Can Cannabis Induce Psychedelic-like Effects in Large Doses? One Study Suggests It Can!

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We know that cannabis is considered a “psychedelic” – even though most people would never experience a full-on psychedelic experience with the plant.

But in high enough doses, it can certainly send you into a psychedelic state that can overpower the senses. This is especially true when we’re talking about 11-hydroxy-THC – or what happens to weed when you eat it.

Now – a recent study suggests that cannabis can induce a psychedelic oceanic experience under the right conditions, albeit – not as frequent or consistent as other classic psychedelics.

In today’s article, we’ll be addressing the differences between cannabis and classic psychedelics specifically relating to the “oceanic experience” mentioned by the researchers and how it can be used within a therapeutic and personal development setting.

What is the “Oceanic Experience”?

If you’ve never tried a classic psychedelic like LSD or Psilocybin, you may not be familiar with the “oceanic experience”.

In essence, an “Oceanic Experience” is what happens when the Self lets go of its rigid boundaries and bleed into a more “universal experience”. In other words, there is a boundless sense of self and a deep interconnectivity with everything around you.

I once called this the “Great Big Blob” when I was peaking on some magic mushrooms in the mountains of Oaxaca.

Essentially, I could see the interconnectivity of all things – the soup of existence and how we, while we perceive ourselves to be different from our environment – are really just clumped molecules and compounds drifting about in a cosmic soup.

Think of it like ink being thrown into water, and how it begins to form different patterns that seem to be individual – however, when you see the container you know that there is no way to “re-separate” the ink from the water.

It now belongs to the same substance, it is the same substance – no longer water, no longer ink, but the combination of both expressing itself through motion and density.

This is essentially, what researchers refer to as “an Oceanic Experience”. It’s something that no matter how much I try to explain – won’t be understood until it’s experienced.

How Researchers Determined that Cannabis also creates “Oceanic Experiences”

Now let’s take a closer look at the Study in question and more importantly, how researchers came to the conclusion that cannabis also has the ability to create an “oceanic experience”.

“Once the psilocybin labs started emphasizing that oceanic boundlessness seemed to be the mechanism underlying the molecule’s antidepressant effects, nearly every cannabis fan couldn’t help but ask, ‘Hey! Doesn’t marijuana have comparable effects?'” said study author Mitch Earleywine, a professor of psychology at the University at Albany.

“My students had already shown that ‘challenging experiences’ were common when folks ate more edibles than they intended to. Asking folks if they thought cannabis also produced these oceanic boundlessness effects seemed an obvious next step.”

The team essentially took the same survey they would administer to someone taking magic mushrooms and found that a significant portion of users did have a “breakthrough experience” on cannabis at one point in time.

Why is this important?

Research is trying to pinpoint what exactly it is in a psychedelic experience that seems to be creating the opportunity to dissipate depression.

One of the things they have been looking into is the induction of the Oceanic Boundlessness Experience, where the user can let go of the rigid sense of self and embrace a different configuration of consciousness.

In other words, this experience allows the user to view their problems from a different perspective, which in turn allows them to process the information.

There is a theory that most of our psychological issues occurs from a phenomenon called “Neuro-Lock”, and when you consume psychedelics you begin to operate from different perspectives.

This immediately breaks the neurological lock – the configuration that can’t solve the problem – and enables the user to form more resourceful responses to the situation.

Furthermore, a sense of “oneness” means that there has to be a sense of “love” within the equation. This means that if someone harmed you in the past, and you can somehow reconnect with that person even through an artificially induced experience – you can find the room to start healing, to let go of the hurt and to grow into a better version of self.

Why Cannabis is NOT like classic Psychedelics

One thing the study did find is that while cannabis has the “potential” to induce these Oceanic Boundlessness Experiences – it doesn’t do it consistently.

Not like LSD or Psilocybin that – when you consume them – undoubtedly will send you into this space. With cannabis it’s like playing Russian Roulette.

Researchers are now looking into how they can induce this effect by utilizing other technique used within the field of psychedelia such as music, eye masks, and even Breathwork.

By being able to utilize cannabis to induce these experiences – we could provide a novel new way of dealing with issues such as depression, anxiety and other mood disorders

The Sticky Bottom-line

While cannabis doesn’t behave similar to a classic psychedelic, there are “some” overlapping elements that could lead us to new lines of therapies for a myriad of mood disorders. Greening out is a common phrase refering to a very large dose of cannabis.

Scientists are now only uncovering some of these benefits and attempting to bridge the gap that was left due to outright prohibition.

For over 50 years, the research into psychedelia and altered states of consciousness has been held hostage by the DEA and the FDA, but now, with organizations such as M.A.P.S and with the increasing acceptance of these substances in society – we are beginning to see the shift.

Could this be the dawn of a new age of medicine, where these transpersonal states of consciousness become an integral part of our overall mental and physical health?

Perhaps – but one thing is certain, over the next 10 years, you’ll be hearing a lot more about these kinds of studies emerge.

And it’s about time if you ask me!

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