I was a daily Cannabis smoker for 10 years until i quit January of last year. I had recognized the need to quit smoking for years, but i wasn't ready to let it go and even though i was getting more and more in the way of negatives compared to positives, anxiety and paranoia became a regular thing, i felt awkward in general but especially in social situations/in public, it felt like i was always tripping (probably because of all my Aya experimentation and THC being able to bring some of that back), overall it just wasn't doing me any good and imo caused me some issues. Then in late December of 2019/early January 2020, i was really sick with what i can only assume was covid, lasted a few good weeks, and smoking Cannabis during that was really weird and made me aware that i really needed to quit smoking, so i did.
Then around August of last year, i heard about D8 over at the Shroomery, i was curious so i looked into it and decided to get me some to try out. At first i was a little hesitant and cautious, not about the D8 itself or how it's made/produced but because i didn't know how similar to D9 it'd be and i didn't wanna "get high" and start feeling all weird again, but had read that it's lower on the anxiety and paranoia risk than D9. At first it was pretty nice but there was some mild paranoid thoughts but it was just the headspace i was in lol. After a couple or so months i started using it daily like i did with Cannabis, and i'm still using the D8 on a daily basis but so far so good, and it definitely gets me high/stoned, but way more clearheaded and less psychoactive.
I must say, i really prefer D8 over D9, i mean D9 has it's place for sure, especially if i wanna go deep because of it's Psychedelic potential, but D8 overall is better for more regular/casual use imo. It gives me all the good of D9, takes me to the same places as D9, minus the bad that D9 gives me. If i overdo it, there can be some mild anxiety or paranoid thoughts, but it's nowhere near what i get from D9 and can more easily brush it off and get myself into a good headspace, so i really don't get much in the way of anxiety or paranoia or awkwardness or self-critical thinking or random fearing of things like i do with D9. I can function a lot better on D8.
Personally, if it came down to me only being able to use D8 or D9, i'd most certainly go for D8. Yeah it sucks that at least currently there's no Cannabis/Hemp strains that can produce D8 in larger/usable quantities, but i don't fear chemistry so long as it's done rightly and safely so i don't have an issue with using lab made chemicals. I follow the D8 subreddit and i see people obsessing over lab results and such, which on one hand is a good thing because vendors should get their products thoroughly tested, but on the other hand compared to what most people usually consume, i don't think lab made D8 would be anywhere near as bad as some of the things we consume, it's good to know either way though.
As an aside though, another thing that irritates me about people on the D8 subreddit is that a lot of them think terpenes are just for taste and aroma and have absolutely no effects of their own or synergy with THC in the way of altering how THC feels, when in reality terpenes DO have their own effects, and DO alter how THC feels. People seem to think that because most terpenes do not have any effect on Cannabinoid receptors, they think terpenes don't have any effect/impact at all, outside of taste and aroma.
I have personal extensive experience with orally consuming essential oils and some individual terpenes, and now that i've gotten into D8 i've gained some experience with vaping different isolated terpenes mixed with the D8 distillate, and it's pretty obvious to me they have their own effects and can synergize with each other to give you certain differences in effects, even without THC being in the mix. It's just like with Ayahuasca and admixture plants for example, using admixture plants to add things to the experience/effects or reduce certain side-effects or to otherwise just flavor the experience/medicine in different ways.
Pinene's for example, have Acetylcholinesterase inhibiting properties which is certainly noticeable when it comes to the increase in and potentiation of Acetylcholine/Cholinergic receptor stimulation.
Limonene as another example, has Serotonin 1A agonism, Adenosine A2A agonism (which also crosstalks with other receptor systems including the CB1 receptor, the D2 receptor, Metabotropic Glutamate 5 receptor), and it seems to be the only thing i've come across that actually blocks out the nausea/vomiting of Harmalas, even of consumed Rue seed powder capsules, whereas Ginger, Peppermint, and Zofran didn't work, my thinking is that Limonene also acts as a kind of pro-kinetic agent which not only helps with nausea/vomiting, but also heartburn, as now Limonene is the main thing i use for heartburn, no longer need H2 blockers or PPI's or antacids, every now and then i'll get a heartburn flareup where i need to take a tums but compared to how much heartburn i was still getting when taking all other anti-heartburn remedies, the Limonene by far has helped the most.
Then there's Linalool, which gives me a Lavenderish feel and has a Lavenderish smell, and does seem to have some relaxant/anxiolytic properties. Myrcene also, has some properties but i haven't worked with it or looked into it enough to know what's going on there.
Another thing the reddit community doesn't understand, is the Cannabis-derived terpenes vs Botanical-derived terpenes thing. Yes, CDT's apparently come from the actual strain and will have tepenes that may not be in BDT mixes, but it doesn't matter if say you get Limonene from another herb vs Limonene from Cannabis, it's the same compound, it's still Limonene. So there's no difference between BDT's and CDT's except that CDT's may have a few other Cannabis-related terpenes that may not be in BDT mixes, but also i would think since the CDT's are Cannabis-derived, it would likely take on more of a Cannabis aroma/taste/effect, it would take on the essence of Cannabis, much like other essential oils take on the essence of the plants they come from, like when i've tried Lemon EO, Lime EO, Orange EO, the Lemon felt like Lemons, the Lime felt like Limes, the Orange felt like Oranges, and any other EO i've tried, even with the same or similar terpene content, would feel different according to the plant source it came from. Some of that probably comes down to the ratio of certain terpenes as well, like if i add pure Limonene to my Lemon EO and raise the amount of Limonene, it definitely feels a good bit different. So it's pretty obvious that terpenes in and of themselves are active in some ways, and can have medicinal properties, and can alter how other things feel. The entourage effect definitely involves terpenes, and not just other Cannabinoids.
