I love cannabis, but sometimes when I smoke my mind comes up with these ridiculous paranoid scenarios.

For example, often times when I'm with other people and I listen to certain kinds of music, my brain tells me that somehow the song is talking about or referring to me in a negative way. Its very odd and uncomfortable. I know its irrational and delusional, after the fact I relies how weird that is.... What is that? Have you experienced that before?

Sometimes I get anxious to, and my mind comes up with negative scenarios while high. Its like a kinda flash...Its hard to describe.

But I dont want to run away, I want to handle it head on. I want to get the most out of my cannabis sessions. What am I doing wrong? Typically I use a water bong, with small amounts of cannabis flower in it. By the way this dose not happen every time, but sometimes it does.

If I have these negative trips with cannabis, would the same thing happen if I were to take psyilocybin cubensis or dmt? I want to learn how to navigate through negative experience like this.

So what advice, tips do you have for conquering paranoia and negative thoughts from cannabis?
I want to conqure this before trying higher level psychedelics? Is it necessary?
Anything else you can add would be great full, thank you.

Sometimes when I start to get paranoid or have other negative thoughts on cannabis I simply tell myself to "stop thinking about that" and deliberately start thinking about something else. It seems like an obvious and simplistic answer but it really does work for me. Your results may vary.

This trick might be a little more difficult to to perform under the influence of hallucinogens. And yes, I would say that if you're prone to anxiety and negative thoughts, you'd be more likely than average to have a negative experience with other psychedelics.

Set and setting are important, so you'd want to make sure you were physically and mentally comfortable, start with low doses, and I'm sure there are a lot of other methods that others can share with you, but really, IMO, I wouldn't recommend doing DMT until you're fairly sure you're ready. There's no rush.

In my experience the best way to ensure a bad trip is to go into it worrying about having a bad trip.

I do my own research when it comes to psychedelics, so for me its important to approach this with respect. And to use the substances in a shamanic context (set/setting/intention). When do you know your ready for the next step? Is it intuitive understanding or more of a preflight check list? or Both? I have a intellectual understanding of psychedelics, but I lack the actual experiences.

I will use the "stop thinking about that" technique next time, if I run into difficulties. Its simple and obvious, will see if it works for me

Thank you, for your tips

I used to experience that negative feedback from music as well. Soon enough, I realized it was just my mind state / mood. Whether that be I wasn't settled enough to smoke or just needed time away from cannabis. With longer use, the more paranoia I'd recognize. Though sometimes, it seems to alter any paranoia present, whereas it'll cause it if I'm prepared.

This is probably just cannabis in itself in conjunction with the mind state. Ime, other psychedelics don't compare to the cannabis paranoia, but other substances certainly can provoke that effect.. just not to the same degree, if any paranoia whatsoever.

The scale of paranoia compared with mushrooms or tryptamines isn't even on-par with cannabis imo-e. I've discovered over time that cannabis causes the deepest paranoid states of mind.. but sometimes not. The strain really can effect the experience, as well as S&S.

I don't think it's necessary to conquer cannabis before other psychedelics.. simply because I've never personally found conquering any psychedelic to be necessary. Not to worry, though. These things pass and are insignificant to the true state of awe cannabis deploys. It's in there somewhere, just gotta recognize it and stay true to it (yourself) I suppose.

Take care!

I understand, I remember Joe Rogan and Graham Hancock talking about, how in their opinion the cannabis paranoia was worst then the tryptamine paranoia's. Thats a relief though. I thought I was crazy, with the whole music thing, but its comforting knowing that other people have had the experience to.

What strains of cannabis have you found that works for you?

Ask yourself what root fear is driving the paranoia, or a suggestion is to use cannabis leaf as a base for your spliffs bongs whatever, or both, or stop smoking it entirely. I always try to have cannabis leaf on hand to smoke before or after bud in case the paranoia gets too much it works everytime.
You could also smoke/vape/ingest it after using other herbs such as pink/blue lotus, passiflora. These have removed any paranoia for me.
Ive also found some strains cause more paranoia than others, the strains that are more cerebral cause the most but are also some of the most enjoyable as the imagination runs wild.

" conquer "

How are you going to conquer youself ? ...... and do you think that it's a good idea ?

I've battled paranoia/anxiety with cannabis ever since I started smoking it ten years ago. It's always been very psychedelic for me, which is a blessing..but it can be very paranoia inducing as well; usually more so than even psilocybin or other psychedelics (but I have to be very careful combining cannabis with them...I can only smoke it on the comedown, never the come up. That can intensify it and the paranoia/delusions tremendously, so I *highly* recommend avoiding it when you first try psychedelics, at least before the comedown, since you seem prone to this aspect of it to)

After a lot of trial and error I learned to deal with it for the most part, especially the past year. Many many things help, but the simplest has been to just smoke small amounts over an hour period or so, and gradually increase the amount. It really helps to wade into it instead of taking a dive via bong hit. Harmalas and melatonin also have worked wonders for me in smoothing out cannabis anxiety, and it's helped many others that I know as well. It usually happens in social situations rather than when I'm alone, but alone is a good time to learn to work with it. Meditation, yoga, exercise, lots of water and a healthy diet have helped to...And especially just loosing myself with an instrument, poi, dance, and psychedelic music while high. Poi and keyboard have been all I need lately, and I suck at those without cannabis. Anything that I can enter a state of creative flow with works wonders to channel the energy and avoid any anxiety.

