(National Post) [T]he idea of treating any form of autism with marijuana at any age was news to me. As I soon discovered, parents in the U.S. are experimenting with marijuana with their autistic kids. At least one prominent autism support group, and folks at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law (NORML), seems to think this is just fine.
I have no doubt that the promotion of marijuana for medical reasons is a wedge strategy adored by the legalization movement. I think marijuana advocates are becoming a whole new kind of pusher, arguing that their recreational drug of choice can cure a host of things that ail me, or my disabled kid.
I guess I’m going to qualify as one of those “moralists who will demean the parents who use cannabis, a non-toxic and safe herb” in treating their child’s autism, as NORML talk radio host and “outreach co-ordinator” Russ Belville berated on February 22.
As a parent with an autistic child, certainly you can sympathize with Mieko Hester-Perez. Her son’s autism was so bad he was having 300 violent outbursts per day and literally eating his shirts. After treatment with a small amount of cannabis baked into a cookie, her son is calm and non-violent, happy and smiling, and sticks to food for lunch.
Parents are frightened of this medical treatment because of years of fear-mongering about that demon weed, marijuana. Their minds are flooded with mental images of a neglectful parent unrolling a dime bag and lighting up bong hits for their nine-year-old. They imagine their child with half-lidded bloodshot eyes saying “dude” too much.
All children depend on parents and physicians making informed decisions about their medical treatment. An autistic child often lacks the capacity to comprehend that they’re even being medicated, never mind with what (especially if you hide it in a brownie). Some pharmaceuticals do have serious known side effects and administering them cannot be taken lightly. But to me, giving an autistic child marijuana every morning (as some parents are) is an incredibly reckless approach to behavioural management.
These parents are finding that cannabis works, and works better than many of the pharmaceuticals, and without the serious side effects. It’s amazing to me that the writer can consider non-toxic cannabis “an incredibly reckless approach” while admitting the alternatives are known to cause harm! Such is the power of the ingrained cultural bias against cannabis – pills “cannot be taken lightly” but they aren’t as “reckless” as a natural non-toxic herbal alternative.
You could make a persuasive medical case for reducing anxiety and stress (common issues in autism) with beer, wine, whisky and vodka. All it takes is flexible definitions of “medicine” and “illness.” If my son has autism-related behavioural problems, or a hyperactivity issue, would I be right in pouring him a couple Molson Canadians at breakfast? I can assure you he would be much mellower (and sleep better) if I got him drunk every school day, yet this is obviously not a reasonable solution.
You seem to be content with giving your son pharmaceuticals that are more dangerous than cannabis, so I can see how you’d think there is a case for medical Molsons. For the rest of us, we understand that alcohol is a toxic drug with severe side effects and it would be ridiculous to compare it to medical use of cannabis.
I find that people who think this way about cannabis don’t have much practical experience with cannabis. Either they don’t use it now or they used it decades ago when they were young and using lots of it to get as high as possible. They don’t understand that a person can use small amounts of cannabis medicinally and not experience a mind-warping, giggle-inducing, couch-locking “high”.
I’d like to see NORML get out of the autistic child medication debate. Giving marijuana to eight year olds to resolve behavioural issues is a trend we should try to nip in the bud.
Ha ha, “nip in the bud”, I get it. Look, where there are issues involving marijuana, NORML will be there, advocating for the people who use it responsibly, defending them from National Post columnists who’d judge them to be unfit parents for seeking a natural, safe, and effective solution for their suffering children.
Loading ...
Yes, you are correct – we are indeed lucky to be able to open our eyes. But there are two reasons I’m angry at the ignorance: first, it’s hurt our son. Obviously the ignorant think they’re helping, but it still makes things harder. Second, I was among the ignorant for a long time. I fully believed that marijuana was only useful for stoners who couldn’t handle real life… but even so, I didn’t care. I thought it was a stupid habit, like smoking, but I didn’t really believe it mattered enough to be illegal. I also never imagined it could be used in children. I had joked about giving my son alcohol or marijuana to calm him down, believing neither option was anything short of dangerous. But when confronted with evidence to the contrary (at least about marijuana), I thought it over and did some research. I guess it makes me angry because other people refuse to even consider the possibility!
We’re very close to sharing our video with whomever is willing to open their eyes, but we’re definitely worried some part of it will be used to “prove” that only bad people would give their child marijuana. The anger, fear, and judgment we can handle. Hurting the cause further we can’t.
