NTs Might Prefer to be a little Autistic

[Aneka]

That is incorrect. The child also needs the whole plant and gets it. Watch the video I posted.

No, you don't need the whole plant for treatment:

Read Medical Marijuana and Epilepsy - An Overview
"Marijuana’s two main cannabinoids are CBD and THC, which work in the body by binding and slowing down pain signals. Research on medical marijuana treatment for epilepsy centers on CBD, which, unlike THC, is not psychoactive. The study shows that CBD works not only on pain signals, but it also affects the entire messaging system.

Research conducted on mice concluded that CBD was effective in the reduction of seizures in some cases, but it was not effective in others. The different results could be attributed to the potency of different strains of marijuana used as some strains appeared more potent than others. It could also be attributed to the method of intake since there was a difference in effectiveness between different intake methods. CBD oil for seizures is the safest way to use marijuana for the management of seizures."

"You may have heard of a person who experienced seizures after smoking weed, and this leads to the obvious question, “can marijuana cause seizures?” If you try to use THC for seizures, the outcome is likely to be more seizures."

 

[SimonSays]

Research conducted on mice

We are not mice. This is not a thread about what the research is and what it means.

I could show you data which counters and confirms the exact opposite, and personal testimony of people I know who experienced things that are not even identified properly yet. But I will not, because I don't need to change your mind. I don't need to be right. It would be a pointless pursuit.

So, as this thread has gone way off the original topic, as it was never meant to be a thread about the ethical or medical use of Cannabis, I will leave it there for now. Thank you for all your comments.

 

[Tom]

 

[Misery]

I'm not sure that's true, but I'm sure @Misery will probably tell us when he's here.

Well, now that it's been brought up, I must say, the full line is: "Misery loves company, when that company is a dog, or perhaps 2 dogs, but if they're wet then they should go dry off first, because otherwise the room smells like soggy puppies, and if they've been skunked they need to get washed first or the house will smell like distilled evil".

That's the official full line.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, my work here is done.

 

[tree]

"English naturalist and botanist John Ray (1627–1705) is credited with the quotation,
"Misery loves company..."

Many people have used John Ray's statement as a starting point for their own explanations of life, love, and loneliness:

• From 19th-century American essayist Henry David Thoreau: "If misery loves company, misery has company enough."
• From turn-of-the-century American architect Addison Mizner: "Misery loves company, but company does not reciprocate."
• From 20th-century Irish novelist Brian Moore: "If misery loves company, then triumph demands an audience."

In which play did William Shakespeare state that misery loves company?

 

[OkRad]

This is such a polarizing thread and I agree with both sides. I agree that MJ can be dangerous to some but I also agree it absolutely should be available to those for whom it is a miracle and there are MANY in that camp, people I know. But I also know people trying to stop using. I am so conflicted! I want it so bad (it's not available to me) but i also fear it. What to do?!

 

[Nitro]

This is such a polarizing thread and I agree with both sides. I agree that MJ can be dangerous to some but I also agree it absolutely should be available to those for whom it is a miracle and there are MANY in that camp, people I know. But I also know people trying to stop using. I am so conflicted! I want it so bad (it's not available to me) but i also fear it. What to do?!

All medications will affect each individual on an individual basis.

 

[Nitro]

For instance, I'm allergic to a tetanus shot, a known and proven drug prescribed daily.
When I seek medical help, it is imperative that I let my care providers know that, so they don't kill me with a judgement call.

 

[Major Tom]

You have to make a difference between medical cannabis, the special, THC free breed that is non-addictive and

and regular cannabis. A child with epilepsy will get medical cannabis.

Cannabis is not physically addictive. Mentally perhaps.

 

[Progster]

Cannabis (the THC in particular), like any other drugs, has its benefits and its side effects, and every person will have their own reaction to it. It may help many people, but that's not true for everyone, it can cause paranoia in some people, and apart from that, smoking it, as most people do, is a bad idea - our lungs are designed for breathing, not inhaling burned plant matter, that's just asking for health problems in my opinion. It's like playing Russian roulette - it may be the wonderdrug, or it may really mess you up. Take at your own risk.

 

[Major Tom]

Cannabis (the THC in particular), like any other drugs, has its benefits and its side effects, and every person will have their own reaction to it. It may help many people, but that's not true for everyone, it can cause paranoia in some people, and apart from that, smoking it, as most people do, is a bad idea - our lungs are designed for breathing, not inhaling burned plant matter, that's just asking for health problems in my opinion. It's like playing Russian roulette - it may be the wonderdrug, or it may really mess you up. Take at your own risk.

