re: pot

[Guest guest]

I have a hard time accepting generalizations about the effects of marijuana,

though I have enjoyed reading everyone's good ideas. I think the effects of

this herb are inextricably linked to the user's expectations and

interpretation of the high. Since there are no acceptable socially

sanctioned rituals for use of this substance in the United States, what

people experience differs widely based on what they've heard about it. In

Jamaica, field laborers smoke marijuana before undertaking a hard day's work

and they feel invigorated. White suburban kids expect to get lazy and

hungry, so they do. Sadhus in India expect to commune with the divine and

they do. I was acquainted with a number of freshmen in undergraduate school

who knew only that marijuana was supposed to make them laugh, and that's

what they would do for three hours after smoking.

From a Western physiological perspective, marijuana has been shown to

temporarily dilate blood vessels in the eyes, temporarily dry the mucus

membranes, maybe temporarily raise the heart rate and little else. Weil

wrote, in The Natural Mind, " This virtual absence of effects on the body is

extremely important because it underlines the disparity between subjective

and objective effects of the drug. One consequence of this disparity is

that persons whose [mind] set toward the drug includes much anxiety (most

first-time users, for example) can ignore the drug completely and pretend to

themselves that nothing has happened. My Boston associates and I were

repeatedly struck by this reaction in our marijuana-naive subjects. They

would sit in the laboratory with red eyes and heart rates of 130 bpm after

smoking two large joints and would have no subjective responses at all.

After the sessions, some of them would ask, 'Did I have a drug tonight?' "

I think the consequences of one's interpretations of the effects of the herb

and the resulting behaviors they display play a major role in the long-term

effects of marijuana. For instance, in people whose smoking routine

involves becoming famished each time they smoke, they may deal with this by

regularly gorging themselves (and not always on healthy foods) in a way that

causes food stagnation, damages spleen Qi (particularly since this

overeating is often accompanied by an overactive mind, which also strains

the spleen), and leads to dampness.

I think of the dryness of the mouth/mucus membranes as resulting primarily

from stagnation of lung Qi as a result of inhaling smoke. I wonder if the

yin deficiency so commonly seen is more of a result of the what users do

when they're stoned than a direct heating/drying effect of the herb. I

might expect yin depletion in users who get jittery and need to clean the

house when stoned. Many American users experience excessive thought

(heat/yang) which could be a significant factor in yin consumption. And

(despite it's commonly being thought of as a sedative) they may feel

compelled to stay up into the night, rather than replenishing their yin with

sleep.

Lonny Jarrett speaks of marijuana as " freezing " the liver Qi in a way that

initially takes the edge off and eventually smothers one's motivation.

The spirit of marijuana has been spoken from a shamanic perspective) of as

the epitomizing (divine) motherly love. This may account for its use early

in life by kids with family problems who aren't getting enough nurturing.

And I think this helps fill in the connection this herb has with the earth

element.

Also, marijuana often imbues its users with an increased capacity for

self-reflection. A manifestation of its action on the metal element (or

water?).

I've seen a number of users with purple tongues and wiry pulses. One might

think, given the herb's popularity as an agent to help you relax, that it

frees the liver Qi. But it often seems the more people smoke, the more

stagnant they become. Perhaps this is due to dampness created by poor

eating, decreased GI motility, and a tendency toward physical inactivity

while stoned? Again, I'm reluctant to make generalizations because I've

seen the drug affect people in so many different ways.

Anyway, more food for thought...

 

===========================

Peter Borten, L.Ac.

4004 SW Kelly Avenue, Ste 201

Portland, Oregon 97201

502.522.2613

http://whiteflowerhealing.com/

===========================

[Guest guest]

, " Peter Borten " <innergate@e...>

wrote:

> I have a hard time accepting generalizations about the effects of marijuana,

> though I have enjoyed reading everyone's good ideas. I think the effects of

> this herb are inextricably linked to the user's expectations and

> interpretation of the high.

