Prozac vs Cannabis

[bluedolphin]

Does taking prozac induce the same feeling as smoking cannabis.....or is it silly to try to compare?

[andy hughes]

The surface reactions may well be similar - feeling o well-being, relaxation, and similar, but the two drugs are probably (I'm no expert!) working on different areas of the brain. Anti-depressants, of which which Prosac is the most famous, work to redress chemical inbalances within the brain, wheras canabis appears to target the same areas as alcohol, with similar results. The major difference will be one of quality - any prescription drug gives a standard dose every time, the reaction is dependent on the individual brain to which it is applied, but canabis reaction again depends on the brain involved, but also the variant strengths of manufacture and dosage. Hope this helps.

[dave_in_cw]

Well I have used both - smoked loads of dope in my time, and am currently on Aropax which is an ssri (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) which I believe is pretty much the same as Prozac. I don't think that there's any similarity between canabis and ssri's. When I was going through quite a bad bout of depression about this time last year, smoking joints didn't do much to alleviate the symptoms. If anything I suppose it made it worse, because I had anxiety too, which often accompanies depression. And when you're stoned you tend to think about stuff over and over again - especially if there's something bothering you. The Aropax, on the other hand, definitely has worked. The down feeling I used to get immediately upon waking up has gone and I have felt a general lift. Weird that little pills can do that, but there you go. Of course there are some side effects like excessive sweating - the tube is a nightmare for me. And involuntary muscle twitching.

[Janetex]

Silly to compare, they are completely different things for completely different results.

[Pix6]

I agree with janetex, Bluedolphin you ask whether the two drugs induce the same feeling. Drug taking is subjective, a personal experience and I feel cannot be compared either by drug type or experience. Cannabis and Prozac for some are the answer to various ailments such as sleeplessness and depression but to others as Dave mentioned they both can have serious side effects.

[honkytonkman]

Just for info as dave_in_cw said, Prozac is an SSRI, a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor. In very basic terms, it prevents the re-absorption of the chemical that tells your brain you're happy. So you end up having more happy stuff swishing about telling the nerves in the brain that you feel happy. I believe Cannabis works by appearing to be a certain chemical in the brain that encourages the nerves to fire in a way to induce euphoria, but is actually a depressant, like alcohol, so you can feel a lot worse too...