What do you think about this?

[Dantes]

I am a high school teacher and one of my close friends (who is a colleague at the same school) has a very unique "issue". My friend claims that he can't be around the smell of weed because it causes him to have a panic attack. Evidently this goes back to a childhood experience he had after smoking. Anyway, it is not uncommon to smell weed on the students in our building but to have such a reaction to it? He has seen a psych (prescribed ssri meds) and I keep teeling him it is all in his head but he is convinced he can get a "contact" high just by smelling it on a student. Is that really possible? I mean, I have been into the restroom right after some kids had obviously burned one and it had no effect on me. What's your take on this?

Thanks

Dantes Reviewed by Dantes on 11-03-2009. What do you think about this? I am a high school teacher and one of my close friends (who is a colleague at the same school) has a very unique "issue". My friend claims that he can't be around the smell of weed because it causes him to have a panic attack. Evidently this goes back to a childhood experience he had after smoking. Anyway, it is not uncommon to smell weed on the students in our building but to have such a reaction to it? He has seen a psych (prescribed ssri meds) and I keep teeling him it is all in his head Rating: 5

[3 Sheets To The Wind]

Yeah that seems a bit weird to have panic attacks.

Your colleague should smoke one now and see how it affects him... maybe that would sort it out.

May sound stupid but just a suggestion.

[DOUGAL25]

His childhood experience conditioned him to have a panic attack when exposed to a negative stimulus. The stimulus is, of course, the smell of cannabis. The smell was once a neutral stimulus without a response, but after the incident, his brain paired this harmless stimulus with that of a psychological and physiological response: his panic attacks.

This is different from a "contact high" in which enough THC reaches the brain to give you a high.

There's a behavioral-approach therapy known as systematic desensitization. Not sure if it could work in this case - try it out!

I assume his traumatic experience was getting really high and having a severe panic attack?
:stoned:

*edit* typo

[JohnnyZ]

Smoke him out dude. If he is your close friend you need to find a way to bring him back into the light.