 

Peter

 

You raise a good point, the well known issue of set and setting for

psychedelic experience. However I reject the idea that cannabis has no

specific properties and is merely a subjective experience. I think

this position flies inthe face of the fact that it was ascribed

specific actions by ayurveda, shennong ben cao as well as european and

eclectic herbalism. In addition, the brain receptor that THC binds to

has been identified as has an endogenously occurring chemical that

binds to said receptor. This receptor is thought to play an important

role in emotional experience. Just because people's experiences vary

does not mean there are not common threads to this variance. I think

they all center around stimulation of ministerial fire and movement of

qi. I will elaborate below.

 

Since there are no acceptable socially

> sanctioned rituals for use of this substance in the United States, what

> people experience differs widely based on what they've heard about it. In

> Jamaica, field laborers smoke marijuana before undertaking a hard day's work

> and they feel invigorated.

 

obviously stimulation of ministerial fire may result in increased sense

of energy for work, like caffeine

 

White suburban kids expect to get lazy and

> hungry, so they do.

 

I have not found this to always be the case. In fact, I have known

plenty of athletes, yoga practitioners and scientist types who

similarly use the stimulation of ministerial fire to enhance their

activities. Thus they most certainly do not lay around and eat. The

experience you describe is most certainly the stereotype, but I

associate it with a certain type of individual. Stimulation of

ministerial fire consumes yin, so appetite increases to the replenish

that lost yin. When one gets stoned and sits around, then this is the

manifestation of the fire stimulation, mainly in the stomach.

 

Sadhus in India expect to commune with the divine and

> they do.

 

However,if one meditates or creates art or music, then the ministerial

fire's effects seem more on the heart and mind than stomach.

 

I was acquainted with a number of freshmen in undergraduate school

> who knew only that marijuana was supposed to make them laugh, and that's

> what they would do for three hours after smoking.

 

to me,this also is the ministerial fire affecting the heart and this

gets back to your statement about no rituals for use in this culture.

While I think many folks do use this stimulation for purposeful

activity,if one does not, then the experience remains mundane. So one

gets hungry (stomach fire), laughs (heart fire) or gets horny (kidney

fire). When ministerial fire flares and it is not purposefully

sublimated, then it most definitely causes adverse health effects.

However,it seems that certain taoist practices purposefully stimulate

miniterial fire for spiritual purposes, as do kundalini yogis.

 

> From a Western physiological perspective, marijuana has been shown to

> temporarily dilate blood vessels in the eyes, temporarily dry the mucus

> membranes, maybe temporarily raise the heart rate and little else.

 

All which seem to confirm the ministerial fire theory, the stimulation

of the bodies innate fire leading to red eyes (liver heat), heart rate

(heart heat) and drying (heat in general)

 

Weil

> wrote, in The Natural Mind, " This virtual absence of effects on the body is

> extremely important because it underlines the disparity between subjective

> and objective effects of the drug.

 

Weil was unaware of the newer information about receptors when he wrote

this. while the effect on the body may be subtle,it is measurable in

brain chemistry, thus hardly negligible.

 

My Boston associates and I were

> repeatedly struck by this reaction in our marijuana-naive subjects. They

> would sit in the laboratory with red eyes and heart rates of 130 bpm after

> smoking two large joints and would have no subjective responses at all.

 

The red eyes and the heart rate suggest the ministerial fire has been

stimulated, but perhaps does not affect the heart and mind until one

learns how to channel the flow that way. So again I agree that

learning plays a role, but still with a common thread of stimulation

 

> After the sessions, some of them would ask, 'Did I have a drug tonight?' "

> I think the consequences of one's interpretations of the effects of the herb

> and the resulting behaviors they display play a major role in the long-term

> effects of marijuana.

 

I agree with this completely

 

I wonder if the

> yin deficiency so commonly seen is more of a result of the what users do

> when they're stoned than a direct heating/drying effect of the herb.

 

I thinks its both

 

 

> Lonny Jarrett speaks of marijuana as " freezing " the liver Qi in a way that

> initially takes the edge off and eventually smothers one's motivation.

 

I think he is off the mark here. Cannabis definitely has a

stimulating, dispersing effect. Resultant stagnation is due to dryness

or qi xu from dispersal, not inherent in the medicinal, as you suggest

below.

 

One might

> think, given the herb's popularity as an agent to help you relax, that it

> frees the liver Qi. But it often seems the more people smoke, the more

> stagnant they become.