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Comment by johnnyApplePRNG | Hacker News Reader

I have enjoyed smoking Cannabis for decades, but a recent bought of financial difficulty coupled with a desire to get programming last week has shown some teeth on the cute little bubbly image of Cannabis in my mind.

I started smoking more (due to stress) and trying to complete a new project (financial difficulty) and it was just a nightmare.

It's noticeably more difficult to concentrate and retain new information when I am ingesting regularly.

Learning a new programming language, even having just had a few joints the night before, is so much more difficult that it would be without the Cannabis. I honestly felt like I was losing my mind.

I'm not even talking about being high while learning/working... just having the cannabinoids in your system from a few days ago really soaks and coats the mind.

So I've cut it out, for now.

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That makes a lot of sense and is smart. Very introspective. I want to provide my anecdotal evidence as a counterpoint, with the understanding that weed can trigger anxiety in a really damaging way and it affects everyone differently.

I’m not in a financially stressful situation, but have been under a lot of performance stress in recent jobs. I found the best routine for myself was meetings during the day + whatever coding I could fit.

Where it gets interesting is at night, I would have a Coke Zero for a small caffeine kick and vape a bit of weed - not a lot - and put on some tunes. Then I’d be totally in the zone and code several day’s worth of work in a night. Sometimes even more.

I was praised for high productivity, and got a lot of work done. I don’t do it as often now, trying to maximize my sleep and my current work has more inter-team tension... but overall I get less work done now.

It definitely was a cheat code to enter the zone for a good 4-6 hours at night, and helped me perform at a higher level than I normally would.

Worth noting I wasn’t avoiding anything or using it as a tool for comfort. I think that can blur the line into an addiction or avoidance mechanism that can be harmful.

Interesting that you say that.

I have noticed great programming ability on Cannabis in the evenings... that's how I raised myself in a nutshell.

I think the productivity is directly related to the sheer lack of stimulation the night-time environment affords you. No light, no sounds, nobody awake, nothing else to do. You can code or sleep, that's it.

I used to stay up all night, getting very high, and programming very well... but society wouldn't stand for it.

Sometimes when I do smoke my joint to go to sleep, I get crazy good ideas and motivation and code great for a few hours.

But then I am forced to wake up at "a decent hour" (society) and the next day is pure shambles/no-work.

Math problems become more difficult after smoking cannabis. This has been replicated in many psychological studies. It seems we cannot smoke joints and program well all night in the same way we can smoke cigarettes and program well all night.

That being said it is much easier to program in the morning after a night of smoking cannabis than a night of drinking.

My quest to find the best combination of drugs for programming has been long. Just vaping nicotine and drinking strong tea seems to be near the pinnacle. Sometimes we miss the simple solutions right in front of our eyes.

>My quest to find the best combination of drugs for programming has been long. Just vaping nicotine and drinking strong tea seems to be near the pinnacle. Sometimes we miss the simple solutions right in front of our eyes.

I tried that a decade ago... ended up in the Cardiologist with a heart monitor for a week because I was blacking out just stepping out of my programming chair.

After they took a look at the data, they just told me to cut down on caffeine and nicotine.

Stimulants are not always the simple solution for everybody.

Just to give another perspective. I vape pretty much every evening. It's just a small amount and it's also is heavy on CBD. After all my work is done.

I can't say i perform any worse in any regard than i did before (didn't use to partake a few years ago). But i also eat clean, sleep enough, exercise and so on. I also keep my tolerance in check. The latter may be because of the CBD, that should in theory also prevent some of long term effects of THC.

Bottom line, i think it's is highly individual to the person and also what product is used. Cannabis is a highly complex substance, unlike say alcohol (IMHO). You may have to try out a few combinations before you find one that suits you and your chemistry/biology.

In my case is different. I tend to focus and learn better with cannabis, but that might be that it relaxes me to some degree that I can take existence better and concentrate stimulating my mind.

In fact I believe weed changed me for the better. May sound cliche but now I'm deeply interested in philosophy and technical concepts and aptitudes (like programming), and actually my whole attitude towards life got really bright and mature, with myself and with others.

I'm not saying weed alone made that, but definitely helped me. As I said, at least for me concentration, in this case facilitated by weed, is life changing.

I have noticed that a very small dose of cannabis can help in work motivation and concentration... but for myself at least, it's a slippery slope.

After a few hours of coding well I start thinking about another very small dose of Cannabis... which won't work because you just ingested a few hours ago and you need to up the dosage... rinse and repeat.

A few joints per night? That's a whole lot, isn't it?

They're pretty darned small... ~0.2g a piece maybe.. And by a few I meant 1 or 2 max.

And I only smoked them right before bed to help with sleep. I don't enjoy "being high" typically.

Would CBD help in this case? Have you tried it ?

I only purchase Cannabis that has a healthy CBD/THC ratio.

I don't like getting "high on THC" alone which is what most of the commercially grown cannabis has been selected for over the past few decades of prohibition.

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