I'm about to try to quit smoking cigarettes again in the next week or so. After failing throughout the years, my doctor wanted me to try Chantix that has been all the rage recently. This is different than other smoking cessation drugs, as this actually blocks the receptors in the brain from getting the affects of nicotine.

http://www.chantix.com/content/How_Chantix_Works.jsp?setShowOn=../content/About_Chantix.jsp&setShowHighlightOn=../content/How_Chantix_Works.jsp

Now my problem.....I'm a daily toker of weed, and have not planned on quitting that. I'm also very hopeful the weed will be a crutch of sorts if I'm having a real bad day Jonesing for a cigarette. But will the Chantix also effect the same receptors in my brain preventing me from getting high? Anyone on here ever tried Chantix (or know of someone else in their life), and could they share their experiences with me...whether positive or negative?

As always.....questions, comments, flames are welcome......

AFAIK, it only effects nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, and only a certain subset of those.

THC acts on cannabinoid receptors, and thus, shouldn't be affected in any way by the Chantix.

Of course, I don't know very much about Chantix or "molecular neurobiology" (you'll have to wait for JoePedo to chime in on that one ;))...

I actually overheard someone say it may possibly work for weed smoking, but i somewhat doubt it.

On a side not chantix does work. My mom who smoked for 40+ years quit in like 2 months using chantix. She had some crazy dreams and was like tripping one night when she woke me up to kill the lobsters in her room. Crazy fun.

No but there is a new un approved diet pill availible in other countries called remonabant. It is supposed block the effects of thc.

If that remonabant is what I think it is, it isn't *that* new. I remember hearing about it back when I was still in school (it wasn't out yet, then, though), and did a little bit of research on it as part of my marijuana report. IIRC, it's primarily a CB1 antagonist, but it was being talked about as this "awesome" all around drug-problem-fixer-upper. Blocks THC! Reduces alcohol and cocaine cravings! ... gives you Alzheimers!

I'm surprised that its available, actually. I thought all the potential neurological conditions you could get from it would be enough for them to back off of it. I guess not...

Do you know what countries it is approved in?

I'll have to go Googling when I get home...

I dont really know much about it. It could be old but I have just recently heard about it. My mom is trying to get my bro to take it but I will pass on the info. That doesn't sound worth it. I double checked. It is pretty old news.

I am not sure what countries it availible but I think the ones we have came from india.



interesting:
The effects of the drug can be suppressed by the CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonist rimonabant (SR141716A) or, interesting to note, the opioid receptor antagonists (opioid blockers) naloxone and naloxonazine.[3]
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahydrocannabinol
So narcan can suppress the effects alaso?

Thanks for all the replies to those who responded so far. I've read about those whacked out dreams as a possible side effect, and am actually somewhat looking forward to that if it happens to me. Another thing I've heard.....possible depression and suicidal thoughts. Here's an interesting page with a compilation of people that have used it and their success/failure stories...

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/11/chem-lab-is-cha.html

Granted, since those are unverified sources....some of those detractors could be stooges for the tobacco companies or a competing pharmaceutical entity.....but it is interesting to read nonetheless. I especially love this one....."I also had bad dreams and weird thoughts like what would it feel like if I shoved this fork in my hand?" Uh huh, this should be an interesting ride ahead of me. Good times, good times.....

I was prescribed Chantix when I was trying to quit cigarettes. First of all, let me say that it does wonders for reducing the physical desire to smoke. I went from smoking 1.5 packs a day to smoking 1.5 cigarettes a day within two weeks. I'm sure I could have stopped entirely, but fuck it, I enjoy smoking.

Chantix does not reduce the effects of THC. If anything, it potentiates them, although that could just be placebo or attributing the potentiation to something that had nothing to do with it, so take that with a grain of salt.

Yeah, it can affect dreaming, but that wasnt too severe for me. The real bitch is the nausea. Terrible, constant, severe nausea. When I was taking it, I would wake up literally every morning and just vomit for awhile.

This was while I was smoking weed. While taking a break from the marijuana, I took the chantix again for a few days, and experienced no nausea. Once again, I can't be sure of this correlation, but it may indeed exist, so, hell, let me know if you experience anything like this.

