I've noticed that smoking marijuana relates to my dreamtime experiences- or lack thereof. When I first suspected that ganga smoking was either preventing dreams or clouding my memory of them, I conducted a few experiments. For three seperate three-day periods, I fasted from ganja smoking. Each night of these trials, I dreamt most of the night and was able to remember and even gain insights from some of my dreams. When I returned to smoking, my dreams were either greatly diminished or completely absent. I could only remember snippets at best and those memories quickly faded after waking up. I have since learned that I'm not alone in experiencing this side effect of marijuana: studes have shown that THC alters brain chemicals involved in sleep as well as brain patterns, which, in some people, can suppress REM sleep therefore dreams. Dreams are a very special time when, I believe, the soul leaves the body to regenerate. We learn many important lessons and insights into our life in dreamtime space. For this reason, I highly recommend devoting a few days a month to not smoking.
Hydroxy tryptaphan, 5-HTP, is a sleep-enhancing agent that compensates for the reduction in serotonin leves caused by cannabis use so you can enter deeo REM sleep normally. (Smokers generally have their most lucid dreams in the morning, during the last few hours of sleep, as opposed to the middle of the night as would normally be the case.) 5-HTP is a naturally derived amino acid available in pill form at most health food stores. Mugwort is an herb that also has beneficial effects on dreams when smoked. This herb helps many people restore their dreams even without giving up marijuana. B-complex vitamins can also prove beneficial, though it is not yet understood why.