Why doesn't marijuana work for me?

September 20, 2024 10:12 PM

Now that my state has legalized marijuana, I've tried it a few times some months apart. I occasionally experience lower back pain in the evenings (probably related to stress from my job), and I thought the marijuana might help me relax and ease my back pain. Unfortunately, marijuana doesn't seem to work for me, and it actually makes me feel worse. Am I some kind of non-responder, or am I doing something wrong?

When I smoke small to moderate amounts, I experience the following effects:

• I get brain fog, to the point where it's hard to follow the plot of even a simple sitcom
• I feel slightly tired, light-headed and a bit dizzy
• Time seems to move more slowly, so five minutes feels like 30 minutes
• My mouth gets dry
• My limbs feel heavy
• My heart beats faster

What I don't notice is any euphoria, reduction in stress, or improvement in my back pain. The brain fog, in particular, is unpleasant.

Twice I smoked more than I should have, and the effects were quite distressing. I got really bad anxiety, almost to the point of having a panic attack (though not quite). And my heart was racing at an alarming rate, as measured by my Apple watch. I had to take a beta blocker to slow it down.

Am I doing something wrong? I've tried both smoking leaf and vaping (sorry, can't remember the strain or brand or anything like that). I bought the products from a certified, fully legal dispensary. I was smoking at home, in the evenings after dinner, when I was alone. I don't have a history of drug use, except for caffeine and moderate amounts of alcohol, both of which have the usual effects on me.

I'm about ready to give up on the marijuana. I suppose that people are different, and maybe I have some kind of genetic intolerance to it, or something like that.

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (17 answers total)

Talk to the folks at the dispensary and describe what you're looking for and what you've experienced. I've had a lot of luck with edibles -- specifically Kiva Camino gummies. That particular brand seems to work the best for me.
posted by erst at 10:26 PM on September 20 [4 favorites]

People are literally different. We have different brain chemistry. It's possible that you could try some version of cannabis that will work for you, or it might be that it just doesn't work with the brain you have.

Cannabis just makes me anxious.

It's like so many things - some people respond differently to caffeine, for example, it makes them sleepy rather than energised.

I've tried several types of sleeping pill, and they have no effect on me at all.

SSRIs and SNRI meds don't do what they're supposed to for me either. My psychiatrist told me I have a weird brain!

It doesn't mean there's something wrong with you, it just means that our brains and how they work is still largely a mystery.
posted by Zumbador at 10:49 PM on September 20 [4 favorites]

Yep, people are different. Weed also just makes my already anxious brain moreso. I get anxious about saying dumb stuff and anxious about having dry mouth and anxious about not doing drugs right. It’s super annoying. My friends who regularly partake have offered to help me find a good strain and method of intake, to be munchies buddies or for them to stay sober while I try it again, but nah. It’s not worth it. Maybe if I develop some chronic pain condition I’ll explore my options in the future, but for now it’s not for me.

I am otherwise very sensitive to most drugs, I am on a surprisingly low ssri dose despite the extremity of my anxiety, half a Benadryl will knock me out for like 18 hours and then I’m groggy for a day after, it’s frankly annoying. I used to think I was less sensitive to caffeine, but actually I have just never been a coffee drinker and I can tell the different feelings between the caffeine in tea, chocolate, and coffee - I theorize that my historic indifference to coffee despite having a dad who drank a pot a day and being a lifelong foodie myself is because the coffee caffeine rubs me the wrong way. I like the taste, but not the effects.

Anyway yeah, I’ve come across plenty of people in my marijuana friendly city of Seattle who are like me. You’re not doing anything wrong and there is nothing wrong with you, either. I would suggest taking any money you might spend on further pot acquisition and spending it on a really nice office chair, or massage appointments, to help with your lower back pain and stress.
posted by Mizu at 11:03 PM on September 20 [3 favorites]

Some people seem to be constitutionally incapable of getting high from edibles for whatever reason. Body chemistries are weird.
posted by BungaDunga at 1:22 AM on September 21

If it's for pain, maybe try it in a topical form like cbd salve.
posted by trig at 1:56 AM on September 21

I am, overall, similar to you in my response to weed, but I've played around with strains a bit. Have you been paying attention to CBD/THC content? Most stuff at recreational dispensaries is primarily THC-heavy, but CBD may be more useful for the effects you're looking for, so smoking/vaping some higher-CBD, lower THC strains would be my last-ditch attempt if I were you. I specify smoking/vaping because CBD is more bioavailable that way vs ingesting because of the way CBD gets metabolized.

I'm sure people who are more into weed than me will have more to say, but loosely: in case you're not familiar, THC is the compound that gets you high, CBD is the one that has some anti-inflammatory/pain relief properties. Friends who use CBD regularly tell me that ideally you don't want just CBD even if you're primarily looking for its effects, because THC and other related compounds potentiate CBD's effects (or something like that.)
posted by needs more cowbell at 1:57 AM on September 21 [4 favorites]

Back pain can have a lot of causes, and as I understand it there’s not one fix that will resolve all of them. Maybe marijuana is not the right match for the problem. Have you been seen by a doctor for this?
posted by eirias at 4:18 AM on September 21

Cannabis does nice things for my mind and body, but the very same strains that I enjoy so much bring on anxious, jittery misery for ms flabdablet if she takes enough to have any perceptible effect whatsoever. It just is not and should not be everybody's drug of choice.

