Wednesday 7 February 2018

Should you use Marijuana and ADHD Medication together

ADHD and marijuana may be something you’re curious about. ADHD is a disorder that starts within childhood, beginning with hyperactivity and behavior which is impulsive. While there are many symptoms to help people who have this, some people don’t like those because of the side effects that come with this, including the medications. It’s also why some people are looking to alternative treatments, including cannabis. 

Cannabis and marijuana is a subject that is a bit complicated, with more and more research needing to be done to really figure out the verdict on this. This is because ADHD meds can be very stimulating, and create side effects which are quite serious, including more arousal, insomnia, and the like. With more people curious about the safety and efficacy of the medications, especially in those which are younger, medications may also impact your brain, including memory and learning. Marijuana is something that has a bit of a stimulatory impact on the body due to the THC that’s in there, and it can make you either euphoric, or calmed as well, and there is also CBD, which isn’t intoxicating.


 

Should those with ADHD Use It? 

Right now, there is no evidence that says marijuana helps with this condition, but there is some evidence in the preliminary stage that shows that cannabinoids that are in this can help adults that deal with ADHD. Cannabis is good for those pleasant emotions you might feel, albeit that does vary between people. 

As for the benefits, there is the dopamine which comes with this, being a huge neurotransmitter in the game, and it is a big part of rewarding various behaviors.  ADHD is something that has a much larger concentration of these transporters of dopamine within the brain, but the transporters do remove this as well to quickly for it to cause major effects, which is why those with ADHD need to stimulate this, so that they have more dopamine, since they burn through it too quickly. 



Marijuana to cope with this is something that is up for debate. While it can boost your dopamine receptors, and improve happiness, and helps you stop relying on activities that are super stimulating, it also can improve the symptoms of ADHD in certain people, and also reduce the dependency for these drugs too. 

There are some drawbacks that come with this. 

THC may have harmful consequences for the long-term on a brain that has ADHD , especially during those early developmental periods. It can impact your executive functions, including solving problems, learning, and memory. Based on a study of those with ADHD that used marijuana, it was found that they were worse on their ability to make decisions on tests than those who weren’t able to, and those who had very pronounced effects were children of course. 



Of course, there is also the fact that if you use other drugs and marijuana, it basically hyper stimulates the reward receptors in the brain, and for those with ADHD it ca be amplified, since they’re already getting stimulants in their prescription meds that change the dopamine levels. The pattern of the use of medication, where the dopamine gets elevated, does lead to dependencies and addiction as well. 

It is something that those who have ADHD should look at since there is always of course the chance that with this, it can play a major problem in this. But right now, while there isn’t some concrete evidence, hopefully we can learn more about this as well, and the ultimate effects of this as well for you too.


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