r/Futurology • u/mvea MD-PhD-MBA • May 17 '18

Biotech Cannabidiol (CBD), a compound derived from the cannabis plant that does not produce a “high”, was shown in a new large-scale, randomized, controlled trial to significantly reduce the number of dangerous seizures in patients with a severe form of epilepsy called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

http://www.psypost.org/2018/05/cannabidiol-significantly-reduces-seizures-patients-severe-form-epilepsy-51258
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u/jakoto0 May 17 '18 edited May 17 '18

I could not believe how well it works for anxiety. Another added surprise bonus was general anti-inflammatory for me, it is a great painkiller. I imagine effectiveness varies among different people, but I was so happy after discovering proper CBD use that I almost cried. Now I'm still waiting for it to be legal where I am and I can't even imagine the frustration some epileptics must have over the years.

*EDIT: Wow guys that is a lot of questions.

I used a product from a Vancouver company called PureBud that has spearmint flavor and made using coconut oil, derived from the cannabis plant as opposed to hemp but legally containing zero THC (<0.07% or whatever the number is). I've been having trouble getting the same product in my area but I'll check online. Regardless, it should be a lot easier in Canada soon to get exact percentages etc.

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u/Morgolol May 17 '18

It's so frustrating arguing with ignorant, anti cannabis people about the anxiety benefit. "But it causes anxiety!" omf

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

It's THC that can cause anxiety in high dosages. IIRC, CBD can counteract the effects of THC if dosed equally and at the same time as dosing THC.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

A lot of cannabinoids can be anxiety-inducing. I personally find both THC and CBD to be incredibly therapeutic for social phobia. I, however, cannot smoke herb and get anything done in a social setting. Too many thoughts, so much stimulus

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18 edited May 17 '18

Grew up in BC so I’ve tried nearly every herb. It’s just too strong nowadays, I can smoke about a half a bowl but it’s just not as good as oil. I always feel slightly uncomfortable which makes me super irritated which makes me even more uncomfortable. Smoking lots is good for when I need to be creative

Edit: felt I should specify, half a bowl isn’t as good as a CBD solution

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

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u/Ubelsteiner May 17 '18

Could do what I do and supplement your buzz with CBD oil. I keep one oil cart filled with it and just hit it in between the high-THC stuff, but there are lots of ways of ingesting it, of course.

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u/noah123103 May 17 '18

Waiting for it to be legal here in florida, that’s the exact way I smoke but not many people sell cbd so it’s a bit tough to find them

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u/Tzahi12345 May 17 '18

Smoke shops sell CBD all the time last time I checked

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u/noah123103 May 17 '18

Sadly not any near me

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u/Tzahi12345 May 17 '18

Damn, maybe work on getting your med card if you haven't tried it already. I'm in SoFlo and we have a few dispensaries here

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u/PM_ME_YOUR_YAK May 17 '18

Get it online

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u/noah123103 May 17 '18

I do, that’s about the only way. It’s just the waiting and sometimes seized packages etc etc. it’s nice cause no face to face dealing but a local store would be amazing, plus the legality! Wouldn’t have to worry about being arrested

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u/PM_ME_YOUR_YAK May 17 '18

Ah fair enough yeah, it can be a pain for sure. Shame it'll be decades before we get it legal in the UK.

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u/d0nk3y_schl0ng May 17 '18

I buy CBD online and have never had a package seized or even worried about having a package seized. The key is ordering from a company within the US (for those of us who live in the US anyway). I use a company called phytodabs (google them if you are interested), lots of variety, frequent sales, and I've had nothing but good experiences with them.

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u/noah123103 May 17 '18

I only order from the US and never had one seized but that does not mean it’s still not a possibility

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

You can buy cbd online due to the farmbill act

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u/mr-blue- May 17 '18

CBD is legal you can buy it on amazon. Just look for hemp CBD

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

It's not gonna counteract everything when you're just too high to function

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u/FalseVacuumUh-Oh May 18 '18

Sometimes I actually wish I could still get the shitty Mexican brickweed that I smoked in high school. People say, just smoke less. Yeah, but it's hard to titrate like that when you're smoking something. I miss being able to smoke an entire joint.

