Hi Adele.....I'm not an expert on brain function and how Marijuana affects a persons brain so I can't speak directly to your question from that stand point but....I have always noticed a difference in how it affects me differently in some aspects compared to what I witness in other people?  Mostly, I notice the same thing everyone experiences as they tell me or what I notice myself.  The difference for me comes down to what it does to me differently that is obviously different in what I witness with some, but not all people?   I suppose you would call these things negative side effects because side effects are usually listed as the things you don't want when you take a drug of any kind?

For me, what I have always noticed is that it makes me more tired after a while?  Tired as in sleepy headed like I want to lay down and rest or go to sleep?  This usually runs it's course after a while where at first, it is stimulating and motivating in one aspect, and then as the effect wears off, the opposite now becomes true going the other way and it can tend to make me lethargic instead of energized as before?  A lot of that has to do with the amount of rest I have or what time of day it is so it is variable depending on my physical state at the time?  What I have witnessed or noticed when asked if other people have this effect, many people report it does not make them tired or effect them in this way at all?  What I do notice however in a more general sense, is that same sense of apathy or lethargy and lack of motivation?

I can sum this up by making a comparison to how I am normally, and the same challenges I face whether I am ingest Marijuana or not?  I find the same things are true, if I tend to be sedentary or sit down, lay down, or am not moving around physically?  If I am already up and active or actively engaged in activity or sport....these things don't affect me as much there either and so is true if I ingest Marijuana at the same time there?  I have never been one to sit idly in one place for too long, unless I am down for the evening and resting after a busy day.  So to say that I am different after ingesting Marijuana depending on what I am doing, if I am active and doing a project, a sport activity or doing leisurely activities in that context, it won't make me any more tired of sleepy, than I would be when I am relaxing or resting but with that extra addition without the anxiety I might feel otherwise?  Basically, what Marijuana does for me is reduce anxiety, helps me relaxe, makes me sleep deeply  and heightens creativity which is a common report from most people when you stop and think about it?  Musicians, Artists and those in creative fields like this, do find that it heightens your senses across the board and makes that experience more intense and enjoyable?  In fact, historically....I never used it randomly or all the time as a daily thing just to do like some people I know and I have never really enjoyed it first thing in the morning to start the day since I am usually trying to get "up" and motivated...rather than "down" and relaxed and less physically motivated?  In my past, I normally used it in conjunction with a specific activity exclusively like:  Skiing, hiking, camping, Mt Climbing, yard activities or recreational sports?  Or...while performing music, doing Art or one of my many creative activities where creativity is involved?  If I use it just when sitting around or just hanging out and talking with other people, I find it interferes with my ability to stay connected to conversations after a while which is the same problem I have even without it, but it just makes it worse?  That and short term memory?

So specifically speaking, it makes the usual ADHD symptoms worse and makes those harder to manage ( what I mean by worse ) but helps with the anxiety, helps with relaxation and help with creativity?  So to say it affects the ADHD brain differently is really not accurate?  To say it makes it more difficult to manage the challenges that are already there ( due to ADHD ) then yes, that would be a truer  statement and closer to the truth?  To say this differently then, the trade offs are different, because the challenges and the managing of the challenges are different too?  A person who doesn't have ADHD, does not have those same challenges and those things are easier to deal with an manage anyway?

I will say this from my recent re-visiting it again after quitting for a number of years?  I quit using it, because of the negative side effects which out weighed the benefits so therefore...I lost interest?  Now, after being on my medication ( Adderall ) that accounts for making my symptoms easier to manage.....now, if I add Marijuana to the mix, the Adderall counteracts the negative side effects and I do not experience those nearly as much?  And it doesn't make me tired as before which makes sense when applying both at the same time?  So as a supplement...in addition to the Adderall to address anxiety, depression or things related to stress?  It does a good job of helping me mange those things....apart from the usual ADHD symptoms by themselves?  The two together, is what I actually have been playing with more recently and I have noticed the overall negative side effects have diminished as a whole?  This is something that I am experimenting with...in lue of things like anti-depressant, anti-anxiety drugs, SSRI's, MOAI's (reuptake inhibitors) or any other pharmaceutical drugs prescribed for the same things?  I have tried those before as prescribed to me as recommended and they all came with their own set of problems and things I didn't like about them?  Namely...this unkown quantity that even the science community can't exactly explain, exactly why they work or how they work....exactly?  Only that they have been shown to work for some people and not others with no real explanation as to why?  That has always bugged me in that sense because they really do change something inside your brain, that is difficult to determine and difficult to keep track of?  That also includes the negative side effects as well?