From kindergarten to today I have suffered from ADHD. In my freshman year of high school, my ADHD also developed into Bipolar disorder, often swaying between my uppity ADHD manic stages to depressive stages that prevent me from enjoying life. I am now 19, going on 20. For years now I have searched for a medication that would help me function as a “normal human being” capable of fulfilling the educational and social expectations of such a person despite my rather annoying mental condition. Though I have found pills that will greatly reduce my depressive tenancies, they still linger in my mind daily. Not only that, by reducing this phase, I unfortunately more often than not revert to a manic phase, much like the ADHD of my childhood.
While my depression is for the most part tamed thanks to a carefully regulated dose of Lamictal, my manic phase is almost always active. When in this phase, I tend to be quite “hyper”, not in a behavioral sense, but in a mental sense. My mind is constantly overstimulated, causing what many refer to as “racing thoughts”, or thoughts that flow so quickly through the mind that they are hard to comprehend, if comprehensible at all. This constant flow of thought prevents most hope of concentrating on a single concept or idea, especially when it may not be of my greatest interest. Also, though I am not often able to consciously comprehend this flow of thought, I often feel that my subconscious can, as these racing thoughts often lead to anxiety. Any decision I am faced with is plagued by thoughts and images of negative outcomes, many of which deter me from doing the things in my life I need to do to survive (such as continue my education or seek employment) in fear of repeating the failures I have seen in the past. My Lamictal helps with much of the irritability and irrational outbursts this condition can cause, as it is a mood stabilizer, yet my re-occuring racing thoughts never seem to stop.
This issue has thus far been unsolvable by synthetic medication. Since kindergarten, I have tried Ritalin, Aderal, Concerta, and many other amphetamine/stimulant based medications available to improve my focus. The problem is, my lack of focus is not caused by a slow unfocused mind, it is caused by this natural over-stimulation of my brain. When the brain is too stimulated and cannot relax, one finds it quite difficult to focus when learning and thinking critically. The stimulating properties of these medications often times make my problem worse, canceling out the subtle effects of my Lamictal on the manic phase, causing me to once again become easily irritable and irrational. The anxiety and lack of focus often put me in a state where irrationality is caused by an inability to think about my actions before performing them, often leading me to be viewed as highly irritable. I can be absolutely happy one second, but when introduced to negative emotions and stimuli I quickly and easily snap into a rage of emotion. My actions flow too fact for me to even comprehend. I will pace, argue, yell, and at times even become reckless, damaging property and threatening others while in this trance. Soon after the situation has calmed down, I easily snap back to reality, hating myself for what I have done in a fit of anger, wondering why I find it so hard to control my own actions.
This can lead to a crazy roller-coaster effect, bringing in depression and other negative emotions. I have straight broken into tears due to feelings of inadequacy, as my parents (whom I still live with) often look down on me for my actions. They repremand me for my inability to control myself, as it often leads to the destruction of their property. Such actions just depress me even more, as I feel bad for letting myself get so angry so easily. However, at the same time I cannot control when and how it happens. One second I am absolutely ecstatic, happily doing my daily routine. The next second someone close to me has said something that I feel offends me personally and I am on my feet screaming until my throat bleeds, threatening violent actions, and at one point physically fighting my 50 year old father and proceeding to rip a phone completely off of the wall when my mother attempted to contact 911 (however I was on no medications at that point). Fortunately my parents did not try to press charges, as preventing another from contacting 911 in such a fashion is a felony. I am very lucky at times for their patience, yet very unlucky at others due to their misunderstanding of me and my mental disorder.
In my quest for relief, I started looking in what many would argue to be the wrong places. My depression brought me to a party where I longed to drink my sorrow away, but instead I was introduced to a substance that changed the way I felt drastically. The first bowl I ever lit brought me to a feeling of personal perfection. I quickly found myself clear of thought, allowing me to focus on whatever I choose as opposed to what my own mind chooses. I was 17 at the time. For several years now I have been self medicating with small amounts of street “reggie”, marijuana’s cheapest and least potent form sold for consumption. I have noticed a lot of patterns with the effects of marijuana, and have since researched a lot of science behind my own experiences.
