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Cannabis Counselor? Marijuana Mentor? – Why a Weed Guide or Teacher is a Great Idea for New Marijuana Users!
I took my first hit of weed when I was about 14, thanks to my older brother who was 18 at the time. We were constantly at each other’s throats back then. One day in an effort to bond, he pulled out a dime bag and suggested we get high together.
Being tired of the constant fights, I said what the hell, sparked up with him, and instantly loved the giggly, uplifting buzz. From that day forward, cannabis became our sacred plant of brotherly bonding.
My brother taught me how to inhale properly, dose edibles, zone out on psychedelic jams – he guided me into the world of weed. Eventually we became equals, passing joints back and forth and hotboxing in our room/apartment. But I’ll always remember him as my first weed mentor.
In the years since, I’ve learned that having an experienced marijuana mentor is hugely helpful whenever trying any new substance for the first time. They can teach proper precautions, create a safe set and setting, and guide your mindset for maximum insight. Bad trips often happen when people dive in unprepared.
Psychedelics especially require care around dosage, environment, activities and mental state. An experienced tripper knows how to select music, art and activities to channel the experience positively. They can calm anxiety, interpret confusing thoughts, and remind you it’s just the drug.
With weed, a mentor passes on wisdom about strains, delivery methods, etiquette, munchies, and more. Most importantly, they model responsible, mindful use so you absorb good habits. None of us are born knowing how to get high – quality mentors show us the righteous path.
In this article, we’ll explore why every novice should learn from veterans, and what traits make a great substance mentor. There’s so much practical knowledge that only comes from direct experience. A good mentor generously imparts those teachings to give us the best, most insightful journeys possible.
The benefits of having a weed mentor
Having an experienced stoner take you under their wing provides huge benefits for novice tokers. Here’s some of what a wise weed mentor can offer:
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They explain what’s happening in real time so you don’t freak out. With calming guidance, the disorienting effects of new strains feel exciting rather than terrifying. Don’t know if heart’s racing from sativa or panic attack? Your mentor’s got you.
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They teach proper etiquette around sharing, puff puff pass, cornering bowls, etc. You’ll avoid being “that guy” who kills the vibe by hogging the joint or wasting bud. It’s a smoke circle, not every person for themselves.
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You’ll learn reasonable price points so novice eagerness doesn’t get you ripped off. $60 for an eighth is outrageous – your mentor schools you on fair deals. Too good to be true? They can spot the regs and seeds.
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With edibles, they warn you “start low, go slow” guiding your dosing up safely to avoid scary green outs. Nobody enjoys cold sweats and the fear dimension – a good mentor prevents that.
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Generous mentors will slide you some free nugs when you’re dry, building trust and goodwill. Once you know your stuff, you return the favor for the next rookie.
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They create playlists, suggest movies, and pick activities optimized for stoned enjoyment. Music sounds better, jokes hit harder, and bonds strengthen.
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Over many smoke sessions, they become a close friend. You gain not just a teacher, but a partner in mischief and expanding perspectives. The mentee becomes mentor completing the cycle.
When it comes to having a weed mentor, you’ll realize that the “learners curve” is significantly reduced. You’ll be able to enjoy cannabis, find the right strains for you, and be confident that what you’re doing is “right”.
When newbies first start smoking, they often don’t know what to do – freak out, run to the ER, when a glass of milk and cookies would have been a far more effective remedy.
What to Look for in a Weed Mentor
The most crucial trait in a weed mentor is experience. They should have years of partaking under their belt to understand the plant’s nuances and pass on hard-won knowledge. Novices teach bad habits.
But it takes more than just time spent stoned. You also want someone passionate to share cannabis culture respectfully. Not the guy who rips dab after dab just trying to get wrecked. Find a connoisseur who understands cannabis’ nuances.
Patience counts too. The best mentors explain calmly and clearly, never belittling you for ignorance. Ego has no place in the circle. They’ve been the overwhelmed newbie before too.
Your ideal weed mentor connects with you personally. They get to know your personality and preferences. Then they customize suggestions for strains, dosing, activities etc tailored just for you. It’s a partnership, not lectures.
A top mentor’s goal is ensuring you have positive, insightful experiences. They caution against overdoing it trying to seem “cool.” No good teacher pushes you past your comfort zone without consent.
You want someone who makes you feel safe, not pressured. They won’t let friends intimidate or mess with you when you’re out of it. You can be vulnerable knowing they have your back.
The bottom line is you want a weed mentor who cares about you as a person, not just getting you high. They generously share their wisdom so you can avoid mistakes they made.