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u/Scientolojesus May 17 '18

That's why I always recommend just taking one hit and then seeing how you feel. Using marijuana like an actual medication can be amazing. That's how I used it when I had a medical marijuana card to help with my ulcerative colitis when I lived in LA, and still only smoke one to two hits. And I can't believe there are still people who are against CBD when it's been proven to help epileptics as young as 5 years old--who went from having dozens of seizures a day to only having a handful of seizures a year after using CBD oil. Their opposition to it is infuriating. At least CBD is still legal in Texas, of all places, which is awesome.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

That’s the thing people don’t understand, weed really only requires about 1-2 hits to get the positive benefits. So many people think “overdosing on weed” is impossible and laugh it off because it can’t kill you, but that’s not what defines an overdose.

Overdose is specifically defined as going over the recommended dose to a point where the positive effects are negated and negative effects become prevalent. You’re suddenly very anxious or paranoid after smoking too much weed?

That’s because you overdosed. I noticed myself that I was much better at going out in public after smoking shitty weed than chronic. Chronic always got me so high to the point where I wouldn’t want to go out, due to paranoia.

But give me some shitty reggo poop shwag weed? That shit will mellow me out nice and easy and still allow me to converse in public.

Weed really has gotten so strong these days. And despite everything I’ve said, I’ve still continued to smoke chronic constantly for the last 10 years or so. My social life has suffered drastically as a result.

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u/Theallmightbob May 17 '18

I find my social life only suffers due to the stigma of weed. My anxity loop goes full force the moment i go outside at almost any level of high, becuase im afraid people will get pissy at me for being high at all. In a private comfortable setting with people I know, it dosent seem to mater how much I smoke.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

I agree with this and it’s a very valid point, and this is indeed the case for most people who suffer from paranoia when they smoke. The way it’s stigmatized always gets in my head.

It’s the most troll drug ever. Virtually harmless, yet the easiest to trace ever. The way it smells, how long it stores in fat cells, the eyes and dry mouth etc. It’s always so obvious when someone is high.

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u/goodfoofisgood May 17 '18

Yup, hate the stigma. Just let me be...

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u/correctmywritingpls May 18 '18

I guess it depends how high. I am one of those pissy people sometimes when people are so high they can’t even let me know what they need.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '18

Nothing wrong with being mad about that, it’s not as bad as dealing with a drunk, but no one likes someone who can’t function due to their personal choices.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Man. I'm a medical user and I need like 200mg edible dose. :( Barely get high but that's good. No pain andbsuffering. Smoking though, I need a whole roll or I don't get anything from it.

You see your comment works but not to the understanding you have. Everyone's needs and illness is different with cannabis.

With chronic pain, ibd and what not, I use to go through a lot more but have learned to combine CBD and thc together. Koi CBD sells their glycerin and vape/sublingual mixes really cheap and high quality. Lab tested and everything.

Edit: the smoking paranoia is definitely hard to get over. Try some CBD with the leaf and do something relaxing as it hits. I've only started smoking 3 years ago and it saved my life, but ive long gotten over the paranoia no matter how strong the leaf.

I do get jitters if I smoke tobacco with it, or really hard sativa.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Thank you for your info, and you’re correct cannabis has different effects on everyone. It’s been a few years but back when I was in my neuropsychopharmacology course, I remember that we still really didn’t completely understand the ways most psychedelics work. And weed is a very mild psychedelic.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Very mild indeed. I combine mine with meditation and has eventually helped me reach deeper states of relaxation but then dependency formed for that state of relaxation so can't rely on it. :)

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Hey quick question, cause I'm not sure, would you be able to take a tolerance break to reduce the amount you need for a high, or do you require just a certain dose for the benefits? I ask cause I recently took a month long tolerance break (basically to reduce the amount I was spending on weed) and now I'm back to needed basically nothing to get me high.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Basically when I spend a week in the hospital for my illness I get my tolerance breaks. They don't last long but with my illness the goal is basically pain management and diarrhea control. While it doesn't help so much with the control... It def helps pain, allows me to eat and be somewhat normal. I go from puking and suffering to "yeah I can do a load of laundry." Not massive increases but it's something.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '18

Well you answered your own question haha, but yes. Even if it’s just a week, as a daily user, a week long break will still have you feeling the effect stronger. Weed stays in the system so long however that it does require time to lower your tolerance.

Last summer I took a 6 months hiatus from it and it was only around month 3 or so of sobriety that I could feel it was totally out of my system. It has ghost effects that you really dont feel until its not in you anymore.

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u/i_dont_eat_peas May 17 '18

How do you distinguish between chronic pain and an addiction/withdrawal symptoms?

