Using Cannabis As Alternative To Anti-Anxiety Drugs

You know that feeling that something’s going to go wrong or you just feel uneasy? Well, that’s what we call anxiety, my friends. That shitty feeling of uneasiness gets the best of us, and it’s more than okay to admit that.

Before retiring, I served in the US Army for close to 30 years and I have had my share of stress and anxiety. Being a shiny new veteran, I didn’t always know about the greener side of life. Instead, post service I was prescribed even more medicines (benzos) such as Klonopin and Xanax to ease the fight or flight mode that I never quite shook off. Benzodiazepines or benzos are a type of medication known as tranquilizers. These hard-hitting pills can make you feel plastic and fake and carry a LONG list of side effects. Yes, they can knock down the overall anxiety level a notch, but your quality of life might suffer. While taking these meds, everything tends to get blurry, and a feeling of disconnection becomes the norm. I felt like a robot on these pills, so I got off them, one at a time. The withdrawals were hell, but that is another story.
But we don’t have to fight anxiety with benzos and other anxiety prescription medication. Everyone is different, of course, but there is a more natural solution growing bigger by the day. Federally, it’s still a Schedule I drug, but it’s getting legalized at a record-breaking rate by a new state every few months at this point.

You know what I’m talking about – cannabis; the natural alternative to most of the pills that get you hooked. And now I can confidently say, from one veteran/person to another: I would enjoy a strain such as Canna-Tsu or the Girl Scout Cookie strain over a Benzo for my anxiety any day. After partaking in some puffs, sleep was better and I felt equal and balanced the next day, AND with a much lower level of anxiety and raciness!

There are numerous milder CBD/THC strains for daytime use as well. I only mention these stronger strains by name because I’ve personally experienced the calming cerebral effects of them; relaxing more as my anxiety melted, and the euphoria slowly pulled in.

The days of the profiled “pothead stoner” only smoking cannabis are getting smaller and smaller in our rear-view mirror. We are in a country that’s burning to legalize it – and it’s never been a better time to be alive as a veteran that served that very country. No one thinks you’re a delinquent stoner when you walk into a dispensary and ask for a veteran discount – all they do is thank you for your service and get you the bud that’ll help change your whole mindset.

Take this as your sign… I’ve seen what various strains have done for the people around me, as well as myself. I invite you, too, to try sativa, Indica, or hybrid strains for your daily life. Watch your anxiety levels fall and your sleep time improve. Screw the crummy side effects. Get back to the simple good in life, Au Naturel.