My email is probably in my profile; my computer access is too limited to maintain a presence here currently.

mike

one wonders, if you block the receptors aren't you just forcing yourself into withdrawl? kinda works i guess in that smoking that cigarette will do shit for your head..


but hey, when you find out, tell us..

I'll keep posting with updates, if nothing else I could be a good case study for anyone curious about this drug.

I'm on day 4 of taking the pills with my eventual quit date being Sunday the 27th. I've been taking one dosage in the morning, and start my nightly/morning cylce this evening......which will be the rest of my cycle for at least the next 30 days.

I've experienced very slight bits of nausea here and there, and don't seem to be eating as much or as regularly. Although I do think about food alot, moreso than I used to. No crazy dreams as of yet, although I feel more tired and seem to fall asleep quicker and deeper.

I feel "altered" somehow, but not quite sure how to describe it. I'm lucid, but more subdued. I'm not able to concentrate or read as easily. My eyes feel heavy. I'm quite forgetful with short term memory, but not longer term. Just yesterday I couldn't remember an item at the grocery store my wife told me 20 minutes earlier, yet remembered a casual reference of a different item days before. Not just an "oops I forgot", just couldn't remember WHAT that item was. With my lack of concentration, I'm having a harder time communicating....verbally and in text. I can't think of certain words that are normally a part of my vocabulary, and am making a shitload of text/typing errors. My concept of time is thrown off, back and forth. Sometimes I can't believe an hour went by that felt like 20 minutes, others it seems like 3 hours past when looking at the clock and seeing it was only 1.

As far as smoking goes, I think its already slowed me down. On Wellbutrin after a week of dosing I would feel a "yick this taste yucky" feeling about 1/2 through a smoke. With this it isn't so much about the "yuck" factor, as it is...."why am I doing this?". I can smoke it sure, it just ain't really doing anything for me.....other than the mundane task of walking outside and the psychological escapism behind the whole process. For me I think that will be the toughest demon to beat right there.

As for the weed, I agree with the poster that said if anything it has "heightened" it somewhat. It just adds to the already detached weirdness I tried to describe above. I'm not as intensely involved with things going on in my life, whether emotionally or mentally.....so smoking the weed just furthers me into a more "spectator" rather than doer. Not that I'm lazy doing nothing, just not multi-tasking in my mind for the next 5 things. The weed seems to add to all of that.

Overall I just don't feel on my "A" game right now. More like a B- or C+. I don't believe anything I'm feeling is a placebo or psychosomatic sympton, as I'm a pretty intelligent person. I do admit to feeling a bit unnerved by the fact this is a drug purposefly targetting the BRAIN......rather than most drugs just changing your chemical makeup. But I'm still going into this with a hopeful yet objective stance, and won't get too spooked by all the shit I'll be enduring.

And yeah for all that are reading this, I could somehow see a recreational value based on what I just described. Would be a tough nut to crack for the underground though, because at $130 for a months script it ain't like they are handing it out like candy.

I was almost tempted to try this to quit, having never heard of it, but fuck all those side effects.


And robinhoody, have you seen the article on designed drug antagonists over at cognitiveliberty?

Very fucking scary. Almost a bit 1984ish.

I'll keep posting with updates, if nothing else I could be a good case study for anyone curious about this drug.

I'm on day 4 of taking the pills with my eventual quit date being Monday the 28th. I've been taking one dosage in the morning, and start my nightly/morning cylce this evening......which will be the rest of my cycle for at least the next 30 days.

I've experienced very slight bits of nausea here and there, and don't seem to be eating as much or as regularly. Although I do think about food alot, moreso than I used to. No crazy dreams as of yet, although I feel more tired and seem to fall asleep quicker and deeper.

I feel "altered" somehow, but not quite sure how to describe it. I'm lucid, but more subdued. I'm not able to concentrate or read as easily. My eyes feel heavy. I'm quite forgetful with short term memory, but not longer term. Just yesterday I couldn't remember an item at the grocery store my wife told me 20 minutes earlier, yet remembered a casual reference of a different item days before. Not just an "oops I forgot", just couldn't remember WHAT that item was. With my lack of concentration, I'm having a harder time communicating....verbally and in text. I can't think of certain words that are normally a part of my vocabulary, and am making a shitload of text/typing errors. My concept of time is thrown off, back and forth. Sometimes I can't believe an hour went by that felt like 20 minutes, others it seems like 3 hours past when looking at the clock and seeing it was only 1.