I like to smoke it at the end of the day when I don't have obligations to attend to either.

While some of it can snowball and get delusional, much of it is just a bringing to the surface of our underlying fear that we all have, along with our issues, doubts, "what others think" and so on...Good ol' bob said "When you smoke the herb it reveals you to yourself". It helps to work through that and make the changes in your life so those aren't so much an issue. Sometimes though you just have to force a smile and laugh, deciding to enjoy it and stop taking everything too seriously.

Wow...well said, I really resonate with this^^^ Loads of great information. I'll give this a try next time I go on my cannabis journeys.

Thank you

what does this mean ?
why is the leaf smoked ?
how can it lower paranoia ?

edit :

isn't paranoia exactly the kind of effect that is desired from cannabis ?

because smoking joints after joints until the paranoia comes has been a personal ritual for the longest time , for whatever reason it also leads to satisfaction

until the craziness happens , it does'nt feel good

I dont know how it works (CBD/CBC or other cannibinoids?) but if I smoke leaf/trim before and/or after I smoke bud I dont get any paranoia or anxiety. Often I'll smoke them together and it creates more of a sedating stone but doesnt taste so good so I prefer smoking them separately.
Paranoia isnt really desirable for me although you do get used to it amd can just brush it off unless its comes on during a psychedelic trip like it did to me recently. Fluid deep spacey thoughts are desirable but not paranoia but sometimes they go hand in hand.

I highly recommend looking into CBD. It is known to help reducing anxiety and other negative effects from pure THC (and most weed these days, sativa or indica, are very high in THC and low in CBD). Maybe you can find strains high in CBD, or grow some hemp yourself and do an extraction which yields plenty of CBD, or get some morroccan hash or himalayan charras, both of which generally have high CBD content.

Apart from that, I definitely feel that daily smoking, specially smoking early during the day, mixed with not doing exercise and not doing all of one's tasks and having unfinished business, is a recipe for anxiety/paranoia. I feel that such feelings are greatly reduced if one is actually fulfilling all of one's responsibility and daily tasks, as well as doing regular exercise, and then cannabis only comes into play in the afternoon/night.

Also the setting, I definitely prefer smoking cannabis at home or in nature, in a quiet setting, without too many people around. I think its more soothing for the mind.

Last but not least, one can always try to take breaks and see if things improve.

Good luck!

personally I have never suffered with paranoia from smoking cannabis,

However I have had friends who suffer from this, I have heard a theory that Cannabis actually brings out underlying issues that we have, i.e. it doesn't cause schizophrenia but does speed up the pace at which it effects a person without a doubt.

If your paranoia is getting worse or constant I would suggest,

altering the states you smoke cannabis in, (mood, setting, etc)
look at the strain of cannabis you are smoking,
question the impact it is having on your life (When does one decide it is negative? at this point take a break).

ultimately if you are experiencing paranoia through smoking cannabis it would seem you have some issues to work through in yourself first, maybe you have a problem with certain social groups you smoke with? maybe not. If this is effecting you to the point you have to mention about it to others its clear its having a notable effect on your life.

I would personally suggest a break from cannabis, even though cannabis is suggested not to be addictive it can be to the right people just as the right portion of fat and sugar in a dohnut can be addictive to the right person!

as others have mentioned about getting your life on track I would use this short break to put some life goals into perspective and achieve them, cannabis has a habit of giving a false pretence of for want of a better word 'happiness'. what I mean by this is it is extremely easy to procrastinate and do nothing, even while you need whilst stoned.

Peace and Love my friend take care of yourself

While I agree that there are underlying issues at hand in Cannabis use. Positive Thought affirming is rather pointless when it is verbal. I can have all positive thoughts. Self-affirming crap. But still feel an underlying fear as my baseline emotion. Although it helps in attaining states of laughter more easily.

I have found 3-meo-pcp to be one of the most surefire ways to enjoy Cannabis (High in THC). Although, in some cases when you take too much pcp it has it's own fear-inducing state. With Cannabis on top of that it gets rather intense but while my body may shiver and feel like i'm in a constant Norepinephrine rush or something. I feel rather neutral about it. It has gotten to the point where I can actually identify and deal with the things that may be underlying the fear on a more psychological level without the mess of harmfull emotions.

I think harmala may proof very interesting. As it in itself may surface dream-like images and cannabis can potientiate this as well. I think dream-like images is a much more effective way for self-analyzing compared to regular language-based thinking.

Edit: I Want to add that while i said "Self-affirming crap" I literally meant in the form of verbal thought-forms. Perhaps Self-affirming out loud may have more drastic effects.
Peace and love from my as well. May we both annihilate our fears.