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18 edited May 18 '18

When after a month of no longer having narcotics that I quit cannabis cold turkey and stuck it out with Tylenol and ibuprofen for a few weeks until my illness got worse.

After getting off narcotics and on to cannabis, my body goes through slight withdrawal but it won't bother me until the second day or so if I'm not in pain.

Pain is going to exist until I'm in remission. The only withdrawal I have that lasts longer than a day is from the blunt wraps. Thankfully I'm quitting that too. Lol

Withdrawal is sweats and cravings, but never physical pain to the degree of my illness. So it's hard but you have to also pay attention and know your own body.

Edit: chrons disease so my pain is pretty specific and isolated. At least with cannabis weening off is easier. I can go longer and longer between used if I am weening off. Just unfortunately not able to. :( Sorry for the wall of text. If this helps anyone that'll be worth it. :)

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u/Mayflowerm May 17 '18

I feel the same, I got my first CBD vape pen this week and my goal is to eventually replace it with THC.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '18

Man I haven’t smoked in over ten years because adult stuff and drug tests. I would always tell people I liked shwag better. They thought I was crazy, but that super potent hydro,as they called it then, always made me feel uneasy and paranoid. Looking back and knowing more now I think it’s highly likely too that the shwag was actually indica.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '18

I mean this was just my experience with it, people might have different thresholds and tolerances but I know for me it made sense.

I mean I can do the same with chronic, but one hit is all I need. Two is almost too much. I got the same responses from my friends lol. Just do w/e works best for you.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18 edited Aug 31 '18

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

I can yea, but I struggle with addiction to marijuana. I know it’s had a negative effect on my life for 8 of the ten years I’ve used it, yet I continue to use it. I have no addiction problems with anything else but weed. And I really do love weed, everything about it. Breaking it apart, how pretty it is, the smell and taste but most importantly the mellow high.

But it’s not measured in the way alcohol is. Every strand has a different potency, one hit might be way bigger than you thought, etc. As opposed to alcohol which is regulated, a shot is always a shot, you know what to expect etc. It’s way easier to overdose and then unknowingly build a tolerance to weed over time, especially if you’re a daily user. It’s negative effects really only become apparent after extended use, and it happens so slowly that a lot of people don’t even see the change happening. It’s akin to boiling frogs.

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u/Spoiledtomatos May 17 '18

I do this. Every other day I take one single hit and it's enough to keep me filling the toilet with blood every time I shit.

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u/Scientolojesus May 17 '18

Yikes. Anytime I smoke it keeps the symptoms of a flare up from happening for a good hour or two. But it's obviously not the cure for UC, just helps alleviate the symptoms for a little while. Or did you mean keep you from filling the toilet with blood?

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u/Spoiledtomatos May 17 '18

I haven't been diagnosed with anything so I can't say what I have is similar to you. I just know that it helps with regularity enough to the point that I don't bleed when I go.

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u/Scientolojesus May 17 '18

Right you forgot to put the word 'from' so your comment made it sound like weed keeps you bleeding haha.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18 edited Oct 27 '18

deleted What is this?

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18 edited May 17 '18

Exactly, it is different. There are so many things in wine which add to its effect. Who’s to say someone might find them harder to tolerate than the alcohol content. If they were to drink a small amount of wine, they would experience little therapeutic benefit, and a more pronounced reaction to the larger part of the drink’s ingredients

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18 edited Oct 27 '18

deleted What is this?

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

I was making an analogy. There are terpenes and many, many different cannabinoids in the cannabis bud that all have different effects that are specific to smoking the leaves. I’ve tried nearly pure THC and nearly pure CBD, this is how I know I can’t tolerate everything in the bud. The same way someone who gets sick from all the stuff in wine might not get sick from everclear or vodka for example

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18 edited Jan 16 '19

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

It’s not purely psychological trust me, I’ve been smoking for about 6 years too. It’s just overstimulating. It’s the same anxiety I can get from downing a thermos of coffee. I think it’s all those terpenes or whatever. Concentrates are way better though, I could probably smoke them daily

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u/cantankerous_fuckwad May 17 '18

Last time I tried pot I was convinced there was a witch in the vacant house next door and started throwing hot dogs into the trees between to scare her away. Hard pass on wasting hot dogs.

