bad reaction, a couple of things can help slow it down.

Black peppercorns chewed and activated charcoal powder to take it out of your system.

I have yet to try, but am on a closed group on FB and so many say it is very individual how a person reacts. Also using the same edible over time may become unremarkable. Switch strains. I make lists on the strains and their % of terpenes for my seed buying experiments.

Working in a high use country with outdated laws. Everyone smokes or makes edibles and lotions, but very quietly. Seeds can be ordered from anywhere with no problem, but growing or buying and selling, not so good.

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You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again you did not know. ~ William Wiberforce

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Just knowing, "find what works for you" and "what works for others might not be your thing" is surprisingly helpful.
I've had a few folks pushing their sativa or indica or whatever favorite thing. It gets confusing. Some were good to ok for me, but I always had the feeling there might be some personal biochemistry involved.
These folks are mostly younger coworkers and tend towards vaping oils or edibles though so I'm not too sure they are all that informed.

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