Clearing the Way:
A Conscious Pause with Cannabis

For those preparing for deep psychedelic work, spiritual initiation, or

simply seeking clarity in their relationship with the sacred plant of cannabis.

A Loving Pause, Not a Rejection

If you’ve used cannabis every day for years, it may seem impossible to imagine taking a break. Cannabis has likely become your companion, your stress-reliever, your anchor. But what if the very plant you reach for daily has more to teach you and is simply waiting to be met in a new way?

This is not about shaming your relationship with cannabis.

It’s about reawakening the sacred in it.

Many who use cannabis unconsciously are in a lifelong cycle of:

Lighting up without intention
Using it to escape, numb, or dissociate
Feeling the pull, but not the partnership
Losing the ability to hear the plant’s voice

When cannabis is used in this way, it becomes a fog. But cannabis isn’t fog.

She is a teacher. A mystic. A feminine presence who desires conscious collaboration.

When used with awareness, cannabis can:

Open the heart
Enhance receptivity
Deepen body listening
Reveal stored emotion
Serve as a bridge to spirit

In this state, you don’t escape your life, you drop deeper into it.

If you're preparing for a ceremony with 5-MeO-DMT, N,N-DMT (like ayahuasca), or any deeply transformational medicine, cannabis may* actually interfere with the full depth and clarity of the experience.

Here’s why:

Receptor desensitization: Chronic cannabis use downregulates key serotonin receptors (like 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A) that are crucial for psychedelic activation.
Energetic dulling: Cannabis creates a “stickiness” in the energetic field, making it harder for fast-acting medicines like 5-MeO to enter fully.
Nervous system rigidity: Daily use may numb or suppress the body’s ability to feel deeply or surrender fully, especially in surrender-based medicines like 5-MeO.
Mental anchoring: Cannabis may keep people “in their head,” preventing full ego dissolution and embodiment.
Protector part reinforcement: Cannabis often functions as an unconscious protector, blunting the vulnerability needed to truly open and release.

In short: the medicine may not reach as deep if cannabis is still actively coating the system.

This is why many traditions (especially in ayahuasca lineages) require at least 10–14 days of cannabis abstinence before ceremony.

But rather than quitting out of fear, you can pause out of devotion. You can clear the channel to meet the deeper medicines with full presence.

Why Pause Cannabis Before Psychedelic Journeys

Ceremony of the Pause

What if your final session with cannabis for now wasn’t a habit... but a ceremony?

Here is a simple ritual to consciously mark the pause:

Prepare your space: Set sacred space. Light a candle. Burn incense. Play soft music.
Set an intention: "Cannabis, I come to you not for escape, but to hear your voice. To understand our bond. To say goodbye for now, with love."
Inhale with reverence: Let the medicine enter slowly. Invite it into your heart, your body, your intuition.
Journal prompts (ask as you feel the effects):
- What have you given me over the years?
- Where has our relationship become imbalanced?
- What do I need to know before this pause?
- What part of me doesn’t feel safe without you?
- What will our relationship become when I return to you in full presence?
Close with gratitude: Speak or write your thank you. Wrap your pipe or pen in cloth. Place her on an altar. Let her rest.

For the Skeptical Daily User:

You might be thinking:

"I can't possibly stop. I need this. I use it to sleep, to eat, to function."

That’s exactly why a pause is so powerful. Not because cannabis is bad.

But because you’ve likely never met her in full consciousness.

If you’ve only used cannabis to suppress symptoms or dull your edges, you’ve never tasted her true medicine.

Pausing doesn't mean abandoning her. It means giving her space to become something new in your life. Something sacred. Something awake.

*A Note on the Word “May”

You’ll notice throughout this guide, the word "may" is used when describing how cannabis interacts with psychedelics.

This is intentional.

The relationship between cannabis and entheogens like 5-MeO-DMT and ayahuasca (NN-DMT) is nuanced, and not the same for everyone. Some people have reported that cannabis helps them feel safer, enhances sensation, or allows them to go deeper. Others, particularly chronic users, may find that it dulls sensitivity, holds protector parts in place, or blunts the clarity of the experience.

This guide is not a mandate. It is an invitation.

An offering for those who feel the call to optimize the channel, to clear the field, and to meet their medicine in the purest possible space.

Ultimately, you are your own authority. May this guide serve you in discerning what your own path calls for.

Disclaimer

This guide is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to encourage or condone the use of any illegal substances. Any decisions regarding cannabis or psychedelic use should be made in compliance with the laws of your local jurisdiction and under the guidance of a qualified professional when appropriate. The author assumes no responsibility for the choices of the reader.

Please use discernment and personal responsibility in all journeys, within and without.