More CBD Please! How My Increasingly Unpredictable Response to THC Led Me to Embrace its Non-Intoxicating Counterpart

Without warning and much to my surprise, I’ve found myself passing on THC in favor of high-CBD cannabis. And I’m loving how I feel.

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Something’s happened to me, something I never thought I’d experience. I’ve developed a bit of a complicated relationship with THC. Not exactly overnight, but pretty quickly I went from being the most high-functioning high person in the room to feeling anxious and paranoid if I consumed THC-heavy products before the evening.

Whereas a few months ago I could smoke a joint right before giving a presentation and knock it out of the park, that much THC right now would leave me cowering in a corner.

What’s going on with me and THC?

I’m not sure what to attribute this to, and I’m still trying to connect the dots in search of a cause. Could it have something to do with the way I’ve overhauled my diet in the past six months, switching from sweet toothed pescatarian to coconut worshipping paleo? Maybe it’s the anxiety I’ve been feeling around the health issues that prompted my new regimen?

How about the fact that I’ve recently started getting acupuncture? Or the natural ebb and flow of consumption habits? It did seem to happen around my birthday back in December, and 39 is just one year away from 40. Perhaps it’s a result of getting older, approaching middle age?

Whatever the reason, I wasn’t getting the effects I expected or desired, and I’ve had to reexamine my relationship with THC.

We’d been great friends for years. THC has helped me through some of the hardest times of my life and has been a worthy companion during many of my best moments. It’s enhanced my creativity, deepened my spiritual practice and meditation, and been a beautiful tool for all sorts of connection.

But now, not only was I getting “higher” than usual; I was also experiencing a racing heartbeat, looping thoughts, and strange paranoia when I consumed high-THC products. I really didn’t like the way I felt and noticed that I would wait later and later in the day for a session or even forgo THC completely.

CBD to the rescue

I wasn’t ready to give up on cannabis altogether, though, or even entirely write off THC. My first thought was to turn to CBD. I’d done my research and was aware of the benefits this cannabinoid might provide, how it might counteract some of the negative effects I was feeling. So many people I know swear by CBD and clearly the phenomenon has been sweeping the nation since well before the Farm Bill was passed.

Plus, I was excited to explore products that I’d overlooked when I was more interested in THC. In Oregon at least, there’s a demand for high-CBD cannabis products and companies that cater specifically to that market. It’s been fun to try new flower and tinctures, seek out or create CBD edibles, and round out my concentrate game with CBD-dominant cartridges and Pax pods.

Lots to try, lots to love

While hemp-based CBD products are plentiful and powerful (when sourced from a reputable vendor; of course there’s a lot of snake oil out there right now) nothing beats legal cannabis-derived CBD or high-CBD cannabis strains.

My go tos these days are Ringo’s Gift (ACDC x HarleTsu, around 17-20% CBD with almost no THC), CannaTsu (Cannatonic x Sour Tsunami, 4:1 CBD to THC), Pineapple Jagar (Pineapple Tsu x Jager, 2:1 with awesomely tasty terpenes), and Pennywise (Harlequin x Jack the Ripper, a super balanced 1:1 strain). This range of ratios provides plenty of variety and has tons of different applications.

CBD is a whole new world for me, and one I’m glad I discovered. I still get the same benefits and versatility I always found in cannabis. In the daytime, it offers focus and stress relief. At night, it’s instant relaxation, a ritual that signals a time to unwind, and a way to slow down my brain as I prepare for bed. But it’s not accompanied by the anxious thoughts and jittery restlessness I’d begun to feel whenever I used cannabis.

Let’s get scientific

I’m excited to document my journey with CBD. I’ve been approaching it a bit haphazardly, just replacing my typical strains or cartridges with CBD-dominant options or dropping some tincture under my tongue here and there. Because I don’t have a clear sense of how much CBD I’m consuming each day, I can’t currently draw any definitive conclusions about titration or effects. I do know that I feel better, and that’s what matters most.

But there’s so much to explore here and a great deal of value to approaching this as scientifically as possible. I plan to incorporate CBD into my daily routine in a way that give me measurable outcomes – adding tincture to my morning tea or a drink blend to my breakfast smoothie. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on the progress of my personal experiment.

Listen to your body

Don’t get me wrong. I still love THC. I know how important its role is in the entourage effect that is a significant benefit to whole plant medicine. But my body and my brain were signalling that it was time for me to back off, even temporarily.

I’m grateful that I live in a time and a place where people are interested in CBD, in educating about the cannabinoid, breeding high-CBD cannabis, and creating high-CBD products. It’s definitely been a lifesaver for me, one I always knew was there but never thought I’d need.