DOSE:

1 cig.

smoked

Cannabis

BODY WEIGHT:

83 kg

This was the fourth time for me to smoke cannabis (marijuana) and the first time for me to feel any effect. The third time I tried I had a faint notion of increased sensitivity, that disappeared completely after about 30 mins. But this time the effect was much stronger. My guess is that I smoked differently, exhaling completely before inhaling the smoke, and keeping it longer in the lungs. Since I don't smoke cigarettes I am not used to smoking at all.

I have never used any psychoactive substances except coffee.

I started around 22:15, and smoked one home made cigarette size full of marijuana.

Noticable effects started after about 5 minutes and came on very slowly but stedaily increasing. I first noticed that my senses had changed. I was suddenly aware of my socks when I walked, they felt like they had a wrong shape or maybe they were too thick. Anyway walking became something I constantly would notice. The feeling in my fingers also changed, it was as if I had band aids on the finger tips. Shortly after that I started sweating lightly in the hands and neck.

When I turned on the tap to drink the water I noticed that it took me longer time to reach it than normally. In general things took slightly longer to do, either that or I was more impatient. But since things also tended to move a bit slower it was actually ok. It wasn't difficult to perform any tasks, just a bit annoying that they seemed to take longer time than usual! I started noticing that I kept forgetting what I had just done. But it was very easy to recall again, I just had to concentrate a little and call it back 'manually' so to speak. This feeling of things my body normally does automatically becoming something I had to do manually would be the most recurring notion during this experience.

I kept staring into the air or at the tv while thinking. I would focus on my thinking and forget about things around me. I hadn't eaten anything before smoking, and the slight hunger suddenly became very acute. It was like a sucking, ticklish feeling in the stomach now, but I knew that this was just my normal feeling of being hungry that had 'changed shape' into this new, buzzing, sucking feeling. It was quite annoying. Like if I had eaten some food that had gone bad and I felt I might want to vomit later. My thighs started to buzz too, maybe tickle a little in a way similar to when I have exercised a lot and is relaxing afterwards. I feel like I ought to sweat although it is not hot at all.

A sort of pushing, warm feeling, like being choked a little with a big pillow is forming in my chest. It is obvious that this effect that I am feeling is starting in my chest and is beginning to slowly spread, but with the chest as the center of the action. Breathing is still normal.

I now notice that my sense of hearing has changed too. This becomes more noticable when I step outside. Sounds far away are considered by my brain as of same importance as sounds from events close to me. A door slamming far away gives me a shock! The sound of a dog barking makes me look behind me although the dog is at least hundred meters away.

I go inside and immediately notice that breathing has become more strained. It is not that it hurts, but breathing has become a task I feel I have to do manually instead of an automatic reflex. I keep thinking that I am forgetting to breathe, and then take a couple of deep breaths. The pushing feeling in the chest is more noticable now. I feel like sitting down, relaxing. Another feeling that has changed is the soreness in my muscles from exercising yesterday, especially in the back and neck. Instead of being sore the feeling is more like the feeling I have right before I 'pop' my knuckles or my neck. That pushy feeling that is usually relieved by cracking or popping bones. But I feel very clearly that I shouldn't do that. That it would result in a cramp if I did that. So I try not to pop my knuckles or my neck.

30 minutes have passed now, and the effect is quite strong. Locking the door with the key is a bit complicated, mostly because of my sudden impatience with things. Typing on the keyboard is easy. When I stand up and bend backwards it is like my body will not automatically bend forward again. I have to manually 'step in' and do it or else, I feel, I would get stuck in that position. It is like a lot of the things I normally do unconsciously, have now become manual tasks I have to remember to do. Especially the breathing is annoying.

I drink some soda and feel like burping, but somehow I think I can predict that the burp will 'get stuck' and not come out. Of course it doesn't get stuck and I can feel the air very clearly and distinctly moving up my throat.

Typing is getting a bit weird. My fingers and me have become sort of separated - separated in time more than in a physical sense. I can think of something and just see my fingers typing along without me telling them what to do. This of course also happens normally, when I am not affected by this drug, but now it is just a lot more obvious. I can easily see my fingers although my gaze is fixed at the screen. It is quite useful actually, that I am able to see all the keys and the screen at the same time. God, those fingers are moving fast and make a fun little dance on the keyboard! I can't help laughing at that.

Breathing is getting easier, or maybe I am getting used to this new task I have to perform. I tend to sit still in one position and not move, more than I usually do, or at least I am more aware of it now. My wrists are glued to the table, but easy to remove if I just focus on doing it. I feel like I am only using my left eye, also the muscles under my right eye are becoming slightly tired.

I go to the bathroom and a little reflection of light in the window gives me a shock. I become aware of a sound downstairs as if it were coming from somewhere close to me upstairs. I can understand if people could become a bit paranoid when smoking this stuff!

The feeling has spread to my lips now. Crumbs on the lips when I am eating potato chips become physical and annoying.

