Going Green for Autism

Meiko Perez began feeling desperate when her 10-year-old son Joey didn’t respond well to any of the thirteen different medications doctors prescribed him for his severe autism. Joey had a poor appetite, insomnia, and a bad temper. After Meiko’s friends joked around about the possible use of medical marijuana, she decided to look online for answers. She found the Autism Research Institute’s web site, which promoted and described the benefits of using marijuana as a remedy for her son’s autism. Meiko, among thousands of other parents, began using marijuana as a consistent medicine for autism (Buglione). Even though it goes against the status quo, using medical marijuana to help treat autism has been scientifically proven to work and is better than alternative medications.

Not only is marijuana beneficial in theory, but there is also scientific evidence to verify it. Joey’s challenges included his lack of appetite, sleeplessness, and moodiness. Once his mother began feeding him a marijuana brownie every three days, she immediately saw improvement. He ate regularly, slept soundly, and behaved less aggressively. Daniele Piomelli from the University of California and her collaborator Olivier Manzoni, Inserm, a French research agency, concluded from their work that the marijuana cannabinoids in THC are closely related to the endocannabinoid transmitters found in the brain (Huff). These facilitate the transport of electrical signals between neurons. They also control factors such as pain, mood, and appetite. Children with autism suffer from synaptic failure and consequently have trouble developing basic motor skills, like walking, talking, and interacting socially. Piomeli and Manzoni are only two of many scientists that have published their findings establishing a link between marijuana and autism.

On the other hand, many professionals refuse to accept marijuana as a medicine; referring to it as a “street drug” equivalent to alcohol. Mark L. Kraus, a physician who represents the American Society of Addiction Medicine, voiced his strong opposition by stating, “These proposals to use smoked marijuana as a medicine convey a mixed and ambiguous message to children, adolescents, and adults. These messages undermine the many years invested by public health to prevent pre- and adolescent onset of the use of tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs” (45).

Kraus believes the legalization of medical marijuana is similar to promoting the “drug”. How can society suddenly change their stance on a topic that’s been opposed since its rise in the 60’s? Although marijuana is considered a drug, it’s less harmful than the legal “drug” alcohol. Ruth Weissenborn from the British “Journal of Psychopharmacology” explains, “A recent expert-led comparison of the health and social harms to the user and to others caused by the most commonly used drugs showed alcohol to be more than twice as harmful as cannabis to users, and five times as harmful as cannabis to others.” Instead of being coined as a “generation of potheads”, this should be an era of scientific rejuvenation and exploration using natural resources.

At the present time, the FDA-approved prescription called Ritalin is frequently given to patients with autism. The side effects of Ritalin are facial ticks, seizures, and liver damage. The side effects for marijuana are the disruption of attention, memory, and concentration (Lance). However, for someone who suffers from autism, these are already the issues at hand. The founder and late director of the Autism Research Institute, Dr. Bernard Rimland, once deemed marijuana “safer than the drugs that doctors routinely prescribe” and had evidence for validation.
D’Ette Spurgeon, the mother of an autistic boy from Topeka, Kansas, claims medical marijuana improved her son’s awareness and understanding. He read at the third grade level when he was 16. After he began smoking marijuana recreationally with his friends, his mother noticed an improvement in his behavior. Time and time again, marijuana has put autistic patients at ease. Marijuana is a safer drug than alcohol, and even healthier than conventional prescriptions, like Ritalin. In the future, marijuana will be a huge contribution to the development for an autistic cure.

Works Cited 

• Buglione, Nick. "Marijuana Madness." Autism Support Network . Autism Support Network, 17 Sept. 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. 
• Huff, Ethan A. "Marijuana Cannabinoids Found to Help Combat Autism." Marijuana Cannabinoids Found to Help Combat Autism. The NaturalNews Network, 6 Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. 
• Lance, Jennifer. "Move Over Ritalin: Medical Marijuana in the Classroom." Eco Childs Play RSS. N.p., 26 Jan. 2010. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. 
• Merino, Noel. Mark L. Kraus. “Possible Risks of Medical Marijuana”. Medical Marijuana. Farmington, MI: Greenhaven, 2011. Print. 
• Miles, Kathleen. "Marijuana-Like Chemical May Help Autism And Fragile X Syndrome Symptoms." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Sept. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. 
• Weissenborn, Ruth. “Popular intoxicants: what lessons can be learned from the last 40 years of alcohol and cannabis regulation?” British Association for Psychopharmacology. British Association for Psychopharmacology, 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.