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Are 5HTP and Weed Is A Good Combo?
In 1989 the essential amino acid tryptophan caused by contaminated tryptophan caused the death of 30 people. As a result of this tragedy, the FDA banned all tryptophan supplements.
Why It Is Hard To Find Studies Concerning
Cannabis and Any Drug Interaction?
Of course, cannabis will not bring about “Reefer Madness,” or turn your brain into mush. However, it also isn’t totally safe when it is combined with other drugs. For example, cannabis and anesthesia can be a bad combination as smokers may need more anesthesia than non-smokers. Also, it can be damaging to smoke any substance right after oral surgery.
What Is 5 HTP?
5HTP is a supplement that can be found on Amazon, and your local health food store, like GNC. 5-hydroxytryptophan (”5HTP”) is related to tryptophan amino acids and is made organically from the seeds of an African plant.
In layman’s terms, 5-HTP is related to both melatonin and also Serotonin. Users take 5 HTP in pill form and it acts as a natural way to increase the serotonin levels in their brain. One of its most promising uses is that as 5-HTP precursor to serotonin it is used by some as a natural “Prozac”, which can help with depression and control anxiety.
What Does 5-HTP Do?
No Peer-Reviewed Study
5-HTP is marketed and distributed as a natural, herbal supplement and not a drug. Therefore, it is not regulated nor has been tested by the US Food and Drug Administration. As such, 5-HTP is not required to undergo the rigorous testing that is required for traditional pharmaceuticals.
Therefore, many of the following treatment claims have been neither proven nor disproven. Studies though have indicated that it can help with the following:
- Weight Loss-Curbs hunger by making your body feel fuller.
- Depression- It increases serotonin production (can act as a natural antidepressant) in your body, which helps with depression and other anxiety or mood disorders.
The following benefits of 5-HTP have not been studied as much:
- Helps With The Following Afflictions-Fibromyalgia (A condition that causes excruciating muscle and bone pain), and migraines.
- Sleep-Naturally helps with sleep as 5-HTP supplements contain Melatonin.
5-HTP Side Effects
Some of the most common potential side effects of 5-HTP are dizziness, stomach pain, nausea, and on rare occasions, allergic reactions. This severity and whether or not you actually do experience these side effects depend on the dose that you take.
Serotonin Syndrome
5HTP, when obtained from a reliable and safe source, is relatively safe and is unlikely to damage your health. However, 5-HTP has been know to be dangerous when combined with certain, antidepressant SSRI drugs.
Proper Serotonin levels are essential for mental health. Too much serotonin has the potential to be quite dangerous. That is why it can be dangerous to combine 5HTP with SSRI drugs like Prozac. The symptoms of ingesting too much Serotonin will appear from six to 24 hours after too much of it is ingested.
The following negative symptoms are associated with this condition, anxiety, shivering, blood irregularities, heart problems, and even death. It also can affect the mental health of users as it can cause uncontrolled aggressiveness.
Click Here, for a list of all of the symptoms.
5HTP and Weed
Cannabis is still illegal federally. Therefore, very few if any studies have been done concerning cannabis’s interaction with any drugs. Unfortunately, the interaction between 5-HTP and cannabis is no exception to this issue. The only information that I could find concerning the pros and cons of 5HTP and weed were either from “some guy” on Reddit and medical professional guessing. The following are what I found out.
5-HTP and Cannabis Combo Benefits
As there aren’t any scientific studies on this subject I was only able to find the following benefits that were gathered from anonymous people on Internet forums and questionable sources. So, take these supposed benefits with a grain of salt. First, a commentator on Reddit stated taking 5HTP with cannabis amplified his high. Also, I heard that 5-HTP and cannabis could also serve as an aphrodisiac with viagra like effects.
5-HTP Dangers
I could find very little information concerning the potential dangers of 5HTP’s interactions with Cannabis. Weed though is often smoked for its smoothing or calming effect. As a result, it is thought by some that cannabis can increase serotonin levels. Therefore, in theory, the excess serotonin combined with 5 HTP and Cannabis could theoretically cause a serotonin overdose.
This is not true though, as Cannabis may help you mellow out and work to treat depression, and other anxiety or mood disorders. Weed’s THC and CBD though do not have any effect on your serotonin production. As a result, 5-HTP and cannabis may not be a dangerous combination.
Final Thoughts
I have said this so often that I sometimes feel like a broken record, Cannabis is illegal. Therefore, there are very few studies concerning its medical use or harmful interaction with other substances. Additionally, 5-HTP is a supplement, which means that the FDA has not evaluated its effectiveness.
As a result of this, it is impossible to know of any potential negative or positive interactions between 5-HPT and weed. For example, without further study, there is no way to know if 5 HTP combined with pot may amplify your high.
Is it Safe?
The only potential danger that I found from people using 5 HTP was when it was combined with Prozac or other similar drugs. Cannabis’s THC and cannabinoids do not regulate, increase, or decrease serotonin. Therefore, combining it with 5 HTP may not be dangerous.
Final Advice
I am not a health professional. So, if you need a more definite answer, I would ask a medical doctor who is familiar with medical cannabis
