Marijuana Paranoia: What It Is and Why It Happens

• While paranoia is a widely portrayed side effect of cannabis use, the media doesn’t show the whole picture. Paranoia isn’t always caused by marijuana; paranoia can be the result of situational discomfort while using cannabis.
• If you’re feeling paranoid while using marijuana, take the following steps:
  • Reduce as much stimuli around you as possible.
  • Identify your feelings and behaviors to reconnect with reality.
  • Self-soothe using your favorite techniques.
  • Document your experience for future reference.

Whether you’re a newcomer to cannabis or you’re skeptical of its health benefits, you may have heard that marijuana can cause paranoia: a false sense of suspicion or dread.

Despite what mainstream media would have you believe, paranoia is a very avoidable phenomenon—in fact, in many cases, cannabis isn’t even to blame. The best way to avoid paranoia is to use cannabis in an intentional manner in a comfortable setting.

In this guide, we’re demystifying paranoia from the ground up. We’ll explore some common misconceptions and provide a real definition of paranoia, describe some common causes, and talk you through paranoia relief step-by-step.

Paranoia: Misunderstood and Magnified by Media

What is paranoia, anyway? If you’ve never used cannabis before, you might not have a clear picture.

What Is Paranoia?

Paranoia is a feeling of suspicion that isn’t rooted in reality. When you’re feeling paranoid, you might (falsely) think that:

• You’re being watched or followed
• The people in your midst want to harm you
• You’re in imminent danger
• Something bad is going to happen soon

Physically speaking, paranoia might lead to:

• A fast heartbeat
• Sweating or chills
• Hyperventilation

Paranoia presents on a spectrum—it can be mild to severe.

While we’re here to demystify paranoia and ease your mind, we aren’t going to deny that paranoia can be scary. Feeling disconnected from reality—even if you have the tools to ground yourself—is disorienting.

Luckily, it can be corrected with a few tweaks to your environment, self-searching questions, and soothing actions (we’ll dive into these in greater detail later).

Debunking Myths About Paranoia

Let’s debunk some myths you might have heard in the media:

• Paranoia isn’t permanent – Even for people facing significant mental health conditions, paranoia isn’t a permanent state of being. Feelings of paranoia can ebb and flow.
• Paranoia isn’t a guaranteed side effect of cannabis – Anti-cannabis propaganda often touts paranoia as a debilitating side effect of all marijuana products. This simply isn’t true—many strains of the cannabis plant soothe your internal monologue instead of stimulating it, and you shouldn’t expect to feel paranoid every time you use marijuana.
• Cannabis is the only cause of paranoia – Even if you’ve never used cannabis before, you’ve likely been in a situation when you felt overstimulated, anxious, and detached from reality. Paranoia isn’t only caused by marijuana.

What Causes Paranoia?

With a better idea of what causes paranoia, you can take steps to avoid it throughout your cannabis healing journey.

Overstimulation

If you’re prone to anxiety, worrying, or restlessness, overstimulation during a cannabis session might lead to paranoia.

Overstimulation is a sense of being overwhelmed by sensory information around you. A few examples of potentially stressful stimuli include:

• Overlapping conversations
• Loud music
• Bright or flashing lights
• Intense smells (pleasant or unpleasant)
• Uncomfortable textures (like itchy fabrics)
• Extreme heat or cold

While overstimulation can lead to paranoia when you’re not using cannabis, intoxicating strains (i.e., types of cannabis that include a high THC content) can make you more susceptible to overstimulation. If you feel overstimulated while using marijuana, you could begin feeling paranoid.

Anxiety and Stimulating Strains

Anxious thoughts and excessive worry are often a precursor to paranoia—whether or not you’re actively using cannabis. A study at the University of Oxford found that paranoia responses among cannabis users were much more likely in people who were already predisposed to anxiety.

We know what you might be thinking: “I’ve heard that marijuana calms anxiety and promotes relaxation. How could it feed off of my anxiety to produce paranoia?”

To understand how cannabis could potentially lead to increased anxiety symptoms, we need to talk about strains.

Strains are subtypes of the cannabis plant—they each feature a unique array of cannabinoids (e.g., THC, CBD) and plant compounds, so they all produce unique effects. Strains fall into one of three categories:

• Indica strains – While everyone responds to cannabis in a unique way, users generally report that indica strains make them feel relaxed, sleepy, or calm.
• Sativa strains – Sativa strains aren’t universally stimulating, but many users find that sativas increase their energy level, help them focus, boost creativity, and spark conversation.
• Hybrid strains – Hybrids feature a combination of indica and sativa genetic material; they can provoke a wide array of responses based on their parent strains.

While there are exceptions, indica strains are generally relaxing while sativa strains tend to be stimulating. And, in many cases, people living with anxiety find that sativa strains are too stimulating or that they can enhance anxiety symptoms.

Even for people who don’t have anxiety, some sativa strains produce paranoia symptoms. If you think you might be predisposed to paranoia, consider trying an indica strain or an indica-dominant hybrid at the start of your journey with cannabis.

Stigma

If you’ve used black market cannabis before (or used it unlawfully), any past feelings of paranoia might have been rooted in stigma—more specifically, the fear of being seen or caught using cannabis.

This is one of the many reasons why today’s experts recommend using dispensaries-quality cannabis under the direction of a healthcare provider. Using cannabis lawfully and intentionally eases many patients’ anxieties about negative legal consequences. With these worries eliminated, patients can productively and safely use cannabis to heal—and even enjoy doing so without fear of judgment.

The less fear you have surrounding cannabis use, the less likely you’ll be to develop paranoia after dosing.

You’re Feeling Paranoid—Now What?

If you came to this guide looking for a solution to current feelings of paranoia, take the following steps:

• Reduce your stimuli – Go to a quiet room, dim the lights, and play relaxing music or white noise. This can help you reduce symptoms of overstimulation, and this will likely make you feel safe and grounded in reality.
• Identify your emotions and behaviors – Take an internal inventory of your feelings, movements, and behaviors. With a clear picture of how your paranoia is presenting, you can take steps to soothe individual symptoms one by one.
• Self-soothe – If you’re breathing fast, try to slow down your breathing. If you’re repeating a movement (like tapping your foot or scratching your skin), distract yourself with a more soothing motion (like gently rubbing your own shoulders or legs). Once your body has calmed down, consider changing into more cozy clothes, wrapping yourself in a soft blanket, or drinking a warm cup of tea—focus on comfort.
• Journal – It might be easier to reflect on this experience later if you write it down. If this is too stimulating, you can skip it; however, we do encourage you to document your experience once your paranoia subsides. Looking back on the circumstances of your reaction might help you avoid them going forward.

Connect with Qualified Cannabis Clinicians at TeleLeaf

Marijuana paranoia isn’t a built-in part of every experience with cannabis; you can avoid it by choosing compatible strains and using cannabis in a comfortable, safe, and calm environment.

And, if you do feel the symptoms of paranoia coming on, try to soothe yourself and remember that the feelings will pass.

Navigating cannabis as a newcomer can be challenging, especially in the face of misinformation. That’s why you need a qualified healthcare professional to guide you along your all-natural healing journey. TeleLeaf is passionate about connecting patients with the expert, licensed, and compassionate cannabis clinicians they need to start reaping the health rewards of cannabis.

Ready to get started with a cannabis pro? Schedule an appointment now.

Sources:

Cleveland Clinic. Paranoia.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/

Medical News Today. What to Know About Sensory Overload.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/sensory-overload

The University of Oxford. How Cannabis Causes Paranoia.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2014-07-16-how-cannabis-causes-paranoia