Cannabis Psychedelic Experience – What is involved?

Okay, so we’re talking about cannabis assisted psychedelic therapy.
I do choose to use the term psychedelic therapy because that’s the model, the protocol, the method, and also because it’s it’s a catchphrase, it’s a really hot phrase now.
About three years ago everyone thought I’d be insane if I’d start using this term and it’s taken off.
So yeah, so what I’m considering it is is not just cannabis augmented therapy because there’s a lot of people that are offering a lot of different therapies using cannabis.
All Center management.
We’re talking about a different modality and the best way to describe it is psychedelic therapy.
But for that we’ve got to ask the question: Is cannabis psychedelic?
Okay, it doesn’t work on the 5 8 5 ht2a receptor which is considered the gold standard and it doesn’t have the double helix of the traditional psychedelics, but neither does ketamine.
And psychedelic therapy with ketamine is already very, very mainstream but there are those brain studies that I don’t understand that talk about how those two things are related or the other one that that compares which parts of the brains are are sodium with us and the other thing.
Okay, as I said I don’t understand it but I see that the brain people do.
But it does work on what’s known as the endocannabinoid system.
How many of you know anything about the endocannabinoid system?
Just stick up your hands

Okay, we’ll take three minutes for a a movie by PBS which is a really conservative American TV channel on the endocannabinoid system we’re going to disappear to here for thousands of years humans have cultivated cannabis for its fiber seeds and medicinal properties ancient Hindu texts claim it was brought by the god Shiva for the pleasure of humanity the plant contains over 400 chemicals including cannabinoids which are most abundant in the resin glands of budding female plants

in the 1960s Israeli scientist Rafael mashulum isolated THC the psychoactive cannabinoid that makes users feel high the discovery launched a new chapter in neuroscience

cannabis open the window into the functioning of our body completely unexpected window because what was discovered was that THC binds to receptors in the brain and outside the brain and when he does so when he binds to these receptors the cells now behave differently

cannabinoid receptors named after cannabis are found on nearly every organ in the body they bind with our own cannabis-like molecules called endocannabinoids which regulate functions like sleep cognition memory and mood unlike other brain chemicals they travel backwards across the synapse where they control the release of most neurotransmitters one of the most amazing things that happened was the discovery of the endocannabinoid system every mammal has one and this is a system of chemicals and receptors throughout the brain and body and really the primary goal of the endocannabinoid system is homeostasis keeping things in balance at Mount Sinai Hospital neuroscientist Yasmin Hurd remembers the first time she looked for cannabinoid receptors in the human brain seen here in Vivid red orange and yellow colors the cannabinoid receptor is the most abundant receptor in the brain when we looked at where these receptors were expressed they’re expressed in brain regions relevant for motor coordination cognition memory emotional regulation reward all of these brain areas are key to so many normal behaviors obviously but also psychiatric disorders as well

a key role of the endocannabinoid system is to manage stress in fact the first endocannabinoid found in our body was given a Sanskrit name anandamide meaning Bliss

in response to stress our body mobilizes an endocannabinoid signal and so if something aversive happens to us and we suddenly see a threat in front of us our body kind of goes into a high alert mode and we shoot up once we’ve been removed from that threat though our body needs to turn that stress response back off and what we have learned is that this burst of endocannabinoids that occurs in response to stress is really critical for that recovery phase

scientists suspect this signal goes awry in people with PTSD and that’s why THC which mimics our own endocannabinoids might help

Okay, so we’re talking about a really really complex system and system like neurological system or digestive system or circulatory system that’s only been known for about 20 or 30 years okay which means that we we really don’t know much about it if you think about how much we’ve studied the neurological system I mean how do we know about how that works you can just imagine how will we know but it’s throughout the body it affects everything and that might be the reason why cannabis seems to affect so many different things within there okay but let’s get back to psychedelic cannabis has been associated with psychosis for a really long time psychotic symptoms are very often very similar to psychedelics some symptoms or experiences.
They contacted me and the first step was screening. I generally start off with a half-hour introductory meeting by Zoom, which is usually enough to get a sense of who they are, their background, and to answer basic questions. The first thing I screen for is psychosis with them or their family, and the second is medical issues, particularly surrounding their heart. That’s the main screening. I’m also interested in general functioning, and if someone is in and out of medical institutions, we have to make sure they have their own serious treatment program.

After the introductory meeting, I give them a link to a form that I call a safety and informed consent form. It combines medical and psychological history, as well as their experience with psychedelics and other mind-altering substances. I explain to them that out of those things, maybe two or three percent are reasons for saying no, and in those cases, it’s important to know when to say no. About 45% of it is to help me tailor the preparation sessions properly, and the other half is to help me structure the dosing sessions. It’s important that they fill out the form.

We then have a preparation session, usually by Zoom, and we can usually finish it within one or two hours. We go through the questionnaire, read the answers they gave, and discuss their medical and psychological history. We also talk about practical preparations, such as where we’re doing it, the blend they’re going to use, and their intentions. We discuss doubts and worries, and I make it clear that no touch will ever be sexual, and I’m uncomfortable with a hug that involves anything below the waist. We also discuss touch and boundaries, and I explain that it’s a negotiation.

We set up the dosing session, and the first thing we do is a check-in, intention setting, and for the psychonauts, we talk about getting on the same wavelength. We take a break for last minute preparations, and then we sit down to start. We start off with an imbibing ceremony. I choose the Seven Directions Prayer because it can have real spiritual significance for some people, and everyone can read into it how much they want. After each direction, I invite them to take some more of the medicine. I stress that it’s natural, and they can take as much as they want until they’re ready to go inside. There’s no danger of anyone overdosing from smoking like this. The worst thing that can happen is they can have a slight panic attack. I explain that if they stop and later want more, it’s not a problem, and they can take more and go back in. They have agency around this.

We then put on headphones, lie back, and start a guided meditation. The guiding imagination is a combination of the body scan to help them focus inside, and the five awareness practices, which are physical, energetic, emotional, thoughts, and visual or hallucinatory. When something comes up, they just notice it.

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