Every now and then I forget how much pain my old L5-S1 disc injury cost me and move carelessly enough to make it flare up again. I'm currently about a week into the three weeks it usually takes to settle down, and I've been deliberately avoiding my little green friend because I'd rather keep being reminded how seriously to take that pain than find ways to pretend it doesn't matter. I also have ideological objections to using my recreational drugs remedially; that way lies dependence.

Got a massage booked for Monday with my wonderful regular myotherapist. I don't at all mind the risk of becoming dependent on that because for me at least it has no negative side effects.
posted by flabdablet at 4:43 AM on September 21

I do get pleasant mental effects from cannabis, but I’ve never had any luck with it for pain relief. If anything it seems to make my pain worse because I feel like I can feel it in more “detail” and I become more conscious of it. Which is just to say that, yeah, people are different.

I agree that it’s worth talking to the employees at the dispensary to explain what you’re looking for, as they might have a recommendation, but also don’t be too surprised if their recommendation isn’t much better — since again, people just have different reactions to drugs and some people are outliers.

(I have a similar issue with mushrooms FWIW, many of my friends love them but every time I try, they just make me incredibly anxious and withdrawn, very unpleasant experience. I don’t take mushrooms anymore.)
posted by mekily at 6:21 AM on September 21

I would aim to try to find products that contain CBD but not THC. It sounds like you're not so much trying to get high as just relax. It's the THC that is giving you anxiety and increased heart rate. CBD doesn't get you high, it just relaxes the body.
posted by winterportage at 7:00 AM on September 21 [2 favorites]

As a counter, CBD gives me terrible brain fog for days, right up to full dissociation. Smoking typically gives me a horrid whitey. Half of a sativa edible (so 2.5 mg THC) makes the world amusing, comfortable and very tasty for a couple of hours.

Talk to the person at the dispensary. They may not be medically knowledgeable, but they can be helpful and suggest what to avoid
posted by scruss at 7:10 AM on September 21

I agree with those pointing out to pay attention to the CBD:THC ratio. You want something that's at least 1:1 if not more CBD than THC - CBD also can counteract some of the negative side effects of THC (like paranoia). I'd also suggest edibles since if it's mass produced by a reliable company, it's easier to control your dose compared to smoking/vaping.

All that said - it sorta sounds like you don't like being high, and that's OK. Also, I personally have never found weed to be useful for acute pain - if I'm just a bit sore allover from say, a long day hiking, it will smooth over the edges of various aches, but if I'm having menstrual cramps, it's not very helpful. A lot of people got "medical" weed for back pain not because weed helps most people's back pain but because "back pain" was the easiest way to qualify for medical weed.
posted by coffeecat at 8:52 AM on September 21

I've also tried marijuana a handful of times in my life and it never agreed with me. It made me extremely paranoid. And I felt terrible the next day. I've tried both smoking it and edibles. Maybe it's just not for you. I actually like taking calming CBD every now and then. But it's not a "high" sensation. Just kind of makes me relaxed and a little sleepy. They say CBD can also help with pain...but not sure if it would work for you. You need to get CBD from a reputable place. I've used Plus CBD a bunch and I think they make high quality CBD products. Of course there's others out there.
posted by ljs30 at 9:50 AM on September 21

I have a similar response to you. I hate it. I've tried CBD with no THC or much smaller amounts of THC. And all it does it make me feel dull and slow and brain foggy. I've never managed to tolerate a high enough dose of CBD for it to do anything for pain. And yet it actually makes my sleep worse!

I've also messed around with some of the other cannabinoids (I can't remember which ones - CBG maybe?). Similar effects.

I did try it topically for awhile. Didn't do anything for me.

So yeah, I finally decided that all CBD/THC products are just a no go for me.

I am someone who is prone to responding weirdly to medications. Sleeping meds don't work, or have paradoxical effects, or require extremely high doses to do anything. SSRIs made me hypomanic (but I don't have bipolar). So...yeah. Everyone is different.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:09 AM on September 21

I can tell you that I absolutely loathe my physiological and mental reaction to marijuana. Scratchy eyes, dry mouth, paranoia, horrible panic attacks. I just detest the stuff and it detests me! Not all drugs work the same way on all bodies. You aren't doing anything wrong. It's just that your body happens to respond negatively to marijuana.
posted by SageTrail at 11:17 AM on September 21 [1 favorite]

While you mention you don't know the strain (sativa, indica, hybrid), it is important that you understand how these are different, and that there's a lot of variation across products. (Leafly, linked above, has reviews of almost anything.) If I had to guess, what you had was indica, which is a heavy body high. "Couchlock" type.

Sativa is more of a head high.

You also mention you smoked too much. How about taking a hit, then waiting for 30 minutes? Newer pot is strong, sometimes very strong. You may also find you only want to be slightly high, a perfectly fine choice.

I hesitate to recommend edibles, because I have variable experience with them (you're kind of strapping in for a while, whatever level), but if you do find one you like, it's lovely, because then you can take just the right amount and have a more predictable experience.
posted by Riverine at 5:30 PM on September 23

→ Half of a sativa edible

Whoops, not sativa, indica. Sativa makes me feel seasick
posted by scruss at 1:49 PM on September 25