Marijuana, while containing hundreds of cannabinoids, many of which have proven medical benefits, contains not one, but two primary active psychoactive compounds, THC and CBD. The levels of each in any strain of marijuana greatly effect the outcome of its consumption. THC (or Tetrahyrdocannabinol) is often quoted as the active ingredient in marijuana (especially by our increasingly ignorant government officials). THC causes some beneficial medical effects, such as increased appetite, yet it also creates side effect such as paranoia and anxiety. Marijuana with high levels of THC and low levels of CBD induce what recreational users refer to as a “head buzz”. In my experiences, this head buzz does not help my situation, it typically makes it worse. I feel as though my head is floating, my ability to think and react becomes impaired, and I quite often become very paranoid of both rational and irrational circumstances. THC, while beneficial to certain patients, has adverse effects on patients such as myself. Also, THC alone often lacks marijuana’s “pain killing” effects sought by thousands with nerve pain. Many pain patients who have tried Marinol (a synthetic THC only pill created as a safer alternative to smoked medical cannabis) describe feelings of hunger, yet no pain relief what so ever from the THC alone.
The other active ingredient (often overlooked by government officials with no medical or scientific credentials) is known as CBD (or Cannabidiol). Marijuana high in CBD and low in THC create what recreational users refer to as a “body buzz”. This is the relaxed feeling of general well being often associated with marijuana. CBD’s effects have been studied a lot more recently than they have in the past. CBD, while causing a body buzz, actually doesn’t effect the body itself, but the nervous system on the whole, causing this perceived effect. CBD relaxes the nervous system, thus relaxing the mind as well as the body. These effects are often sought after for many reasons. For a patient with nerve pain, relaxing the nervous system provides them relief where conventional (and more dangerous) pain killers have failed (however, do note that testing for CBDs pain killing properties alone is limited, and it may be a reaction only caused by THC and CBD combined). Patients with severe nervous “ticks”, such as those associated with Tourette’s syndrome often find relief from their uncontrollable actions and reactions in CBD’s effects. Patients with epilepsy, seizures, and other uncontrollable nervous spasms often report the same findings.
The real winner for me is its effects on anxiety and mania. The body buzz induced by CBD provides mental relaxation, decreased irritability, and overall better mental performance on the whole. By relaxing my over-stimulated nervous system, CBD allows my brain to function correctly. While under the influence of marijuana high in CBD and low in THC, I am able to think, act, and feel like a normal human being. After discovering such properties, I began self medicating with only CBD heavy marijuana when accessible. Taking a small dose in the morning, before class, and as needed, my mind slows down drastically, allowing me to easily focus on one thing, or even clear my mind entirely when necessary. This is especially helpful with meditation, something I found next to impossible before. By allowing meditation, the benefits of CBD have increased my ability to function without its effects by far. I can now turn to controlled breathing and meditation when marijuana use is impossible. My ability to learn has increased 10x, thus improving my academic performance substantially.
I also decided to do my own personal trial on how CBD effects my ability to test. I did two different quizzes in my college psychology class, both of which I had studied for sufficiently. One however, I had studied for and completed without any direct use of marijuana for CBD. The second, I studied for and completed while under the direct influence of marijuana in dosages I found beneficial in the past.
The first test I found intimidating. Due to lack of focus, I found it quite hard to comprehend the reading material for said test. On top of that, the test itself required a lot of strain to comprehend. Each question I had to re-read several times in order to fully understand what was being asked of me. Though I finished the full test to the best of my ability at the time, I did not produce a very good grade in the end. I only got a C, even though I studied just as hard as the next guy.
The second test, however, was astonishing. Though my teacher gave me odd looks (as I probably looked and smelled of marijuana use), we were both surprised by the overall outcome. While studying after smoking marijuana, I found myself far more capable of grasping complex concepts. I absorbed the knowledge much more smoothly than without, and actually retained said knowledge quite well (despite marijuana’s often discussed “short term memory loss”). Upon taking the test, the instructions were far easier to understand quickly, allowing me to spend less time figuring out what the questions were asking and spending more time actually answering the questions. My ability to recall and relay even the most complex concepts was improved greatly, as my mind was far less cluttered than was during the first test. Though I studied just as much, if not more for the first test, I performed far better on the second, of which I produced an A. Not only did that improve my academic scores, it improved my state of mind. No longer did I feel like a failure, incapable of even understanding my test questions. No longer did I feel like I was too stupid to succeed in college. No longer did I feel like I had a mental disorder that separated me from the rest of the “normal” society. For once, I felt whole and complete, which is worth far more to me than any grade will ever mean.
