My husband has ADD although he has never been diagnosed. He has smoked marijuana for many years because it helps him 'think'. What I think happens is it actually slows his thoughts down till he can process them more clearly. Strange, I think, and although I do not advocate smoking marijuana, it seems to work for him.

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The overly simple answer.

They get stoned.

There is a difference between the absence of symptoms and the existence of something positive.

http://askdreric-schoolpsychologist.blogspot.com/

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I hope it's ok to do this. quote from: Driven to Distraction

by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey

re: substance abuse p 173

The dysphoria associated with ADD; It is a peculiar kind of feeling, the distractability-within-self many ADD people feel. The feeling, unrecognized and untreated, often leads to substance abuse through attempts at self-medication. Take cocaine as an example. Cocaine is in the class of drugs we call stimulants. Ritalin, one of the standard prescription medications fot the treatment of ADD, is also a stimulant. Most people feel a rush of unfocused energy when they take cocaine. However, people with ADD feel focused when they use cocaine, just as they do when they take Ritalin. Rather than getting high, they suddenly feel clearheaded and able to pay attention. When those who don't know they have ADD stumble across cocaine, the drug seems like a cure in that it temporarily alleviates their ADD symptoms, and so they become chronic users. Interestingly enough, in the literature about cocaine, approximately 15% of addicts report feeling focused by the cocaine, rather then feeling high. This 15 percent probably have adult ADD and are self-medicating, albeit unwittingly, with cocaine. While cocaine, among the drugs of potential abuse, offers the most specific treatment for dysphoria associated with ADD.both alcohol and marijuana can be used as well. Alcohol tends to quiet the internal noise many adults with ADD complain of. It also reduces, in the short term, the anxiety commonly associated with ADD. Unfortunately, in the long run, alcohol is a depressant, and the daily withdrawal, or hangover, associated with chronic abuse, increases anxiety. Similarly, marijuana tends to quiet the noise inside, to help the individual, in the words of one of my patients, "to chill." Unfortunately, this is only a short-term effect, and the repeated use of marijuana as an antianxiety agent is associated with a decrease in motivation. quote from: Driven to Distraction

by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey

re: substance abuse

page 172

“Of the many masks that ADD wears, substance abuse is one of the most difficult to see behind because the substance abuse itself causes such problems. When someone is alcoholic, is abusing cocaine, or is dependent upon marijuana, we often become so preoccupied with the problem the drug use creates, that we fail to consider what purpose the drug must be serving for the user. ADD is one of the underlying causes of substance abuse that is particularly important to look for, because it can be treated.”

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