As far as smoking goes, I think its already slowed me down. On Wellbutrin after a week of dosing I would feel a "yick this taste yucky" feeling about 1/2 through a smoke. With this it isn't so much about the "yuck" factor, as it is...."why am I doing this?". I can smoke it sure, it just ain't really doing anything for me.....other than the mundane task of walking outside and the psychological escapism behind the whole process. For me I think that will be the toughest demon to beat right there.

As for the weed, I agree with the poster that said if anything it has "heightened" it somewhat. It just adds to the already detached weirdness I tried to describe above. I'm not as intensely involved with things going on in my life, whether emotionally or mentally.....so smoking the weed just furthers me into a more "spectator" rather than doer. Not that I'm lazy doing nothing, just not multi-tasking in my mind for the next 5 things. The weed seems to add to all of that.

Overall I just don't feel on my "A" game right now. More like a B- or C+. I don't believe anything I'm feeling is a placebo or psychosomatic sympton, as I'm a pretty intelligent person. I do admit to feeling a bit unnerved by the fact this is a drug purposefly targetting the BRAIN......rather than most drugs just changing your chemical makeup. But I'm still going into this with a hopeful yet objective stance, and won't get too spooked by all the shit I'll be enduring.

And yeah for all that are reading this, I could somehow see a recreational value based on what I just described. Would be a tough nut to crack for the underground though, because at $130 for a months script it ain't like they are handing it out like candy.
So i herd u was permb&

Don't know if you checked out the second link I posted above, but yeah I went into this somewhat leary after everything I've heard. I definitely wouldn't recommend this to just anyone. I'm confident it won't take me to too dark a place, and am hopeful my 20+ years of partying coupled with my smarts will get me through. My wife and I have great communication to begin with, and we are keeping a constant running dialogue about all of this....from her perspective and mine. So I'll have her to help me through as well as"pull me out" if the time comes. What can I say, I want to quit smoking and have decided to roll the dice......

So i herd u was permb&


Cmon now.....lets not darken BLTC's door with all of that. B & M should be like Vegas....it stays there. :)

Cmon now.....lets not darken BLTC's door with all of that. B & M should be like Vegas....it stays there. :)

INDEED! And good luck with quitting. It's a fucking drain on cash.

We have a smoking ban here, you can't smoke outside buildings, or pretty much anywhere, even in a bar, except your car or home, and they are trying to make it illegal to smoke in YOUR OWN CAR.

I get dirty looks all the time for smoking outside of buildings. Fucking liberal assholes.

I think they are trying to make it illeagal to smoke in a car when you have a minor with you. They have already banned smoking in all public buildings. Which makes smoking at school a bitch because its illeagal now to smoke anywhere on school grounds and your not allowed to leave the campus. Yet security dosent get on the teachers asses when they are smoking on the property. Unjust fucks.

Yeah, even though I'm against smoking, I'm pretty pissed at all this "you can't smoke in a bar" crap. If they want to smoke, and the owner of the place doesn't mind, go for it! Outside? It's fucking OUTSIDE! 4 feet away, unless they blow it at you, you can't smell it.

Regarding the meds, I've been trying to check this out for my friend who I dearly want to stop smoking, but the price is rather steep for a casual, "Hey let's try this out" kind of venture.

Same for Ohio and their smoking bans. What's sad is it is just one more thing fucking up the economy. The smaller mom-n-pop bars aren't able to keep their customers because of the smoking ban. Many are closing or about to be closed. And they can't keep up with the bigger chains that have the space and capital to build a smoking "patio" outside to skirt around the rules. The rich get richer, the poor are going bankrupt. God Bless the USA, right? Pfffffftttt....