You are correct, but nowadays there's SO MANY other ways of ingesting it that are even more effective. I once had a sucker that I sucked on for about 3 minutes and it was more powerful ( and enjoyable) than any smoking I've done. And there was still 2/3 of the sucker left. You can get it sugar free, in vegan food , no carbs. Edible is the way to go. I don't know if I'd ever smoke it again, now that I know the value of a good edible.

 

[Major Tom]

I know a lot of people in their sixties and seventies that have tried quitting marijuana over the past few decades, and they couldn't quit, they were truly addicted. At N.A. meetings there are often people trying to quit it. Detoxing from Marijuana - Marijuana Anonymous World Services

All I have to say to that is haha ha ha ha...try quitting alcohol or a benzodiazepine or an SSRI and then call me back in the morning.

 

[Gift2humanity]

I mentioned in a previous post that Dr Edward Hall, a native American mohawk said that all autistic people on the spectrum have a license to be a Shaman. In this context I can see what you mean

Ironically, cannabis stopped me having what I now know, having since been diagnosed as having Asperger’s syndrome, to be self injurious autistic meltdowns.

I abused cannabis.

I am all for using it respectfully, picking it from where it was grown, using organically grown cannabis as a one off, in a formal ceremony, where an intention is set before the substance is taken. Much like how the ancients took Psilocybin mushrooms or Ayahuasca, etc.
I am ok with legitimate medical use.

Speaking of my own experiences of other people using cannabis, I have only ever seen people use it recreationally.

Some non-autistic people claim they get paranoid, to me this is the initial anxiety which if relaxed into, precedes clarity of thought. Many people fight this just like they do with other stronger psychedelics.

Of course there are people who may have latent schizophrenia and who are not autistic, who take cannabis and experience psychotic episodes.

There are plenty of “chavs” who use it daily. I am not a chav, but I was using it and producing a lot of abstract art of bad quality because I was merely “stoned“, believing myself to be creative.

During these times of heavy use, I did enter an altered state, and I did encounter “people“ who gave me a random mundane messages, not a healthy altered state. The daily use opened up channels that should not have been opened, ditto with ecstasy. I felt that daily use made me apathetic and negligent.

Autism is a blessing.

The lucky autistic children who engaged in creative activities, and who are on the spectrum, whether they know it or not, fair better than their autistic counterparts who do not engage in creative activities in childhood.

This is because their special perception is honed, and they adapt to this left brained thinking unbalanced world, whereas children who do not engage in creative activities and are on the spectrum, in my opinion, are the ones who struggle with communication, with socialising, and with vulnerability.

From a psychedelic perspective, I remember being on LSD and accompanying my friend to the supermarket for a bottle of water as she was thirsty. You can imagine the type of experience it was.

I have no real personal perspective of non-autistic cannabis use being autistic myself.

I can see why you may feel that autism is parallel in some ways to the psychedelic experience, because our senses are heightened. I wondered why ecstasy used to make me trip out when my non-autistic companions we are having a typical ecstasy experience.

Simon, I can only see things from an autistic perspective, yet I get the impression you can see things from both and autistic perspective and a non-autistic perspective, as in the children I mentioned above who engaged in creative activities in childhood.

This is not to invalidate your challenges with the intensity of the non-autistic world, you do seem a very sensitive person, yet you seem to be able to navigate this left brained world from reading your previous posts.

I only agree with this in the context of formal use rather than recreational use.

 

[WildCat]

What is with the obsession over being neurotypical? Envy? Something else? If somebody could care to explain that is, because I have a few theories on this alone. Being neurotypical doesn't magically solve anything (assuming the people I know around me even fit into that category), but I understand that's not the topic of this thread.

My theory re: smoking pot is smoking pot gives you the experience of smoking pot which, going by this thread at least, varies from person to person.

 

[Gift2humanity]

Simon: I'm NT. When I used to smoke pot, it made me stupid, lazy, paranoid, and hungry. If you think the experience of an NT smoking pot is the equivalent of a "temporary experience of autism", then that is a sad condemnation of people with autism.

As mentioned above, abusive pot can make you, in your words “lazy”, “anxious”. It can make you forget your words this does not mean stupid.

As for paranoid, the true meaning of paranoid is psychotic, “knowing“ you are being watched. I can vouch for this personally because amphetamines got me sectioned as I knew cameras were watching me.

With cannabis, what many people see as paranoia, is initial anxiety, which, if relaxed into, can bring about clarity, but only with respectful use, as mentioned in my first response.