I usually enjoy a balanced sativa during the day and indica at night, or sometimes in reverse. It really depends on how I'm feeling and what particular effects I wish to experience. If I have a hybrid, I usually like to lay down with music and smoke until I encounter some closed-eye visual effects. Sometimes I'll mix it with other herbs / plants to equal out any negative effects, or simply to potentiate cannabis in its own right. I find passionflower to be a lighter cannabis alternative if taken via extracted water and then smoked until visual acuity changes. However, many articles conclude that passiflora works by reducing cravings for cannabis, and ime, completely diminish the effects of cannabis.

The paranoia and rapid state of thought while stoned really is (for most times) the center of the cannabis mandala. The state of all that which is unfolding before your eyes and working with it inwardly. It's not supposed to feel comfortable within those higher states of ganja-gaian consciousness.

Psychelexium528Hz* ...... Well ment advice to you and others ---- >

You are doing what you want because you enjoy it . Why dont you ask youself why you enjoy being " paranoid " and why you keep doing it ? Why are you abuseing drugs and yourself ?

When someone has drug problems its not a good idea to take more drugs . First solve your problems . Long distance telepathic diagnosies from amateures is not a good idea .


Cannabis doesnt make people paranoid . They can do it to themselves useing cannabis and other drugs .


Your mind is comunicating with you because you are ignoring yourself . Stop listening to your ego and forcing yourself to be " paranoid " or you stand a good chance of makeing yourself bigger problems . Some people enjoy haveing problems .

That means take a rest . Stop smokeing and fill your life with other things . If you cant stop useing dugs you are an adict = you are abuseing drugs and yourself .

excellent post GOD i full heartily agree, which i way i mentioned in my post its probably time for break!

If you cant give yourself this break then you know you have a problem

For me cannabis has always been psychedelic; this has gotten a bit less over the years but I have also gotten more psychedelic while sober so to speak. Paranoia is more common for me with cannabis than any other drug including other psychedelics. It is a very introspective drug for me and if I am not doing what I 'Should' be doing in my life I will get anxiety; sometimes I will know why I have this anxiety and the anxiety will correlate with a thought about something I could be doing better, and sometimes the anxiety seems to be underlying and then I have to suss out what it is trying to tell me. If I try to "ignore or conquer" the anxiety it will just make it worse or at best it will work and I won't have changed anything. That being said nothing is perfect, we are a part of the universe and nothing will ever be perfect.


For me the perfect time to ingest cannabis is alone out in the woods walking around enjoying nature (I absolutely love this) or meditating in nature. Other things I enjoy are working diligently on task that takes lots of prolonged concentration such as cooking or playing guitar or doing chores or making hemp bracelets or learning new ways to do something. If I want to relax without thinking and kick my shoes off with cannabis this is best done after a nice long workout or at night time before bed when everything I need to do is done. Pretty much everyone that smokes cannabis will encounter anxiety at some point and society likes to make it seem very benign (which it is physically) but it can be very intense and healing mentally.

I would not give up on cannabis so quickly IF it were me but I would approach it in different creative ways. Oh and Alexander Shulgin HATED cannabis the few times he smoked it

Psychelexium528Hz*

You need to STOP ....... and read your own posts . The language you are useing is very agresive and egoistic . Conquor ? Your fear is a part of you . If you fight against it you fight against yourself = You can not win = You loose . The more you fight it the more you einforce it .

Fear is a part of your defence system . Its an aid . Without fear we would do ...... egoistic things that threaten the safety of our whole organism .

STOP ...... relax ...... and look at what you are doing and why . Think about it . Be honest with yourself . Fear is a natural and valuable tool . MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR FEAR . Use it as an advisor . Show it and yourself respect . Dont deny it . Dont try to run away from it .

The social fears you have are normal and we all get it or have had it . It passes . All we need to do is to do something else with our lives and see that drugs are not the center of our lives .

Take care that you dont talk yourself deeper into it . Some people learn that haveing poblems is better than solveing them = They identify themselves with their problems and wallow in them = Problems as a personality and life erzatz .

Lots of good advice here.

Some substances that might help to reduce the anxiety or paranoia caused by Cannabis are as follows.

CBD, which has already been stated above. CBD is legal in most places as it is not psychoactive, yet it competes for the same receptor sites as THC. The easiest way I have found to use it is to buy CBD vaping juice online and use in an e-cig type vape setup. I vape CBD before I smoke or vape Cannabis and it adds to the pain relief and muscle relaxation for me and also helps to make some strains less anxiety or paranoia inducing.

Some people also find that using black pepper, chewing or even snorting it, before Cannabis helps to reduce anxiety or paranoia. Some people claim it is the terpines found in black pepper, some say its the pipperine, I do not really know for sure, but many friends swear by this. I have no direct experience using black pepper with cannabis.

Another substance is rhodiola, that is supposed to decrease the cannabis high a bit, but also the anxiety or paranoia. I have no direct experience using rhodiola with cannabis.