Re: Medical marijuanna, what do you think about it?

[Anonymous]

Hi js-cart,

After reading your post, I’ll be honest, I felt a bit worried and a bit… well … angry. The reason for the worry is that it sounds like you’ve used cannabis for virtually every aspect of your life. It appears that you’ve managed to find a use for it for not only virtually all of your waking hours, but all the hours that you’re asleep as well.

The use of medical marijuana is on the rise, and yes, plenty of studies have shown it to be helpful in particular doses for people with diseases that cause severe/chronic pain, and as well for those whose appetites are severely affected due to a disease. For these people with such conditions, the use of medical marijuana is generally prescribed and monitored to a degree through a doctor. The reason for that is so that a patient with an already debilitating disease doesn’t end up with a lower grade product through a ‘pusher’ or product laced with something like PCP or angel dust… which could kill them.

Another thing is, you may want to be careful with your current knowledge. From what I’ve read here, you might not be clear on a few things. Specifically, when you explained the usage of cannabis to help with your ADD sypmtoms, you said that “the placebo effect is there”. The problem with this statement is that a placebo is technically something that isn’t designed to work… at all. In medicine, it’s a benign control substance used to test whether or not a drug works. A placebo helps to prove whether a group of people simlpy “think” a drug is working, or actually working. Wikipedia says it a little better: A placebo (Latin: I shall please) is a sham or simulated medical intervention that can produce a (perceived or actual) improvement, called a placebo effect. So if the effect that you are getting from cannabis is a placebo for treating your ADD symptoms, then it doesn’t really work. You may just believe it does. Which, from the sounds of it, you do. I have no doubt that cannabis has helped to relieve some physical pain and appetite problems in the past for you, but to effectively treat ADD symptoms… not too sure there.

Which brings me to my second point. I wonder if the ADD symptoms you’ve identified in yourself are partly cause by long term and – what sounds like chronic – use of marijuana. Chronic and long term use of marijuana can dramatically decrease one’s motivation for daily tasks and other more long term things, which can lead to general problems with organization, priorities, etc. I’m not saying it’s like that for everyone, it’s just something to be aware of. I have and have had plenty of friends who smoke pot regularly, and this is something that – not only I notice – they do too.

This brings me to my third point. The thing about ADD/ADHD is that it’s difficult. In a nutshell, it really is quite difficult at times. School can be difficult, socializing can be difficult, sitting still can be difficult, relationships can be difficult, finances can be difficult, hell… feeling a sense of enjoyment from life can be difficult. What can make these things less difficult (and more enjoyable) is seeking a proper diagnosis, from a doctor who is qualified to do so, and then seeking out treatments that are known to work well, in general, for treating symptoms of ADD/ADHD. I was first diagnosed 20 years ago, and – although I’ve had my share of failures in life – I’ve also had my share of successes. I feel strongly that I wouldn’t have achieved those successes if I hadn’t received a proper diagnosis and sought out healthy and effective treatments over the course of those 20 years.

This brings me to my fourth and final point. I also know that without having confidence in myself and in my own personal strenghts, no form of treatment would work. At least not that well. For example, I’ve always been artistically/creatively talented. When I realized that I needed to find a career that suited my strengths, I chose graphic design because it’s suited to my strengths. Before realizing that, I actually didn’t have a lot of confidence. It’s strange, but after realizing all that, I felt a lot more confident in other areas of my life, socially, etc. Confidence breeds confidence. The thing about knowing your strenghts and having confidence in yourself is that it’s the foundation upon which all the other treatment methods for ADD are built upon. With out that, medical treatments and non medical treatments have nothing to grab hold onto. They don’t have a chance to take root.

Finally, I’ll end of by saying that you shouldn’t put more confidence and believe more strongly in cannabis than you do in yourself. My suggestion is that if you’re interested in finding out if you truly do have ADD/ADHD, seek a doctor who can introduce you to a proper test. That’s the most accurate method of finding out to date. If it turns out you do, then continue through life finding and using your strengths, and seek whatever healthy and effective treatments (diet, exercise, psychotherapy/coaching, medication, cognitive therapy) that you need along the way.

Sorry for the rant. That’s just my 2 dollars and 50 cents.

All the best.

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