 

[Gift2humanity]

I wish I had some. It would help. But my country prefers we suffer and have to be made a commodity for THEIR "help" which is useless.

As to NTs wanting to be us? I doubt it. People seem to like who they are, autie or NTs
As to NTs wanting to be us? I doubt it. People seem to like who they are, autie or NTs.

The first post was just offered as a theory, which I found quite interesting, as I took psychedelics including cannabis before I was diagnosed autistic.

Many countries prefer their citizens to take pharmecutical drugs when they feel unwell physically or mentally because pharmaceuticals are big business.

Sadly this special plant has been commodified just like many other natural hallucinogens, when the west get hold of anything…… Need I say more?.

 

[Gift2humanity]

From what I've heard from those few I know who have used it, it doesnt really have anything to do with that. It's more about dulling/distracting their senses/minds from their problems. The same reason why so many use alcohol. Regardless of the effects, many just use it as an escape. Not something I'll ever understand, but whatever.

Considering the general "intensity" of what I guess you could call the "autistic experience" (or at least what I know it to be), a better analogy to me wouldnt be using that stuff, but instead absorbing some absurd amount of caffeine. Instead of dulling or calming, that stuff is going to make you nervous and agitated if you get enough of it (well, it doesnt take all that much). "Nervous and agitated" to me sounds a lot more autism-ish. Not to mention senses being all heightened and hyper in a really twitchy sort of way.

Sadly the majority of users who take it daily, do use it to dull their emotions.

I believe it is psychologically addictive, although not physically addictive, like heroin or alcohol.

I abused it to dull my emotions, as an undiagnosed autistic, the adult tantrums I was having were not only dangerous but embarrassing, still, daily use of cannabis was not the answer.

I take it you are talking about caffeine here, not cannabis. If not, correct me.

Caffeine made me nervous and agitated.

When I first used cannabis, it made me tremble, what I didn’t realise was that my body was releasing energy, pent-up tension.

This is the type of tension that the author Peter Levine talks about in his books.

As I said though sadly I went onto abuse it and became apathetic and negligent.

I used it in the wrong mindset, and became “ hyper” in my talking, the right mindset is vital.

 

[Gift2humanity]

Well, let me help you to maybe understand from my own experience.
It is definitely not a dulling or distracting experience, and nothing like alcohol. It is something many creatives use, many musicians, artists, and writers, as it can open the doors of creativity wide. Not as wide as the psychedelic can, but then that isn't always something one can express to others, at least not at the time.

It was quite an 'out there' theory. Not gonna be easy to get from an aspie perspective, and few NTs here who use it that way (and some who didn't find it useful at all). Maybe it's just me who sees it. Wouldn't be the first time.

Only if used in the way nature intended, in the way the ancients used it and for legitimate medical reasons.

Escalating use was needed to produce more creativity for me, however, as I needed more and more, I could feel it wearing off during the times I was doing art and I would stop doing the art and smoke a spliff and then start again, as I was using daily, this was not up true creativity, not in the same way that a formal use of cannabis would bring.

 

[Gift2humanity]

Heightened, yes, hyper, can be, with the right strain (there are hundreds, with different combinations of cannabinoids, and each can have quite a different effect on the user). It can sometimes induce a feeling of ADHD too, or heighten what is already there, and that for me isn't a negative, as to me, it is a freedom to only focus on what matters, and not have to stay focussed on what doesn't. Then, even more creativity can come from flowing into another idea that way and then joining them together into something else. I don't think I'm like most others though.

There is a saying in autistic circles, “ If you’ve met one autistic person you have met one” we are all different even from each other.

Different strains, Nature has created many different strains of cannabis herself, unfortunately man has also tampered with the DNA of the plants creating even more strains, unnaturally strong strains.

I think if you can go to countries where it grows naturally, or even obtain the seeds from plants you know have grown naturally in their natural habitat, this is the best cannabis to take.

I mentioned before I suspect I have an diagnosed ADHD and yes I see how it can produce or aggravate the ADHD traits.

I used to like to smoke and write introspectively about myself, it seduced me as it was the first time I got insights, whereas before, sober, my journalling just used to go around in circles with no insights.

This does not mean I think cannabis is the only way to write productively, there are more ways to relax, and access that mental space where insight comes from. I did not know how to relax, I am still learning.

 

[Gift2humanity]

Some cannabis strains can do that...the pure Indica especially. These are good for pain and give what people call a body high. Whereas the high THC Sativa strains are uplifting. They are used for creativity and entheogenic practices. No extreme sleepiness there

I used to grow it under lights.

I always preferred the very high sativa strains exactly for this reason.