"Marijuana and the ADHD Brain" [Video Replay & Podcast #288]
Access the video replay, listen to the podcast episode (#288), and download the slide presentation for this ADHD Experts webinar originally broadcast on February 26, 2020.
4 Comments: "Marijuana and the ADHD Brain" [Video Replay & Podcast #288]
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Firstly I am opposed to using any recreational drugs, including alcohol, prior to the age of 18. Continuing brain development or not I consider it excessive to restrict it to under 25.
However having done some searching I am getting the feeling that there was a lot of cherry picking involved in the results presented in this webinar. Madeline H. Meier’s study for instance was subsequently criticised due to problems with its methods. And why mention that paper, but fail to mention other, later, papers that found no decline in IQ? My overall impression is that this webinar, in spite of the presenters protestations to the contrary, is aimed at creating fear, uncertainty and doubt. He repeatedly fails to give any information on what levels of use are involved in the outcomes he claims are linked to cannabis use. Are all these scary outcomes linked to moderate use, e.g. once a day or a few times a week, or only to using it all day every day? What are the dose sizes?
And really haven’t we put the gateway drug myth to bed already?
I’m also inclined to generally mistrust claims about increased potency. There may indeed be some very strong strains today, but I’d want to see evidence that they were comparing like for like, i.e. the strongest then versus the strongest now. I’d also want to know the prevalence of those stronger varieties and how users are consuming them. In my experience users prefer stronger varieties because it allows them to achieve the same result from a smaller quantity. They don’t simply continue to use the same quantity regardless of potency.
Cannabis is absolutely not better for an ADHD brain that a properly prescribed stimulant. Studies have found that stimulants do not stunt growth: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/ADHD-Medications-do-not-Stunt-Child's-Growth.aspx. But even if a stimulant stunted your height, that is not as big of a problem than stunting your brain, which is what cannabis does to a developing brain.
I take Adderall which works for me. It’s a very low dose and I’m not worried about addiction. It does not make me hyper, it makes me normal, able to focus, and clears my mind. I take it with breakfast and it tapers off at the end of the day. I only wish that I had taken it earlier especially while in college.
cannabis surely a lot better for you than taking amphetamine based medication for ADHD. Sure, smoking carries an obvious health risk, but in children ADHD medication stunts your growth.