Electric Feel

Hi everyone!

I decided to post today about my life with ADD/ADHD and my introduction to Marijuana. And I hope others post similar topics!

Ever since I was a little kid (now 21) I was always very active all the time.
To put this in short words I drove my teacher crazy and she had me see a Doctor. So the school looked at me, the Doctors looked at me and yes most certainly enough they both concluded I had Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). From this point on I was given medication for my ADD which of course was "Adderal", and I remember that drug like it was yesterday, its something I never forget about because it was just so horrible to me as a little kid.
For me Adderal made me feel absolutely nothing, to put it this way I felt I wasn't in my body anymore. My closest friend at the time passed away when I was 9 and I did not feel anything for him thats how fucked up this shit was to me.
Later in life I stopped taking my medication and played it off that I was taking it. I then started high school and had a bad attitude, couldn't focus, I was always playing with my hands or moving around. I did manage to graduate with my class but only to pass with a GPA of 2.2!
After high school I decided to go college!

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Two weeks before college started I found out all my friends where smoking Marijuana so I decided to try it out since my friend told me it was very relaxing and I was amazed in what it did for me! All through college I did great! I could focus I could SIT DOWN and READ A BOOK without any movement! I had a better more positive attitude! I felt I could do anything! I even got a job at this time and was I going to school 6 hours a day Monday through Friday and working 6 to 8 hour shifts everyday, went home hit the books for a few hours went to bed and never got in a bad mood or in a super hyper mood!
I graduated college with a GPA of 3.9!

Recently though I had to stop smoking since I have been applying for jobs and they all require a drug test

I do live in California and I am looking into getting medical Marijuana soon as I get a job.

For the most part now I can control my ADD and its no longer as bad as it was before.

My ADD/ADHD teacher in high school always told me that ADD is like a locked door into my mind that is preventing me from learning and focusing, and that all I needed was to find the right key to open this door and I could have everything.
And I have found it

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING I hope soon more people would see Marijuana for its benefits other then its bad reputation! Hope to see you guys around in the Forums!

smonjiff121

Hey, great story, very well written

I always like hearing stories of how marijuana has improved the quality of someone's life to the extent that it has improved yours, so I am left with a warm fuzzy feeling.

Peace

Andrew87

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the general consensus of this site seems to be that you cannot get medical marijuana for ADD or ADHD alone.

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The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants. -- Albert Camus

andy92r

im not sure on this, because one of my friends got his card for having ADD/ADHD. And he said that was the only reason he got it, he didn't make up anything, just the ADD/ADHD got him the card.

shibshib

Then he probably got it from one of the doctors that prescribe it for anything.

A real medical marijuana doctor requires proof of prior condition, and also proof that marijuana will help your condition.

As pointed out already, there is nothing on the record at all that shows marijuana helps adhd except personal stories.

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Q: Does weed make you smarter, ShibShib?
A: No, it just focuses me. ADHD is like having a bunch of TVs in your head, all running different programs, and having no ability to control them. Marijuana not only appears to give me a remote, it also allows me to shut off all the other TVs sucking up the juice... which makes the TV I'm watching a bit brighter.

Andrew87

OK, I consider myself to be pretty pro-marijuana (especially considering I'm a non-smoker), but this sort of thinking is exactly why many people who are opposed to it have difficulty taking you guys seriously.

Do I think that marijuana is relatively harmless, when compared with most synthetic drugs? Yes. Do I believe that it is entirely harmless, and that nothing bad could possibly come of its use? Not a chance – there ARE situations where it is not a proper treatment (especially in psychiatry).

I support the legalization and use of medical marijuana, but certainly not to the extreme that you two have taken it to.

Let’s face it – because of the mild/moderate euphoria it produces, marijuana has the potential to be a drug of abuse, which is largely why it cannot be a universally applicable treatment. Self medication with drugs of abuse is a risky practice, and it is not unusual for it to lead to more problematic issues.



Just because “almost all” of them do it doesn’t make it medically sound.


