Cannabis and ADHD: The Link Between THC and Anandamide – Latest Cannabis News Today

My claim to fame as a teenager was to be one of the top ten GoldenEye: Source players in the world. I logged around 1000 hours in the game within a year, even took part in tournaments with my clan. I grew up playing games, built my first PC when I was 15, but this time around I had something that felt like I had laser focus like never before. My secret weapon? A bong (well, a self-made plastic waterfall called “Tom Clancy”). It’s no surprise I finally got my ADHD diagnosis a decade later.

Stimulants are the standard treatment for ADHD because they act directly on receptors to increase dopamine in a safe and controlled manner. Problems occur with ADHD brains that are resistant to treatment to stimulants or cannot take them due to side effects or conflicting medical conditions. Enter cannabis.

Before I dive into the science behind cannabis and ADHD, it’s helpful to start with what my psychiatrist told me after several years of searching for the proverbial golden pill: ADHD is a dopamine deficiency. How each brain finds the best way to wring out dopamine is different – live to the limit, skydive, fight online with strangers – but the problem is that simple. Let’s get into that.

Could phytocannabinoids work as well as stimulants?

Many undiagnosed ADHD people self-medicate with cannabis. Even celebrities like Seth Rogen have been pretty sober when it comes to using cannabis to treat their ADHD. Mark Rogan, his father, stated that cannabis was the only thing that was “finally made” [Seth’s] Cells relax. ”Last March, the Pineapple Express star (who rolled all the joints on screen during the film and was named by Snoop Dogg as“ the best joint roller he has ever met ”) celebrated the launch of its cannabis line Houseplant for medical and recreational use.

One of the reasons many ADHD brains depend on cannabis is because phytocannabinoids can have effects similar to stimulants. The production of fatty acid hydrolase (FAAH) in ADHD brains is insufficient to break down excess anandamide. The result is a dopamine deficiency with high anandamide levels. One of the most common phrases for this experience is “walking on fumes”. Tongue in cheek? Perhaps. Contradictory? Not at all. The name “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” is just as misleading – wait for the debilitating fatigue in ADHD to be universally recognized.

The ADHD brain can use THC as an anandamide substitute, improving some of the core markers of ADHD such as emotional regulation, memory, and cognition. CBD, on the other hand, can modulate GABA activity. GABA is a neurotransmitter responsible for reducing neuronal excitability, and when inhibited, dopamine production increases. (1) CBD also stimulates adenosine receptors and promotes dopamine release. The effects of CBD on GABA are also responsible for its antispasmodic properties.

A wise man once said, “Are you doing this?”

Ultimately, the connection between anandamide and dopamine deficiency are just a few rough lines that make up the mosaic of how the ADHD brain works. Otherwise, treatments would be more of a panacea than trial and error.

I’ve given up looking for my golden pill and got the idea that the best treatment is multifactorial. Cannabis is just a tool that enables my ADHD brain to live my best life. In the words of Seth Rogen, “I wake up in the morning, make a cup of coffee and roll a joint.” We grok that.