Bottom line is, people are too blind to see the difference. Marijuana isn’t marijuana, marijuana is the strand from which it was produced as well as the hard work and resources invested in its growth. Many people seek cannabis for “kicks”, often preferring a head buzz. Many others seek cannabis for CBD induced relaxation, and those numbers are growing by the day. Many “normal” and healthy people are turning to marijuana every day as a substitute for other more dangerous stress outlets (such as alcohol and cigarettes). Older people are getting much safer pain relief. Stressed adults are working their days, and smoking their nights to relax themselves and help them sleep for their next hard day of work. Many teenagers, such as myself, are turning to it to cope with mental disorders, along with the stresses of life as well.
So to me, when I hear stories of people giving their uncontrollable autistic child a smoke-free form of cannabinoid consumption to help them relax, I know exactly how it feels. We don’t give two flying shits what you and the rest of society thinks of us. You all can shove your religions, your points of view, and your morals right up your high-horse riding, self righteous ass holes. Just because you think you know something about a drug you have probably never even laid eyes on in your life, let alone taken, doesn’t mean you have a fucking clue as to what benefits people are receiving for that same substance. Who in the fuck do you think you are allowing our government to barge into our houses, arrest us, take our children, and put us in jail because we find relief from a substance the government has been lying about for years? I’m sorry, but one person’s morals should never EVER stand in the way of another person’s pursuit of happiness, with the exception of acts against another living creature or its respective property. If you think you can just walk up and tell me what I can and can’t do to my own body, especially in the case of a benign substance with not one documented overdose ever that provides me with physical, mental, and spiritual relief, then you can get the fuck out of my life and my country. I honestly don’t need you here, and neither does the rest of America who share my pain, and in turn my method of relief. Go move to a country where everybody hates everybody else so you can share your views there, and we can bring peace here in America.
“The car seat situation alone convinces some that we’re awful parents already.”
I know it’s easy to say and difficult to do, but you really ought not worry about such people’s opinions. Personally, for what it’s worth as a father of four healthy and happy kids, I would have gone for the car seat solution (not ‘situation’) without any hesitation whatsoever and the first thought to cross my mine when I read about it was, ‘Oh, yes, of course – what a good idea!’ Those whose twisted minds might somehow manage to misconstrue the situation and find abuse or neglect, like the woman who wrote the article Russ analyses here, are simply ignorant. You and I would be, too, if our experience hadn’t taught us otherwise. So, we’re lucky. We should really compensate for our luck by being tolerant of those who haven’t been lucky enough to find out about what they’re talking about. Sometimes I find it difficult to muster tolerance when those who need to be tolerated do as much as they can to make their existence intolerable (prohibition, etc.). The same is true of ignoring ignorant opinion: it’s much easier to piously preach than do. Again, for what it’s worth, from what I’ve read, it seems to me you handled your son’s care as well as anyone could and probably better than anyone else could.
I’m sorry to learn your final analysis of medicinal cannabis for you son was ‘too little too late’. That is a terrible shame, but you sharing your experience here has added much value to it: by putting it out there to give others, particularly the stubbornly ignorant, an opportunity to learn from it while avoiding the more inconvenient aspects of its reality you have multiplied its value manyfold.
Thank you.
I don’t see a future for cannibis that does NOT include applications specifically aimed at childrens health issues. Why would we deny relief to children after we start using SCIENCE to answer our questions instead of propaganda driven hysteria?
Nobody seems to have much of a problem with the products that big pharma pours down the throats of all these kids, least of all big pharma. They gotta pill for that.
For us, MMJ was too little, too late. Our son’s rage against himself was so intense that when we finally started trying MMJ, the situation was already out of control. He would beat himself black and blue. He split his lip and gave himself a black eye one time when I ran out of steam and couldn’t keep him safe. It all happened in a span of probably five minutes.
He had to sleep wrapped in a sheet and strapped into a car seat every night for a couple years just to ensure his safety overnight. ER trips became the norm toward the end — we had to medically sedate him just to get ourselves sleep at night a few times, because he would literally be hurting himself all night long, even with the car seat and sheet wrap.
We found that MMJ was sometimes effective and sometimes not, and sadly had neither the supply nor the energy left to keep experimenting until we could find the right dose. He’s now living a couple hundred miles from home, still hurting himself regularly. He’s better, for sure – we didn’t have the energy to keep up with him physically, and the facility has more people to keep him from doing any real harm.
