Medical cannabis is now being used for many different serious ailments – everything from reducing nausea when receiving chemotherapy treatment to treating anxiety and depression within the context of treating a state of Ohio qualifying condition. Its calming and relieving effects have also been touted as a good alternative to opioids, which are causing an alarming death rate across the country.
This treatment from the cannabis plant is used as a relaxant, an appetite stimulant, and a pain reliever to quell severe and deep pain. Medical cannabis is therefore immensely helpful for people with advanced AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and cancer to reduce pain and keep weight on.
Medical cannabis does have a few side effects, and some people do experience hallucinations – but this is rare. Let’s talk about medical cannabis and how it might help treat your severe pain or chronic health symptoms.
Can Medical Cannabis Cause Hallucinations?
Because of its historic and direct connection with recreational marijuana, which is not processed and treated for medicinal use, people may assume that medical cannabis has all of the same bad effects. However, this new medical treatment has been specially formulated with CBD to help people reduce their levels of physical pain and mental anxiety when dealing with illnesses and chronic conditions.
Some of the hallucinogenic effects do affect some people, but it is not usually reported by patients who develop THC tolerance by starting low dose, using CBD containing medications, and going slow. The beneficial effects supersede the negative impacts, which are usually fairly minimal.
That said, it is important to note that patients who are receiving this treatment should never drive while under its influence. To be safe, always ask someone else to drive or use a driving service instead, such as a Taxi or Uber.
What Can This Treatment Relieve?
Scientifically, the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) found in cannabinoids does not activate the same receptors in the brain as do other hallucinogenic drugs. Hallucinations due to medical cannabis are therefore most likely a result of other factors, taking high dose THC without first developing tolerance, or with a history of psychotic illness, or taking it with other hallucinogenic drugs.
Medical cannabis is prescribed to patients by a doctor based on a careful examination and evaluation. History of substance abuse or psychiatric disorders will be checked in order to avoid complications.
Medical Cannabis for Chronic Pain Treatment in Fairborn, Ohio
If you are suffering from chronic pain, chronic inflammation, nausea, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or cancer, medical cannabis can provide relief from what you are feeling. At InteCare Medical Clinic, we can help make medical cannabis part of your complementary therapy to treat your chronic health condition and lessen your pain.
Find out how medical cannabis can make a difference in your life and help you experience less pain, less anxiety, and an improved appetite so you can finally start to maintain a healthy weight again. This is a holistic type of medical treatment that is a good alternative to addictive opioid treatments.
When marijuana is smoked, THC and other chemicals in the plant pass from the lungs into the bloodstream, which rapidly carries them throughout the body to the brain. The person begins to experience effects almost immediately (see “How does marijuana produce its effects?”). Many people experience a pleasant euphoria and sense of relaxation. Other common effects, which may vary dramatically among different people, include heightened sensory perception (e.g., brighter colors), laughter, altered perception of time, and increased appetite.
If marijuana is consumed in foods or beverages, these effects are somewhat delayed—usually appearing after 30 minutes to 1 hour—because the drug must first pass through the digestive system. Eating or drinking marijuana delivers significantly less THC into the bloodstream than smoking an equivalent amount of the plant. Because of the delayed effects, people may inadvertently consume more THC than they intend to.
Pleasant experiences with marijuana are by no means universal. Instead of relaxation and euphoria, some people experience anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic. These effects are more common when a person takes too much, the marijuana has an unexpectedly high potency, or the person is inexperienced. People who have taken large doses of marijuana may experience an acute psychosis, which includes hallucinations, delusions, and a loss of the sense of personal identity. These unpleasant but temporary reactions are distinct from longer-lasting psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, that may be associated with the use of marijuana in vulnerable individuals.
Introduction: Cannabis has been historically classified as a hallucinogen. However, subjective cannabis effects do not typically include hallucinogen-like effects. Empirical reports of hallucinogen-like effects produced by cannabis in controlled settings, particularly among healthy research volunteers, are rare and have mostly occurred after administration of purified Δ-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) rather than whole plant cannabis.
Methods: The case of a healthy 30-year-old male who experienced auditory and visual hallucinations in a controlled laboratory study after inhaling vaporized cannabis that contained 25 mg THC (case dose) is presented. Ratings on the Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS) following the case dose are compared with HRS ratings obtained from the participant after other doses of cannabis and with archival HRS data from laboratory studies involving acute doses of cannabis, psilocybin, dextromethorphan (DXM), and salvinorin A.
Results: Scores on the Volition subscale of the HRS were greater for the case dose than for the maximum dose administered in any other comparison study. Scores on the Intensity and Perception subscales were greater for the case dose than for the maximum dose of cannabis, psilocybin, or salvinorin A. Scores on the Somaesthesia subscale were greater for the case dose than for the maximum dose of DXM, salvinorin A, or cannabis. Scores on the Affect and Cognition subscales for the case dose were significantly lower than for the maximum doses of psilocybin and DXM.
Conclusion: Acute cannabis exposure in a healthy adult male resulted in self-reported hallucinations that rated high in magnitude on several subscales of the HRS. However, the hallucinatory experience in this case was qualitatively different than that typically experienced by participants receiving classic and atypical hallucinogens, suggesting that the hallucinatory effects of cannabis may have a unique pharmacological mechanism of action. This type of adverse event needs to be considered in the clinical use of cannabis.
I have tripped and hallucinated from marijuana. I always get really pissed off when somebody tries to tell me weed that can’t be a hallucinogen. I also have had a seizure. It was in the 6th grade after passing out, falling down, and hitting my head on a rock.