Together you’ll safely explore cannabis’ benefits. They’ll walk you through each new step at your own pace. When you find a mentor like that, you know you’ve found a friend for life.
So be picky when choosing your spirit guide. Don’t just take whoever offers to smoke you up first. Seek out experienced ents who uplift others. Then you’ll have an incredible cannabis adventure you can someday pass on.
Choosing the Right Psychedelic Mentor
Psychedelics are far more intense and disorienting than cannabis, especially your first time. Having an experienced trip guide is critical to ensure insightful journeys instead of fearful bad trips. So your psychedelic mentor must meet higher standards.
While the basic principles of patience, passion and care apply, psychedelic mentors need additional skills. They must deeply understand set, setting, dosing and their impact on subjective effects.
Your guide should have experience safely talking people down from confusion, anxiety or panic. With calm direction, they divert focus away from paranoid thought loops. Their reassuring voice returns you to the beauty of letting go.
They also design environments and activities conducive to spiritual awakenings. Music, art, nature settings become tools for guiding consciousness. An artfully timed change in stimulus shifts stuck energy.
Your psychedelic mentor knows how thought loops build and when to gently intervene. Yet they balance active guidance with allowing your inner process to unfold organically.
For your first trips, it’s ideal if your guide is microdosing while you macrodose. Sober mentors mean well but can’t fully relate. Someone speaking your language with clarity helps exponentially.
You want a guide who has visited the planes you’re exploring many times before. Experience conquers fear. Seek out veteran trippers well-versed in supporting new psychonauts.
While mentoring, they focus entirely on your needs, not getting equally fried. There will be chances later to journey together. Initial guidance requires presence and wisdom.
Be wary of potential guides who treat psychedelics casually. These tools demand respect. Choose mentors who understand that power and use it responsibly.
Vet guides to ensure alignment with your intentions. Do they see psychedelics as fun recreation or self-improvement? Set shared expectations beforehand.
Ultimately your safety and growth comes first. Trust intuition if a guide seems off. With the right one, you’ll feel comfortable surrendering to vulnerability and awe.
With preparation, wisdom and love, your mentor can reveal psychedelics’ beauty. Their guidance transforms each trip into an unforgettable lesson expanding consciousness to new vistas of understanding. Bon voyage!
The Sticky Bottom Line
Expanding your consciousness with cannabis and psychedelics can be incredibly healing, eye-opening experiences. But diving in without guidance risks confusion, anxiety, and wasted potential.
Having an experienced mentor makes journeys smooth and insightful. Their wisdom prevents rookie mistakes while deepening the magic.
So don’t just say yes to the first person offering to get you high. Seek out patient mentors who uplift others. Their passion will ignite your own while keeping you safe.
If you feel ready to explore non-ordinary states, take it seriously. Do your research, create intentions, pick optimal settings. And bring mentors along you trust implicitly.
The connections forged while traversing inner landscapes together bond you for life. Each new flight goes higher when built upon past lessons.
Eventually, you become the wise, benevolent guide passing torches. The cycle continues as humanity awakens.
Consciousness expansion takes courage, but the horizons revealed make any struggle worthwhile. With the proper guides shining light, avoid pitfalls and soar to peaks unimaginable straight.
You have within you every answer, if you dare ask the questions. So spread your wings and find your flock. The mysteries await, for those bold enough to seek.
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“How Long Does One Puff of Weed Stay in Your System?”… This topic can be difficult to answer since it is dependent on elements such as the size of the hit and what constitutes a “one hit.” If you take a large bong pull then cough, it might linger in your system for 5-7 days. A moderate dose from a joint can last 3-5 days, whereas a few hits from a vaporizer may last 1-3 days.
The length of time that marijuana stays in the body varies based on a number of factors, including metabolism, THC levels, frequency of use, and hydration.
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the primary psychoactive component of cannabis. THC and its metabolites, which remain in your body long after the effects have subsided, are detected by drug tests.
Since these metabolites are fat-soluble, they cling to bodily fat molecules. They could thus take a while to fully pass through your system, particularly if your body fat percentage is higher.
THC is absorbed by tissues and organs (including the brain, heart, and fat) and converted by the liver into chemicals such as 11-hydroxy-THC and carboxy-THC. Cannabis is eliminated in feces at a rate of around 65%, while urine accounts for 20%. The leftover amount might be kept within the body.
THC deposited in bodily tissues ultimately re-enters the circulation and is processed by the liver. For frequent users, THC accumulates in fatty tissues quicker than it can be removed, thus it may be detectable in drug tests for days or weeks following consumption.
The detection time varies according to the amount and frequency of cannabis usage. Higher dosages and regular usage result in longer detection times.
