Total noob at this....

Firstly just like to say a big hello to everyone here at dreamviews!

My names Ben, I'm 22 and i've always been interested in lucid dreaming but very recently i kinda just thought, you know what!? I'm doing this!

My only problem at the moment is for the past few years my dream recall has been very low, it has improved significantly through a little work and i am pleased with my progress.

My main question is really more of the effects of cannabis and dreaming, it seems to be a bit of a controversial subject getting many, mixed responses. I was just wandering, I've been a smoker, usually about 1 or 2 a day for the past year and a half. Will this affect my dreams and if so, is it going to mean I have to work harder, or is giving up the pot really the way forward?
I've done my research and heard REM Rebound been mentioned and maybe this is my ticket to remembering my dreams much better and moving on to lucidity.

Are there any smokers, or even non-smokers here that would be willing to give me some advice? I mean I love my green but if I have to give it up for a while, whilst I pursue my quest to lucid dream that's completely fine with me!

Thanks a lot for reading, looking forward to hearing back!

Ben, welcome to DV :).

There are mixed views on cannabis and dreaming. The people in the community that smoke it might tell you that it doesn't affect, or improves, the dreaming experience. Personally I would say it's a bad idea and that dreaming will most likely be better without it. But please don't take that as fact, it's just my opinion, and I'm sure there are arguments for both points of view.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask, or send me a private message :).

ShockWave.

Thanks For the reply ShockWave, seems to be a lovely community you folks have here, im looking forward to getting to know you all.
I think the only fair solution is to experiment, i mean as i smoke now my Dream recall has improved but this is only because im actually trying. I think ill take a couple of weeks off the smoking and let you know!

Thanks again and take care =]
Nito.

Welcome to Dreamviews,

I dont smoke it myself so can't give you any first hand experience. I believe we do have quite a few members who both smoke cannabis and lucid dream, so this would seem to suggest its not a huge problem.
Im leaning towards shockwaves advice though, from my understanding cannabis has a negative effect on memory, which in theory could hinder both recall and the ability to spot anomalies in dreams that could be considered dream signs (eg realising that a minute ago you were in your house and now you're at the beach etc). It maybe worth giving it up for a few months while you initially get into LDing. You could always do an experiment at a later date to test how much it affects your LDing :)

Good Luck.

RooJ

To be fair, I think it probably will be a good idea to stop, I have very irregular sleeping patterns and I'm told that doesnt help but maybe stopping for a period getting into it and then experimenting again. Thanks for the advice guys it's appreciated.

Nito.