My point: we found that in a few cases, when we either got the right dose in him or something, MMJ was by far the most effective behavioral medicine he’s ever been on. We have a video somewhere, about 40 minutes of footage, starting with his waking rage and ending with him playing with his hands. Something he never does anymore. He’s afraid of his hands. He knows that if they’re not restrained, they hurt him.
So those who perpetuate this belief of “evil” marijuana enrage me. If they weren’t such close-minded idiots, we might have started with MMJ long ago. We might have had a chance to get the dosing right. Now we have to deal with trying to get a grower and find some way to supply our son from afar. I don’t know if it’ll give him 100% relief of self-injurious behavior, but I’m confident based on prior successes that he will have a much better life with a regular dose staying in his system.
I may post the video somewhere someday, but it’s very personal and my wife and I would need to be sure we really want to be judged publicly by all the fearmongers out there. The car seat situation alone convinces some that we’re awful parents already.
First, she makes it sound like thousands and thousands of parents are giving their kids pot laced cookies, second she has no clue what she is talking about when it come to the medical benefits of cannabis.
As a father of 4, I would have no problem using cannabis as a treatment for my kids if that is what made their lives better, less stressful and/or pain free, its a no brainer I would do anything for my kids, if cannabis works then I would fight for them to be able to use it.
Also as a medical user myself, I get so upset at prohibitionists when they say things like this not medicine or there is better man made drugs or somehow I just want to get high not treat my illness . How the FUCK do they know what works for my illness, how do they know what drugs I have tried and how many years I have suffered while trying to use them. How dare them to even assume they can tell if Im sick or not, I may have a good day and walk normally but they cant use that to judge me at my worst, bed ridden and all. With every doctor I see and have seen in the last 15 years telling me that cannabis would be very helpful for me and even now being told by doctors in the last 2 years to just leave my state in search of greener medical states, I know full well Im doing the right thing and medicating the way that works for me.
Now I’m not one to use my medical use as a shield, Im a cannabis consumer period I would be a consumer even if I did not need it medically and feel that for compassionate and just logical reasons all states should be using cannabis as medicine. But I keep my goal, as we all should, at full legalizing, knowing full well that no one will be safe until we end this failed policy of prohibition. I know dam well that turning everyday teens, parents and good citizens into criminals simply due to what they are putting in their own bodies, thats the true crime! Until we stop this madness and start being truthful about the facts and science then base laws on that alone, we all are going to be victims of some cop or fed or someone wanting us arrested and locked up, medical or not they do not care.
This is why only full legalized cannabis will work, then and only then will the studies be allowed to see if these kids are benefiting from cannabis or not. Once the public realizes the sky will not fall down and that cannabis legalization has changed nothing, then things will really change. Until then this lady should just STFU, stay out of other peoples lives and out of our bodies too, like you have any right to tell me to sick that same size sick up my ass as you have up yours lady! .
Dang, Russ. Thanks for responding to that. I guess that’s what you get paid for, and you sure do it good. I’m sure glad your powers are being used to further our team’s efforts. It’s understandable that someone could have a hard time seeing past the indoctrination we’ve all experienced since the thirties… We have to really listen and THINK for ourselves if we want to learn anything new in this world today. However I can’t fathom how some of these crazy ideas stay popular. Why can’t people ease up a little, maybe just consider the possibility, however remote it may seem, that they might not know all about that dog already? Maybe that dog gots some points they don’t know about. Scientific Methjod, people! Hypothesize and then Experiment! Theorize and argue, but go out there and TEST! Find out for yourself!
Anyways, Thanks again, Russ. It’s good to know we’ve got a bright knight like you fighting ably and honorably for the good cause.
all I can say is that cannabis works for me, I have nerve damage at the spine that effects both my leg and back. Without cannabis I would not be able to work.
While I’m sure this woman is a loving and caring mother, I simply cannot understand why she wouldn’t do the required research to educate herself about the alternatives to pharmaceutical medications. It’s obvious she hasn’t.
If she had, she might be saying, “I’ve read where some parents have reported using cannabis has helped their child.” Instead, she resorts to the same comments we’re used to hearing from the Bill O’reilly’s of the world.
How any parent could possibly hear stories of children getting relief from terrible symptoms without at least getting the facts is beyond me.
It makes me wonder if she carefully reads the cautions and warnings provided with phamaceutical medicines. If she did, and truly wanted to protect her child, I’m sure she’d be looking very hard for alternatives.