Self medicating ADD with marijuana

Uxma Javaid B said.

Great observation Tony I would like to share my observation here that Marijuana is not just effective in ADHD but also for those who suffer from Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder, they also tend to use some form of drugs (smoking, marijuana are more in use) to subside their symptoms and interestingly they get benefit from such drug use (feel more calmer and thought process in control). Marijuana (a mind-bender drug) has some significant properties which slower our thought process and gives us a temporary sense of calmness. People learn to use these drugs for their benefit through experimentation or on a friend's recommendation. It seems a perfect remedy for such psychiatric illnesses thus far.

But the other side of the fact is that illicit drugs do have a great susceptibility for addiction. The person can go into double jeopardy if he also has a predisposition to addiction along with a psychiatric illness such as ADHD, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder or Depression. It's not very uncommon for professionals to treat Dual Diagnosis at Rehabs.

So, it's being wise not to use marijuana or other illicit drugs to self-medicate one self for any Psychiatric illness. People should take proper medication suggested by health care professionals (Doctors, Psychiatrists) to get long term benefits.

I replied

Thank you for your good comments Uxma and I would agree with you that some sufferers of schizophrenia do report a lessening of their symptoms after smoking cannabis.

I also think you make a good point that illicit drugs do have a susceptibility for addiction and the process of self medicating is a hazardous on indeed and one I do not suggest to anyone as using properly prescribed medications does seem the best path. Having said that one must also be aware that plenty of legal prescriptions drugs are quite addictive as well.

Also some times it is difficult path for the drug counsellor to walk. The client I talk about in my statement I have not suggested he go and get prescription drugs for his ADHD which in Australia would be dexamphetamines. He knows about this any way himself, but I have not encouraged it because I know what is likely to happen. It will just add one more addictive drug (dexamphetamine) into the cocktail of drugs that he already uses. He is unlikely to stop smoking marijuana and he would just also start taking dexamphetamines which also are very easy drugs to sell on the black market which he could then start doing to get more money to by his marijuana.



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Recreational drug testing

A small extract from my soon to be released book

“Urine testing
With the increase in random urine testing for drugs an ever increasing number of clients bring this issue to counseling. Most want to discuss ways to get around the testing, usually how long before testing do they have to stop using and the possibility of masking agents.There have been a lot of possible masking agents put forth by clients over the years. There are many rumors and myths about masking agents.  However as the number of people being urine tested grows it is quite possible that in the future it will become economic to produce and sell reliable masking agents for recreational drugs.”

My prediction may have come true! 

Last week I was supervising someone who works in a drug rehab centre and he was discussing a particular client. This person was disrupting the center and other clients. It was suspected that he was smoking marijuana which of course is a direct trigger for all the others there and quite disruptive to the functioning to the center. He was required to give a urine sample for testing and it came up negative. He was then subsequently given another more involved (and much more expensive) test and it still came up negative. 

It was suspected that he was smoking kronic which is a new synthetically produced marijuana. Eventually he caused a fight with another client, his room was searched and the marijuana found. He admitted to smoking it and was removed from the centre. This confirms what has been suspected for some time that some varieties of kronic do not show up on drug tests. Perhaps this is the start of chemists producing drugs and masking agents which can avoid detection. Maybe this is the first serious and effective venture into masking for recreational drugs.

With kronic the molecular structure can be repeatedly slightly altered such that the effects of the marijuana remain the same but it becomes a different drug. This indeed has caused consternation for legislators as the newly produced varieties of kronic sometimes fall outside the current legislation.

As we have seen with sports people and performing enhancing drugs it becomes a never ending game of “catch me if you can”. The chemists are continually making new masking agents and the drug testers are continually trying to catch up. This is a very expensive exercise but in the arena of professional sport it is big business so the money can be spent.

However with recreational drug use there is no money involved. The ‘prize’ at the end is just getting stoned not a gold medal and then millions of dollars in endorsements. To play catch up with the masking of recreational drugs simply is going to be uneconomic.

Interesting times indeed. It will be interesting to see how society reacts to this new development should it continue. The grapevine in the drug subculture is very effective and one would imagine many already know about kronic and its ability to be undetected in urine tests.

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How long does it take to form a new habit?

