Hi
Unsure weather this is the right place to discuss this one............anyone use cannabis as a relaxation aid and if so does it help

Sooty

This is a fine place to bring it up and am sure it has been discussed in the past. In my personal experience, today's MJ is not the same stuff from the 70-80's, so if you have fond memories of being stoned back then..........................I tried home grown, not medical brand, had a scary experience and double dose of extreme dystonia. But everyone is different and worth trying out - just know there are select grades of the the stuff - one may work while another may not.

TG

I had one of my neurologists inquire if I'd tried pot so, I thought I'd give it a go. Keep in mind that I live in California and before trying, went out and got my official medical marijuana cert. I could go on and on about what a sham that is but, I'll try to stay on subject.
IMPORTANT!!!! If you smoked pot in the old days... things have changed! Take the strongest pot from the 60s and 70s and multiply by 10 at least. It will lay you away or as in my case, leave me pacing and uncomfortably praying for the damned stuff to wear off. That said, it has been my last resort to get to sleep now for a few months. When I've taken all of the drugs, the sleeping pills, the yoga etc. and I'm still laying in bed so stiff that not all of my body can seem to touch the mattress at the same time, then I'll go for my one long toke.
First of all, be sure to get your hands on as pure an indica as you can find. If you get sativa or a cross with alot of sativa, you'll not get the effect you want. I recommend that you google indica strains, jot down a list of the strains that are either pure indica or mostly indica. Take that list with you when you go shopping. Indica is for pain relief and muscle relaxation. Sativa will energize you.
Now, once you have your list there is weed to smoke and forms to eat. Careful with those edibles. There's no quality control out there so one man's single brownie is another's man's high for a week. Take a really tiny bite and wait to see how it goes. Be sure you're home and safe when you do it. I ate 1/4th of a brownie at once and had an unwanted party for several hours.
I recommend that in the long run, you bake your own edibles so that you know what and how much is in them. You can buy canna butter which you replace for the oil in cooking recipes. Just be sure that the butter is made from indica and not sativa.
As far as smoking, I'm not a smoker but, it does seem that it is easier to control what you're getting in that form. Just take a half a puff and wait to see before getting bold and over doing it.
So, bottom line is that for me, it will work when nothing else does. Just go slowly and carefully.

While my supply is erratic at best, I have found it to be quite helpful for me. Even to the point of going from near helpless to ten minutes later and having forgotten that I was helpless found that I was not. Eerie.

Yup, I'd say you get stoned by the "good" stuff LOL. My sister finds the stuff growing in her corn fields every year.

TG

I haven't looked up past posts about this yet but will. I have heard tell of some neuroprotective actions of Cannabis but the study was quite some time ago.
Luckily for me, as a CA. resident, I do have a medical/Marijuana card.
I use it 4-5 times a week right before bed and it helps me relax enough to get a great sleep. I actually like the hybrids, but I am not awake long enough to worry about the "high". What I do know is that the relief of getting into bed after smoking with the muscle relaxation it gives me is absolutely heavenly. I sometimes do visualizations at that point because I feel more open to healing. Relief is the operative word here for me.

Does everyone agree with the indica recomendation? also i feel a bit reserved for fear of comprrimising cognition/memory. Now heres a plant that deserves clinical trials aand research!

md

I find that extreme lack of sleep pretty much destroys my cognition and memory. Without pot or sleeping pills, I'm lucky to get 2 hours of sleep in a row. Additionally, when I wake up, I need to take my carbi/Levo thus pushing my daily intake up. I try my best to keep my use of Carbi/Levo down as much as I possibly can.
I've had scrips for all kinds of sleeping pills and I hate them all. They all have me groggy and running into the walls the next day. Pot doesn't do that. I sleep and wake up nice and clear headed.
Not being a smoker, I prefer to not smoke. But, as I said before, I'm a bit wary of edibles because the strength is so unreliable. I have had a good experience with what they refer to as concentrates. They are generally tinctures often mixed with something that improves the taste, like honey. The ones I get are in dropper bottles so you can go one drop at a time until you find your best dose. You also can use these without calling a lot of attention to what you are doing.
I personally do not like the feeling of being "high" so I don't care for sativa. My use of pot is strictly to relax, relieve muscle cramps, relieve pain and sleep. To that end, indica works for that.
Here is a website that suggests specific strains for your desired effect
http://www.medicalmarijuanastrains.com/strain-guide/