The type of drug test also affects detection windows. Blood and saliva tests typically detect cannabis metabolites for shorter periods, while urine and hair samples can reveal use for weeks or even months. In some cases, hair tests have detected cannabis use over 90 days after consumption.
Detection Windows for Various Cannabis Drug Tests
Urine Tests
Among all drug tests, urine testing is the most commonly used method for screening for drug use in an individual.
Detection times vary, but a 2017 review suggests the following windows for cannabis in urine after last use:
– Single-use (e.g., one joint): up to 3 days
– Moderate use (around 4 times a week): 5–7 days
– Chronic use (daily): 10–15 days
– Chronic heavy use (multiple times daily): over 30 days
Blood Tests
Blood tests generally detect recent cannabis use, typically within 2–12 hours after consumption. However, in cases of heavy use, cannabis has been detected up to 30 days later. Chronic heavy use can extend the detection period in the bloodstream.
Saliva Tests
THC can enter saliva through secondhand cannabis smoke, but THC metabolites are only present if you’ve personally smoked or ingested cannabis.
Saliva testing has a short detection window and can sometimes identify cannabis use on the same day. A 2020 review found that THC was detectable in the saliva of frequent users for up to 72 hours after use, and it may remain in saliva longer than in blood following recent use.
In areas where cannabis is illegal, saliva testing is often used for roadside screenings.
Hair Tests
Hair follicle tests can detect cannabis use for up to 90 days. After use, cannabinoids reach the hair follicles through small blood vessels and from sebum and sweat surrounding the hair.
Hair grows at approximately 0.5 inches per month, so a 1.5-inch segment of hair close to the scalp can reveal cannabis use over the past three months.
Factors Affecting THC and Metabolite Retention
The length of time THC and its metabolites stay in your system depends on various factors. Some, like body mass index (BMI) and metabolic rate, relate to individual body processing, not the drug itself.
Other factors are specific to cannabis use, including:
– Dosage: How much you consume
– Frequency: How often you use cannabis
– Method of consumption: Smoking, dabbing, edibles, or sublingual
– THC potency: Higher potency can extend detection time
Higher doses and more frequent use generally extend THC retention. Cannabis consumed orally may remain in the system slightly longer than smoked cannabis, and stronger cannabis strains, higher in THC, may also stay detectable for a longer period.
How Quickly Do the Effects of Cannabis Set In?
When smoking cannabis, effects appear almost immediately, while ingested cannabis may take 1–3 hours to peak.
The psychoactive component THC produces a “high” with common effects such as:
– Altered senses, including perception of time
– Mood changes
– Difficulty with thinking and problem-solving
– Impaired memory
Other short-term effects can include:
– Anxiety and confusion
– Decreased coordination
– Dry mouth and eyes
– Nausea or lightheadedness
– Trouble focusing
– Increased appetite
– Rapid heart rate
– Restlessness and sleepiness
In rare cases, high doses may lead to hallucinations, delusions, or acute psychosis.
Regular cannabis use may have additional mental and physical effects. While research is ongoing, cannabis use may increase the risk of:
– Cognitive issues like memory loss
– Cardiovascular problems including heart disease and stroke
– Respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis or lung infections
– Mood disorders like depression and anxiety
Cannabis use during pregnancy can negatively impact fetal growth and development.
Duration of Effects
Short-term effects generally taper off within 1–3 hours, but for chronic users, some long-term effects may last days, weeks, or even months. Certain effects may even be permanent.
Bottom Line
The amount of time that cannabis remains in your system following a single use varies greatly depending on individual characteristics such as body fat, metabolism, frequency of use, and mode of intake. Frequent users may maintain traces of THC for weeks, whereas infrequent users may test positive for as little as a few days. Hair tests can disclose usage for up to 90 days, while blood and saliva tests identify more recent use. Urine tests are the most popular and have varying detection durations. The duration that THC and its metabolites are detectable will ultimately depend on a number of factors, including dose, strength, and individual body chemistry.
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Is kratom addictive? Discover the potential for dependence on Kratom, the risks involved with its use, and how to approach its consumption responsibly.
From 2011 to 2017, over 1,800 calls to poison centers involved kratom in the U.S. This significant number highlights the concern regarding kratom addiction.
However, without Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight, and due to various consumption methods like teas and capsules, there are significant health risks. Safe use of kratom is now in question due to these issues.
Research debates how dependence develops, outlining signs like loss of control and withdrawal symptoms. These signs are seen in regular kratom users. Ironically, some people switch from drugs like heroin to kratom, looking for a legal alternative.