Habit is all about the relationship between repetition and automaticity. If a person starts a new behaviour and repeats it every day how long does it take for that behaviour to become automatic (habitual).

A person smokes marijuana everyday for a year. He then stops smoking marijuana = the new behaviour. How long will it take for the non smoking to become habitual or automatic. The answer is that there is not a linear relationship between repetition and automaticity. Instead the relationship results in an asymptotic curve as shown in this diagram.

The early days of the repetitions result in a quick increase in automaticity. After a time this slows and there is a plateau effect in the automaticity where more repetitions result in little increase in the automaticity.

A behaviour is generally regarded as fully habitual when a person reaches 95% of asymptote. A 100% is when further repetitions result in no more increase in automaticity and there is a complete plateau. Research suggests that the time to reach 95% of asymptote takes 66 days. There can however be considerable variation with a range from 18 to 254 days.

Hence it can be said that for one to become a fully habitual non marijuana smoker will take 66 days. At that time the fully formed habit assists the person not to smoke marijuana again.

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Habit - friend or foe?

Kahless makes a good point with her comment

As for switching addictions, how can you switch a food addiction when you still have to partake in it everyday? 

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Humans are habitual creatures, very much so. Habitual drug use is no exception. One part of the reason why some people use drugs excessively is because the drug use becomes a habit. To stop using one has to break the habit. 

However habit is both the drug users worst enemy and best friend depending on the timing. 

If one has used marijuana almost everyday in the previous two months then there is a strong habitual urge to use again today.

If one has not used marijuana in the previous two months then there is a strong habitual urge not to use today.

Breaking a habit is a waiting game that turns habit from your enemy into your friend. If you can just not use long enough then the new non using behaviour becomes habitual. One becomes a habitual non drug user and thus it is easier to not use.

Of course one can not use any marijuana at all and still exist but one cannot stop eating completely. Thus the habitual aspect to eating can never stop. Thus one can argue that a food addiction is harder to break than a drug addiction. 

Of course how and what one eats will be in part determined by habit, but it is harder to stop a food addiction because one cannot stop eating completely.

UK politicians who admit to using marijuana

Current Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron has stated that he is “not issuing denials” about newspaper stories which claim he had used marijuana

Jacqui Smith

Alistair Darling

Ruth Kelly

Andy Burnham

Harriet Harman

Hazel Blears

Vernon Coaker

Caroline Flint

Patricia Hewitt

Tony McNulty

Mo Mowlam

Boris Johnson

US politicians who admit to using marijuana

George W. Bush

Bill Clinton

Newt Gingrich

Al Gore

John Kerry

Barack Obama

Sarah Palin

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Jesse Ventura

Australian politicians who admit to using marijuana

Julia Gillard

Malcolm Turnbull

Kevin Rudd

Wayne Swan

Peter Garrett

Tony Abbott

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Kronic and social engineering

Having been involved in drug counselling for over 20 years it is interesting to see current developments in the drug known in Australia as Kronic. This is a synthetic cannabis or synthetic marijuana. This marijuana is not grown on trees but produced in laboratories.

As of June 17th, 2011 the government of Western Australia has made this synthetic marijuana illegal. The first state in Australia to do so. It will be interesting to see what impact this new legislation has on marijuana production and use in this state. Those in the organised crime industry may be now rubbing their hands together in glee and dollar signs showing up in their eyeballs.



As of June 17th the production of synthetic marijuana moves from legitimate businesses into organised crime in Western Australia. How much organised crime take it on remains to be seen. If one counsels drug users in rehab one inevitably also counsels some drug dealers and producers. One hears all sorts of things about the business of drug production and distribution.

For those producing marijuana naturally by growing it, the big problem they have is that it takes a fair bit of space for the plants to grow but more so it takes a long time for the plant to become productive. Often 6 to 12 months for a fully mature marijuana plant. Synthetically produced marijuana takes one day to produce and can be made in a small kitchen of a house.



One would assume that this will make it very appealing for those involved in the organised production of illegal synthetic marijuana. It will be interesting to see in the next 5 to 10 years how much synthetic marijuana replaces naturally grown marijuana in Western Australia. One would hope that our law makers are not just handing a new multi million dollar drug to organised crime. We will have to wait and see the implications of this new legislation.

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