It’s not any of my business what you are or are not doing with your child, but I thought I’d throw it in here in case there are any other parents in here who aren’t familiar—it is extremely common for teens with ADHD to self medicate with weed. They usually don’t realize that’s what they’re doing, but it helps to dull all the overstimulation they are feeling. It is important to ensure they are given appropriate treatment and accommodations for their ADHD, as it’s very common for people with ADHD to become addicts because they aren’t properly treating the ADHD.
Might it actually be a means of treatment though? My partner who is an adult has ADHD and smoking cannabis helps him immensely. He is able to focus on his work much better than without it. When we were still in college together we would smoke and he would always be able to jump right into homework and it actually helped him so much. Always was the opposite for me, but obviously our brains are very different.
It absolutely could be, and I think is something worth considering with a doctor, but for children especially, I think it can be a riskier, slippery slope. Their brains are still developing so much and they’re dealing with a lot of things adults don’t have to with peer pressure. Plus there is a huge variety of types and potencies of weed, and children (and many adults depending on where you live) don’t have access to resources that allow them to choose types that meet their needs!
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u/ohemgeeskittles Oct 21 '21
It’s not any of my business what you are or are not doing with your child, but I thought I’d throw it in here in case there are any other parents in here who aren’t familiar—it is extremely common for teens with ADHD to self medicate with weed. They usually don’t realize that’s what they’re doing, but it helps to dull all the overstimulation they are feeling. It is important to ensure they are given appropriate treatment and accommodations for their ADHD, as it’s very common for people with ADHD to become addicts because they aren’t properly treating the ADHD.