I woke up day 6 of taking my Chantix, and I think its got my body doing what it's intended to do. I smoke a cigarette and get ZERO relief from my nicotine craving. Before at least the first hit or two did "something" but now zilch. The side affects I described earlier aren't as bad, or I've just gotten used to them. I get these feelings that I call "waves".....I suddenly feel slightly nauseous, my eyes get heavy, and I really need to lay down and take a nap. I'm still in that subdued, hard to concentrate state.....its almost as if I've lost a few dozen IQ points. When discussing how I feel "stupid" and my brain doesn't work as quickly as efficiently as it normally does with my wife...she basically says, "Welcome to how most other people go about their lives".

Meh, I'll take the side effects for now considering the drug does seem to be serving its purpose. It is weird though......smoking, smoking, smoking and not getting anything from it. Like being thirsty and drinking a cool glass of water, and not getting satiated in the least. And it is somewhat unnerving vs. the other ways of trying to quit. Think about it, you crave a smoke and finally break down.....minutes later that craving is gone. Even if I DO breakdown once I quit, it still won't help......I would have to wait literally days till the drugs get out of my system till a cigarette does anything for me again. This is what I signed on for, so I'm not complaining......just observing the complexity of the whole situation.

Today is the 5th day since I stopped smoking cigarettes, the 13th I've been on Chantix. I've had exactly one cigarette....the morning of quit day 3, which did absolutely nothing to satiate my nicotine cravings. I could smell the smoke, feel the smoke, go through the mundane task of the whole process.....but no true satisfaction. This drug truly is the real deal. I even pretty much talked myself into having that smoke, having a little doubt if all this was legit....or just my mind playing tricks on me. I purposely succumbed WANTING the relief of a cigarette, and chose to do it just 2 days in rather than weeks or months in and being curious in all that time wondering. Nope, smoking is now pointless while on this drug.

Anyone that's thinking of trying this....keep in mind it pretty much does nothing to help those nicotine urges. That is all on you, it's just preventing you from cheating and breaking down. In essence, for the next 12 weeks I have that time to re-condition and re-train my mind to live a happy life without smoking.

The side effects aren't so bad any more, although I still have what I call "waves" of feeling icky. Kinda like the nasuea/tired feeling I decribed earlier in this thread. I'm still slower mentally and it takes more to concentrate and read......but it isn't as profound as before. I did have some problem driving on the highway on day 6, and haven't tried since. My spatial depth, speed, and sense of time was all off. Almost like I was in the Matrix or something. Mind you, I'm a very prideful driver......and have driven stoned, drunk, coked, trippin.....but I just didn't feel like I was in control driving that day. Driving around town, no problem.....but highway driving was weird.

And yes I'm still toking, and still enjoying a good buzz. The weed is definitely more potent too. Whereas it used to take me packing my Dugout One-Hitter around 4 or 5 times to get a nice buzz on.....I'm pretty much baked now after just 3. The weed has obviously been a huge help/crutch dealing with the nicotine cravings, and right after I get high I'm good for about 2 hours before I start jonesing again. Actually my daily weed intake seems to remain the same, while now I'm smoking less to get high....I'm smoking weed more often to help the nicotine urges. Before starting this I was toking twice a day @ 4 or 5 dugouts each time, whereas now its four times a day at 2 or 3 dugouts.

This will probably be my last post for a while on this thread, unless someone has something else to add or question. I'm in this for the long haul and expect things to just keep on keepin on for me. Hopefully the nicotine cravings will get better sooner than later, and I already don't feel them as strongly the last day or two as I did the first couple of days. Sure I'm irritable, sometimes moody, and shorter tempered than usual....but that is just the natural process of trying to quit smoking. This ain't just a chemical change, but an entire lifestyle/psychological change as I battle fighting all of those triggers where I always would have a smoke.

I agree with the whole smoking ban in bars because if I decide to drink im only doing harm to myself,but when 20 people chain smoke in a bar (you know who you are)everyone is breathing in their habit my .02

Well not mch I can add to that except that I do have a friend who used that to quit smoking - I'm pretty sure it was that - and he smokes a lot of pot and he never said anything about not being able to get high.

It is not your "right" to frequent any private business/establishment. There have been plenty of bars and restaurants that have made the switch to strictly non-smoking facilities. So BEFORE any smoking ban, a non-smoker DID have a choice. Now with the bans, no one has a choice. Careful while that Gestapo goose-steps on by....your toes might be stepped on next.