Marijuana on the other hand, is pretty straight forward and it does what it does every time consistently without fail?  No surprises, no guess work and nothing that isn't easy to feel and either see the benefits or the draw backs right then and there?  There is that direct  benefit ( or not ) that you have full control of and the effect wears off and is easy to feel and know exactly what is happening at all times?  My thinking along these lines would be the same for SSRI's in the same example I used with them?  If they can't explain exactly ...why those work or how they work.....but simply that they work and that's all that matters?  Then in the same thinking for exactly the same reasons...if it works it works..and if it doesn't it doesn't?  Don't look a gift horse in the mouth as they say?  I'm the only one who has that answer so if I stay objective and use it as a supplement to medication treatment which works as it should for my ADHD...then addressing any other issues with Marijuana versus this kind of unknown chemical compound that you take as a daily regiment instead of only as needed or on demand....that makes more sense to me if it works?  It almost free for me since I can grow it legally and I don't have all the hassles and doctor appointments to go along with it?  When you do the entire cost analysis and weight all the costs, negative side effects , the benefits and anything that you find that works in combination here?  It makes it easy to see which one might be the best choice...but specific to what you are using it for..and the benefits you get from using any drug?  The fact that so much emphasis has been placed on a drug that has been stigmatized and made illegal and lumped together with things like Heroin, Meth or other illegal drugs....sounds pretty hypocritically to turn around and prescribe you "Speed" for ADHD....but that;'s Okay?  What would be the difference, if I went out and found the same speed and bought it black market from a dealer and brought it home and took it but that is illegal?  Same drug....different source but the drug is the drug is the drug...and remains the same either way?  Same could  be said for Marijuana as well?  Used for a specific remedy...connected to a specific challenge...that is shown with specific positive results even with it's side effects...one could argue there is no difference in what it does or why you take it....only in the delivery method, how you are prescribed it from a health care professional and what you have to pay for it and all the cost involved?  The only issue here really and to be out front an honest, is that your are putting all the responsibility and the management of it...in the hands of the person taking it?  You would have to trust that persons ability to know what they are seeing, their ability to manage it and their ability to see all the negatives and the positives and to stay completely and 100% objective?  And to be 100% objective, you'd have to have specific knowledge and expereince in order to do this effectively and not abuse it, over use it or use it for the wrong thing and for the wrong reasons?  If a person could do all of these things and remain objective about it.....it would make perfect sense to go that route and try different things to see if they work or not?  The fact that I am not personally invested in Marijuana or have that as part of my identity in that way...pretty much means I am only interested in results and nothing more and I can remain objective about it at this time?  The fact that I stopped using it when it no longer served a purpose, makes me comfortable in my thinking that I can see it from that point of few and not get off track as to why it might be a useful alternative to other drugs?  Anything I put inside my body, I want to know exactly what it is doing...and Marijuana is a known quantity there with not a lot of negative down sides like many other drugs and is probably the most innocuous of the bunch?  That includes alcohol as a means for someone to self medicate in the big scheme of things?  In fact, I would go so far as to say, that it is the most innocuous of the bunch..and that would include the Adderall that I take on a daily basis....all things considered here?
 

There you go....my full assessment at this time?  I'll let you know what else I find,  but I am still experimenting and haven't drawn any definite conclusions yet?  I'm sure I will given enough time to experiment with it and try every combination that I can possibly come up with and then take note of the results once I get there?  An experiment in progress you might say? lol

J