No, not always, but apparently you consider self-medication to be entirely harmless and without risk. I don’t.


Strawmen, plain and simple.

My point was that although marijuana may often provide a temporary relief of symptoms, that does not automatically make it the best long-term solution. Yet the two of you make it sound as if I was suggesting not to take an aspirin for a headache without a doctor’s advice.

Simply put: I’m not denying its potential usefulness, or the advantages it has over the majority of synthetic drugs, but as I wrote earlier, there are simply times that it is not an appropriate tx. If you guys can’t see that, then I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

shibshib

Not to be nitpicky... but my comment wasn't a strawman at all. It was a legitimate comparison of another drug people ingest daily without any need to have medical advice.

My point is simple:

Marijuana has proven itself to be very, very safe. The chance that something bad will happen if someone uses it responsibly is very, very low.

So low that I am willing to recommend it without factoring the fraction of a chance that something might go wrong.

Would you think twice about giving someone a bag of M&M's? Or a redvine?

I wouldn't... before I met my brother's girlfriend. She is *highly* allergic to red food dyes.

Does this odd allergy mean that people should get a doctor's advice before eating certain food colors? Does it mean that we should slap a warning on any food items that contain red dye?

No... because the vast majority aren't allergic to it.

So unless you can show me evidence/studies that justify a warning about Marijuana, I see no problem with people trying it for themselves (as millions upon millions do with no major side effects).

I can understand you not wanting to give medical advice, and I am definitely not giving medical advice (as I am not a doctor). I'm just giving a realistic answer.

If the person is truly concerned that they might be part of the small group of people with adverse reactions to Marijuana, they should definitely see a doctor. *shrug*

SpiralArchitect

Even, if not, marijuana is legitimate medicine for ADD/ADHD. The OP can simply make up a 'toenail symptom' to be recommended MMJ and use it for his ADD/ADHD. Some might call that abusing the system, but I don't think it is. With all the people getting legally high without any symptoms or condition, this man should be able to get some medicine, perhaps through small amounts of trickery, to treat an actual condition. It might be dishonest in some eyes, but I don't think anyone should have to suffer when the options are available. The CA MMJ system is fucked as it is.

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shibshib

As the resident ADHD stoner, let me extend a hearty welcome to you, Electric Feel!

I wasn't on my adhd meds (Ritalin and Concerta) until my mid-teens, so I doubt I ever experienced anything as harsh as you... but I can definitely relate to the "out of body" feeling. It felt like I was watching a movie starring me from inside my head.

Same exact thing happened to me the first time I smoked. I was so relaxed and there was a book shelf next to me... so I cracked one open and enjoyed myself.

What "dosage" (how much do you smoke) are you on to get your focus? I've found that less is more when it comes to medicating ADHD.

There is a forum dedicated to outsmarting those tests on this site. You should definitely check it out.

Thanks for posting! I remember when I first found out marijuana helped with my ADHD... I thought I was lying to myself or tricking myself into thinking I had found a cure. It is great seeing others that have gotten themselves off synthetics and onto natural goodness. =)


Andrew is correct. While I use the vast majority of my marjuana intake to regulate my ADHD, I officially got it for Anxiety.

The poetic justice is that my Anxiety problem is a result of all the Ritalin/Concerta I ingested over the years.

You *may* be able to get a recomendation for it, but it'd have to be a pretty "out-there" doctor, who probably writes them for anything.


Totally agree with Spiral.

The fact is that Marijuana helps ADHD better and safer than Ritalin/Concerta/Adderol in some people (as proven by a simple google search). As a medical user, I am completely against abusing the system... however, in this case, the system is abusing patients.

If I were you, I would do whatever it takes to get the medicine I know I need.




Best of luck to you!

Andrew87

Sometimes. There isn't much definitive information out there about treating psychiatric disorders with marijuana, however, so I can see how many doctors may be initially reluctant to do so.

Essentially what you're suggesting is that people should be able to diagnose and treat themselves as they see fit. I cannot condone or agree with this sort of thinking.