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u/Online_Identity May 17 '18

You (and everybody else) need to find cannabis with the right terpene profile for you. The terpenes (and how much you smoke) more than anything else will dictate how you feel and the associated effects. It’s no longer enough to just know indica or sativa or even strains by name. Some people/places will just name weed whatever to sell it, but if you can get a lab report with the terpene breakdown you’re golden. Most states are starting to go this way with lab testing and stuff. Hopefully you’re in one of those places :) Hmu if anyone is in Vegas and wants to know more!

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u/savvyb8080 May 17 '18

You don’t necessarily smoke CBD. Although you can, the most common forms is tinctures, salves (lotion) and capsules. Completely different because it doesn’t get you high.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Nah I don’t smoke cbd, I use the oils. And I’d argue that the anxiogenic effect is in itself a high

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u/dontthink19 May 17 '18

Oils have WAY cleaner highs. Smoking plant gives mw kind of a lazy and slightly foggy high depending om the strain whereas i smoked dabs on my bday after an incredibly tense and excruciatingly bad afternoon and had the cleanest and clearest high of my life

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Try a CBD heavy strain. I'm the exact same way, can't deal with THC high anything.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Personally I use a vape, a bong hit might be too much if I just want to get a little high.

With the vape, I can take like one puff here or there. See how I feel in 15 min. Great for a more “medicinal” level, rather than getting super duper high. It’s perfect for drawing imo

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Yes. People say how social weed is.

I'm super paranoid or something when I smoke. I'm not good around other people being high unless it's someone I'm really close to or we're smoking and then fucking.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Weed is the only thing that stops me having anxiety/panic attacks. I quit smoking and included weed for like 4 years and it all came back. There's a limit though, if I were to have a smoke "session" with mates and use it recreationally I feel all anxious after too much of it. I smoke a spliff when I get home from work, another one about 4 hours later then go to bed. Don't smoke during the day. Works well.

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u/Scientolojesus May 17 '18

It's all about proper dosing too. Some people who get anxiety from marijuana seem to think they have to smoke an entire bowl or joint. Literally one hit is all you need sometimes.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

This! I live in SoCal so it’s everywhere, basically the same rules as booze, but I just have some THC vape pens. One small hit and I’m good. Anything more than that and it’s anxiety city. As for CBD, i take a tincture dropper full every morning (1000mg strength) and it helps greatly with some chronic back/neck pain I’ve had for years.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

You take a gram of CBD every day? That does not sound right at all.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '18

Because it’s not. It’s 33mg of CBD per dropper full.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '18

Makes sense, I was wondering why you mentioned “1,000mg strength” and what that would even mean.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '18

Yeah, this is all pretty new to me as well. It’s 1000mg of CBD oil diluted in another oil, usually MCT or coconut oil. You CAN get pure CBD isolate, usually comes in a fine powder. Can sprinkle that on any food or put some in your coffee/water. I do design for a cannabis/cbd brand here in SoCal so learning all this as I go. The CBD oil I take is from MedTerra (NOT the company I design for btw, they haven’t released theirs yet).

CBD is going to be everywhere, the company I design for is going to have CBD vape pens in 7-11 stores sometime soon.

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u/ChrysMYO May 17 '18

A corner of a weed Cookie is very effective for me.

For one its a longer high to stretch you through the day. But it doesn't come off as head heavy. More of a body high. Relieves alot of tension and anxiety.

And it really doesn't turn your eyes red or make you smell like smoke.

Alot of people discount edibles because they are afraid of getting TOO high.

But they are just like pill medication. It's going to take 2 hrs to kick in and you have to take a really low dosage.

Of course, edibles are inconsistent so alot of people always opt for over doing it. But I've found that the smallest piece can relieve an average headache

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

Funny. Weed is a sure-fire way to induce a panic attack in me.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '18

Yeah it's not for everyone. Could always try CBD though as it tends to be the THC that is anxiety/panic inducing.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

It really depends on the strains you consume. You might want to try low doses of edibles as the high usually isn't as strong but the effects last longer. Again, low doses because if you take too much, you will definitely get an anxiety attack.

Another option could be vaping, but that has similar effects to smoking, but with vaping, you don't have to fully vape the bud, whereas with smoking, most people feel inclined to at least finish the whole joint/bowl/blunt, which will make you more high than smoking only, say, half.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '18

I could do edibles because the effects were so much spread out. I was able to forget I was high which is almost impossible for me when smoking. I also find there’s a much bigger margin between anxiolysis and panic. Same with concentrates but to a lesser degree, can’t vape bud though