Video summary
The discussion centers on Joe Rogan exploring his guest Paul Conte's insights into how different substances affect therapeutic potential, specifically contrasting alcohol with cannabis. While acknowledging that alcohol lacks significant medical benefits, Conte notes that cannabis has interesting properties but primarily functions by narrowing attention and focus rather than expanding it like psilocybin does. This narrowed focus can be a double-edged sword; while it allows users to concentrate intensely on pleasant activities or specific tasks without distraction, it risks trapping anxious individuals in loops of anxiety or video games if their internal state is already negative. Consequently, the impact of weed is highly dependent on individual genetics and biology, creating a spectrum where some people remain high-functioning while others struggle to accomplish daily tasks.
For disciplined individuals with Type A personalities who are constantly driven to achieve more, cannabis can serve as a beneficial "rest stop" that offers relief from hyper-focus without inducing lethargy or weakness. Rogan shares his personal experience using marijuana before weightlifting and martial arts training, noting that instead of feeling sluggish, he feels an enhanced sensitivity in his muscle fibers and bones. This heightened awareness allows him to execute techniques with better leverage and balance by staying present in the moment rather than overthinking movements from a distance. He describes this state as improved interoception—the ability to sense internal bodily states—which helps athletes avoid executing strikes or lifts when they are off-balance, effectively turning potential distraction into a tool for greater physical precision.
The conversation further delves into the neuroscience behind these experiences, distinguishing between exteroception (focusing on external stimuli) and interoception (awareness of one's internal state). Rogan references studies suggesting that focusing intensely on muscle contractions during resistance training yields significantly higher strength gains than simply moving weights mindlessly, a concept supported by experts like Andy Galpin. Cannabis appears to amplify this natural ability in some users by deepening their connection between the mind and muscles, allowing them to feel exactly where each fiber connects to the bone. However, Rogan cautions that while this increased sensitivity is powerful for those who can harness it, individuals with high baseline anxiety might find such heightened internal awareness overwhelming or detrimental, underscoring why the effects of marijuana vary so drastically from person to person depending on their psychological makeup and past experiences.
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the the smoke weed thing is a weird one
because it just it's I was surprised to
learn this I'd be curious what your
thoughts are I'm not a cannabis smoker I
just never really liked it but I had a
guest on my podcast named Paul Conte
mainly Works he's an MD mainly works on
trauma incredible trauma therapist and
work has written about trauma the book
on trauma that I think is the one in my
opinion and then we got into a
discussion about like different
substances and do they have applications
so we talked about ketamine Etc asked
about alcohol just by way of comparison
and he said there are basically zero
therapeutic uses for alcohol right
therapeutic right but then I asked about
cannabis now this isn't something he
does in his own Clinic he does talk
therapy not drug not drug therapy
although he's a psychiatrist so he can
prescribe things but and he said you
know cannabis is interesting and it may
actually have some therapeutic potential
but the main effect of cannabis is to
narrow attention and focus it actually
can increase attention and focus now the
problem is it's not a very good filter
so people can narrowly attend to just
video games or just to their anxiety if
they're already anxious that's a problem
but when it comes to psilocybin
psilocybin seems to increase creative
thinking new kind of new rules and
algorithms about what could be an answer
so I'm not aware of how it might
directly impact visual perception unless
it Narrows Focus but most of the drugs
that impact serotonin are going to
increase Focus to some degree or another
and that can be good if what you're
focusing on is Pleasant it can be really
bad if what you're focusing on is really
unpleasant I knew people I'm sure you
don't who just smoke weed and they have
a panic attack yeah the the smoke weed
thing is a weird one because it just
it's it's like many things it's
completely dependent upon the individual
like the their individual genetics their
biology whatever it is that they've had
in their past
I know people that smoke marijuana and
they're high functioning and I know
people who smoke marijuana and they
don't get anything done and I don't know
if they're relate those two things are
related I think people who generally
have
um drive and discipline marijuana gives
them a break it gives them a nice little
just a little rest stop and I think
that's probably beneficial and I also
think it makes you a little Kinder a
little more compassionate a little more
sensitive which is probably very
beneficial to someone who's hyper
focused like people that are like type A
personalities are trying to get things
done all the time you smoke a little pot
you're like what am I doing I'm like
let's [ __ ] relax a little and then
you get back to it you're all right I
think it's it's that's there's a great
benefit to that but I should also say
that it's very popular in the Jiu Jitsu
world oh yeah I always thought that had
something to do with um
uh the kind of creativity part of it
like that you you can't plan Jiu Jitsu
right you have to improvise yeah like
jazz in a lot of ways there's definitely
that but it's also the focus thing that
you're only thinking about that like
while you're rolling you're really only
thinking about rolling while you're
smoking cannabis and then rolling you're
hyper focused on it and physical
strength you feel fine you don't feel
lethargic or anything no not at all I
actually enjoy it I actually enjoy it
when I lift weights too oh I haven't
tried that yeah I feel it like I feel it
in the fibers it's almost like I'm more
aware of like what's going on instead of
like this uh blunt sort of
um you know you know almost like
distance from uh each individual muscle
fiber which I am normally normally I'm
just trying to warm up and then I warm
up and then I start getting going then I
you know lift light first then I work my
way up to what I normally use but when
I'm high it's like I could feel like
where it connects to the Bone so I feel
everything it just makes you more
sensitive about what you're actually
doing and for
um martial arts techniques particularly
for striking I feel like I incorporate
leverage better into things I'm I I have
better balance in terms of like not
trying to execute a technique when I'm
off position you you know and it just
makes me uh just more aware of like
what's going on with my body and that's
super powerful we had the the nerd in me
want to say the Neuroscience they call
that interoception like people vary
tremendously in their awareness of their
internal State you can know if you have
a higher low degree of interoception by
trying to count your heartbeats without
taking your pulse some people can just
do that it's a skill you can build up
over time this is great for some people
but some people are highly anxious it
sucks to have a lot of interoception but
we know of course that the Mind muscle
connection is really powerful and it's
not just mind muscle connection as a
whatever they call Bro Science thing the
reality is that from peer-reviewed
studies that if people focus on the
contraction of a muscle during
resistance training as opposed to moving
the weight
right something that's hard to measure
if they're actually doing it the
strength and hypertrophy gains are much
greater I think it's like a 15 we need I
had to Andy Galpin on the podcast and he
would know the exact number
um but
I always wonder about this like in gyms
where they're mirrors and people are
watching themselves lift in the mirror I
mean you're exterocepting you're not
focused as much as you could on the
actual feeling so you know there's
always a waiting between extra reception
to the out everything beyond the
confines of your skin and interoception
and if cannabis allows more interception
you can imagine that those workouts
would be more effective in that way