I go outside again, but I constantly forget where I am walking. It is however very easy to find out, I just have to retrace my route, then I suddenly know exactly where I am. It just doesn't happen automatically - again I manually have to figure it out every time I want to know where I am, it is not remembered automatically.

I get this feeling that my brain constantly tries to predict what it is going to happen, and then when something else happens, I become aware of it, slightly confused, because I thought the thing my brain predicted had actually happened. This feeling of things happening that are not supposed to happen is interesting. It is just minor things, like which hand I will put in the pocket, what something would feel like when I touch it or what kind of sound I will hear when I open the door etc. The incongruence between what happens and what I thought would happen is noticable and slightly weird.

Back inside I notice that if I shift my thoughts to something concrete, something mundane, the effect, the altered state, disappears! But only for a few seconds. As soon as I start to think or let my mind drift, the effect comes back in full glory! But it is good to know I can make it go away like that, even if just for a second. It is as if I can perceive my normal state and this altered state, and can switch between them.

The changed soreness feeling is bothering me as it becomes more present and more pressing although still dull. I feel like I could get a small cramp in my muscles any time. That and the pushing feeling in my chest is what makes this experience uncomfortable.

Breathing is getting very 'manual' again, especially when I write. It is like the effect is going up and down in intensity, like waves on a beach. The feeling has now entered my extremities: ear lobes, finger tips, mouth. Threads from a spider's web that I accidently walk into feel very detailed and complex on my forehead, almost like a chord played by a big orchestra.

Chewing food becomes a minor challenge. A snickers bar becomes a very thick goo immediately which is hard to chew. When I swallow it I can trace its way all the way down through by throat to the stomach! It makes eating a bit uncomfortable - I feel the food might stop any time on it is way to my stomach, choking me. But of course it doesn't.

Sounds reaching my ears sound like they are out of phase, like if you switch the position of the loudspeakers in a sound system! The cursor on the screen, when it reaches the border of the screen looks like it is moving the opposite direction.

Moving my body, tapping my foot etc. makes the effect temporarily disappear. It is like a wild animal that will hide when you move or make some noise, but when you sit still, it comes back. I feel the effect could disappear just like that, any time. It is a thin layer lying on top of my normal senses. If I suddenly got up and started to some mundane work, I might forget about the effect. But I am not getting up, I am sitting down, typing, and the effect is quite powerful.

80 minutes have now passed. The effect is still very present. Sore muscles still feel like they are about to cramp. I wonder if this feeling will persist? (but of course it won't). When I excite a muscle, the effect however immediately disappears, the sense returns to normal, but only for a few seconds. The changed muscle feeling is in many muscles now: back, shoulders, jaw, wrists, fingers, legs. The muscles I am often a bit sore in.

Hairs in the back of my neck are sensitive. Eyes drying out a bit makes it harder to read. By this time I have gotten used to the manualness of things and the pressure in my chest. I am getting a bit tired. Washing hands is fun, the temperature is very acute, as if I were reading it on a digital thermometer. I try not to bite my cheek or tongue as I am afraid I might bite through it. Certain keys on the keyboard are hard to type, and I make many typos.

I try to close my eyes, thinking it might increase the effect, like when getting drunk on alcohol, but actually it has the opposite effect. The effect diminishes when I don't have any visual stimuli. Light is definitely a factor in how intense the feeling is, as it subsides when I go outside in the dark, and is strong when I am in front of the computer monitor.

I pick up a glass bottle standing on the floor and notice how light it is. Like it was made of thin plastic! I tap on it to make sure it is actually glass.

Getting tired, so I lie on the couch to watch TV. When I wake up, 2 hours have passed. When I walk around I am still not walking straight, but the effect has decreased a lot. I am hungry and my sense of hearing is still more acute than normal. It is weird that the effect is mostly gone, but hearing small sounds far away, still freaks me out a little. Is this the paranoia after smoking this, that so many talk about?

All in all, an interesting effect although not exactly pleasurable. It might have been different if I had not been tired and hungry, and if I had been in a social setting.

END

The most prominent effects of this trip were:
- The feeling I receive from my senses 'changes shape'. I become aware of them, because they are different from what I am used to
- Sensual inputs become more aggressive and immediate, and the importance of events far away become as high as of events close by
- Pushing effect, like light choking, starting in the chest and spreading to whole body
- Things I do unconsciously become very manual. Afraid that I might stop breathing if I don't remember to do it.
- Brain trying to predict things that would happen, and will assume it has already happened, so that when another thing happens, I become alert because 'something is wrong'.
- Vision was not affected at all (not hallucinogenic)
- Thinking, reasoning, ability to do things etc. was not affected much (contrary to the effects of alcohol)

Exp Year: 2012	ExpID: 97282
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 39
Published: Apr 15, 2019	Views: 7,960
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Cannabis (1) : Alone (16), First Times (2), General (1)