How do you approach prescribing stimulants for ADHD in patients who are concurrently using cannabis?

Directly confronting cannabis use in ADHD assessments usually just makes patients defensive. Instead, I use a Motivational Interviewing approach, letting education do the heavy lifting early on.

During the evaluation, I explain how THC products can heavily mimic and worsen core ADHD symptoms. Patien...

For those patients who report that cannabis helps their ADHD symptoms, I find they tend to respond well to the alpha-2 agonists (guanfacine, clonidine), especially for restlessness and feeling like their minds are going in too many different directions. I typically stick to non-stimulant meds to tre...

Cannabis use can confound the assessment and management of ADHD symptoms. I believe the only way to differentiate ADHD symptoms vs. symptoms related to cannabis use is to discontinue the cannabis use and monitor. Also, keeping track of the amount and frequency of cannabis consumed will give us some ...

I provide education on the potential effects of cannabis on ADHD, cognition, and anxiety. For patients interested in reducing or stopping use, I review withdrawal symptoms and may use guanfacine or clonidine, along with NAC, as clinically indicated. Stimulant treatment is individualized and may be c...