Understanding Kratom: Origins and Prevalence
Kratom comes from the Mitragyna speciosa tree in Southeast Asia. It can act like a stimulant or like opioids, based on how much you take. People use it in different ways, for a small energy boost or stronger effects at higher doses.
The legal status of kratom in the U.S. is complicated and changing. It’s a hot topic because some worry about its misuse. It’s still legal in several states. This shows how different places handle drug rules. The National Institute on Drug Abuse is looking into its medical benefits. But, the FDA hasn’t approved it for medical use yet. The DEA calls it a “drug of concern,” which means policies might change.
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From 2011 to 2017, poison control centers in the U.S. got over 1,800 reports about kratom. This shows it’s widely used and might pose health risks.
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Kratom’s main ingredients bind to opioid receptors very strongly, stronger than morphine even. This fact is key to understanding its effects.
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As more people use kratom, more are reporting serious health problems. These include liver and heart issues, and tough withdrawal symptoms, particularly in those already sick.
The statistics show mounting worries about kratom in the U.S. As its use grows, it’s becoming more important to health policies and laws. What happens next will depend on further research and legal decisions.
Is Kratom Addictive: Investigating the Substance’s Nature
The question of kratom’s addictiveness focuses on how it affects brain receptors and its long-term health implications. The ongoing debate highlights concerns about dependence and the risk of addiction. Scientists are closely looking at these issues.
How Kratom Works in the Brain
Kratom’s main alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, bind to the brain’s opioid receptors, similar to painkillers and narcotics. This connection suggests a potential risk of dependence. These alkaloids are key to kratom’s pain relief but also point to possible addiction concerns, especially with frequent, high-dose usage.
Patterns and Consequences of Long-term Use
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Using kratom often, especially in large doses, can increase the risk of dependence and intense withdrawal symptoms, similar to opioid withdrawal.
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Although some use it for pain or to improve mood, long-term kratom users might see serious health problems, like liver damage and mental health issues.
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Withdrawal symptoms, including irritability, nausea, and sleep problems, show kratom’s impact on one’s physical and mental health.
Assessment of Addiction Risks
Studies indicate a significant risk of addiction to kratom, especially with high doses or frequent use. Dependence develops as the body gets used to kratom, leading to tolerance and a need for more to feel its effects. Withdrawal symptoms emphasize this risk, as highlighted by health experts.
Physiological Effects: Kratom’s Impact on the Body
There is a lot of debate about the safety and use of kratom. This herbal extract comes from the Mitragyna speciosa plant. It has drawn attention for its possible harmful effects on the body. The FDA has issued many warnings about kratom, raising safety concerns.
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Kratom Adverse Effects: Kratom users have reported side effects like nausea, vomiting, and confusion. More serious issues include high blood pressure and liver damage. These problems highlight the risks of using kratom.
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Herbal Extract Safety: Some kratom products contain heavy metals and pathogens. These can cause severe health issues, including death. This shows the importance of safety in herbal products.
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FDA Warnings and Regulations: The FDA has linked kratom to over 35 deaths and warns against using it. They point out the lack of medical uses and the risk of addiction.
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Physiological Impact: Kratom’s effects depend on the dose and the user’s body. Yet, it can lead to dangerous outcomes like liver damage and seizures.
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Safety Concerns from Authorities: Federal agencies like the DEA are worried about kratom’s safety. Although not a controlled substance, monitoring suggests users should be careful.
Kratom might offer temporary relief for some ailments, but it comes with significant risks. The FDA’s warnings should make people think twice. If considering kratom, it’s crucial to talk to a doctor first. Experts stress the need for safety and caution with herbal extracts.
Conclusion
Kratom’s role in health and regulation is complex, with views and research findings widely varied. Some people use kratom for its claimed health benefits, but it’s a hot topic. Experts advise caution and suggest consulting a doctor before using kratom due to the unclear effects.
Clinical studies using scores like SOWS and COWS haven’t confirmed withdrawal symptoms from kratom. This adds to the debate, especially when some users report withdrawal. This makes kratom a controversial subject among different findings and user experiences.
When it comes to treating opioid addiction, kratom can be both helpful and harmful. Some have used it successfully to fight addiction. Yet, some states have banned it. This highlights the need for regulations and consistent product quality. It also raises questions about kratom’s legal status due to mixed actions by authorities.
The situation shows how complex kratom is in the realm of substance use and law. Without clear evidence supporting either its benefits or risks, it poses a challenge. More research is needed to guide regulations and health advice. For now, anyone thinking of using kratom should be careful, seek medical advice, and keep up with laws and health guidelines.
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