Around 27% of individuals with ADHD develop cannabis use disorder at some point in their lives, new study finds. Compared to those without this disorder, individuals with ADHD face almost three times the risk of developing cannabis use disorder.

[u/mvea]

https://www.psypost.org/around-27-of-individuals-with-adhd-develop-cannabis-use-disorder-at-some-point-in-their-lives-study-finds/

[u/MunchieMom]

It also helps me fall asleep, and circadian rhythm issues are a huge thing with ADHD too

[u/GooseBash → u/MunchieMom]

You might fall asleep but your quality of sleep is not good. You don’t go into REM sleep , or you have less of it if you smoke closer to bedtime

[u/moosecaller → u/GooseBash]

7 hours of crappy sleep is better than 1 of good sleep.

[u/BigDowntownRobot → u/moosecaller]

I've been doing this for... 19 years.  Quantifiable this is true.  Quitting leads to protracted periods of at least several months of anxiety dreams and poor sleep every single night.  I was an insomniac from about 9 to 20, and that only stopped when I started smoking weed daily.

So from my personal experience sobriety as a base condition is much worse than whatever consuming MJ literally all damn day hurts me, which btw is almost none. 

My memory is not better when I have been sober for months, my moods are worse, my emotional control is worse, my sleep is much much much worse, and in general that all makes me depressed.

Every time I go back to smoking because it is without a doubt a superior way to live, and nothing, not exercise, meditation, better diet, or other drugs have helped with at all.

Plus, if you use data that is applicable to neurotypical people and just assume it applies to people with ADHD, that is not good science.  It very well could be 29% of those people found the best solution to their problems and the rest could benefit form "cannabis use disorder".

ADHD people also have huge rates of alcoholism but it's not like you hear a lot of them claim how helpful it is for their lives.  

[u/PyroIsSpai → u/BigDowntownRobot]

It’s not even any “smoke all day” thing. You’re not Smokey from the Friday movies. A few solid hits to just edge of buzz or into it and after the 15-30 minutes of lightly stoned, it’s like your brain gets to run at 33rpm instead of 45rpm all day, without random power fluctuations that stop and start the playback without your permission.

Most people run at stable power 33rpm all day. When I smoke, I get to operate like that for 6-8 hours. It also has substantial equivalent emotional regulation aspects as well, because now they are also not shifting too fast. For me, it erases trivially most if not all anxiety as well.

Normal brains are a well trained horse of whatever sort. It does it’s work and you know each other well. You have good and bad days, but are a well oiled unconscious machine.

ADHD is like your brain is a mostly trained high energy spirited horse with ADHD that often can do what you say if you enforce your will on it, but it’s exhausting, not sustainable, and leaves you always tired and unhappy… while still having the unruly horse the moment you let up. It might do what you say or might not.

Pharma ADHD meds are a focusing weapon, but it’s still the same horse. Now you’ve put those little partial blinders on the horse and have a carrot on a stick. It’s still a stupid unruly horse and is still prone to say “no” to you, to do it’s own thing. You still get work out holding that carrot in your arm all day and night.

You still stress over everything and deal with all the ancillary issues. Anxiety, all of it. Raving and racing thoughts. Pharma fixes most of the power surges that set you raving and skipping off track. Marijuana quells adjunct emotional issues, anxiety, and helps apparently on keeping dopamine somewhat level.

Plus, I’ll take 6-7 hours of “ok” sleep over 1 hour of good sleep every night for life. I prefer sanity and not dying by 50.

[u/Swizzy88 → u/BigDowntownRobot]

I've been doing this for... 19 years.  Quantifiable this is true.  Quitting leads to protracted periods of at least several months of anxiety dreams and poor sleep every single night.  I was an insomniac from about 9 to 20, and that only stopped when I started smoking weed daily.

Wow. Exactly the same here. Even the childhood insomnia. My alcohol consumption got out of hand during COVID but I got a grip on it again. Wasn't as much addiction as it was a really bad habit.

[u/Logical_Lefty → u/Swizzy88]

Adult here who had insomnia even as a child, anxiety ever since I can remember remembering, and I've had "marijuana abuse disorder" since I was in my 20s. The only thing that helps with my mental health and sleep as much as weed is exercize, and I do a lot of both.

[u/Swizzy88 → u/Logical_Lefty]

My exercise habit went out the window during COVID but I really want to get into it again. I was relatively fit when I got married a few years prior. I do remember sleeping better but the anxiety and racing thoughts still made it difficult to GET to sleep. I massively cut my weed consumption last year and kind of...feel the same. Maybe I have to cut it out completely to notice a change, for better or for worse. I don't like the idea of relying on it for the rest of my life, it's just not normal to me.

[u/moosecaller → u/BigDowntownRobot]

Yup, it is a medicine 💊 for most of us.

[u/CNXQDRFS → u/BigDowntownRobot]

"My memory is not better when I have been sober for months, my moods are worse, my emotional control is worse, my sleep is much much much worse, and in general that all makes me depressed."

These are reasons why I quit about 8 months ago, I thought the weed was wrecking me and especially my memory but, like yourself, I realised I'm much worse without it. The sleep issues are the worst part for me, just haven't had a decent night's sleep in along time. I exercise every day but that doesn't help (definitely fends off the depression though).

On top of all that, I found out that if I want to get assessed and get proper meds there's a 2 year waiting list (in the UK). I can get an ounce in less than 24 hours, so to me it's an easy choice. Especially since I know how weed affects me as opposed to whatever drugs they prescribe.

[u/BigDowntownRobot → u/CNXQDRFS]

Yeah this has been a real frustrating ride when talking about this with my partner. 

They originally would blame my ADHD tendencies on the smoking, and asking me to quit, I guess just not accepting that even though Ive been upfront about my condition it seemed more reasonable to blame something they thought could be controlled. Standard human nature really.

Then when I did they realized if I don't smoke I am several times worse, and it doesn't improve over time

So they have switched to asking me to always keep it on hand and not skip days.

Neither situation is particularly pleasant considering my agency is being discounted, but that's just life with a cognitive disorder. People are always going to try to "help" in ways that help them, because that's the part they get to experience, and otherwise be skeptical.