{"id":54460,"date":"2022-04-26T15:18:17","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T23:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/can-cannabis-treat-autism\/"},"modified":"2022-04-27T19:45:26","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T03:45:26","slug":"can-cannabis-treat-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/04\/26\/can-cannabis-treat-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Cannabis Treat Autism?"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Fewer and fewer places in the US remain where it\u2019s still a criminal act for adults 21 and older to use cannabis. Even fewer places deny sick Americans (with the right sickness to qualify them as medical marijuana patients) some accommodation to use cannabis lawfully. But even these 14 cannabis legalization holdouts agree<\/a> that it\u2019s OK to give marijuana extracts to kids, as long as those kids have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder<\/a>. And with good reason. Miraculous stories are all over the internet, such as children speaking their first words after using cannabis oil, or autistic adults with severe anxiety and near-total social isolation rejoining society after smoking cannabis. So, this begs the question, \u201cCan cannabis \u2018treat\u2019 autism?\u201d<\/p>\n

A definitive final answer is elusive. However, as a review authored by researchers led by Mariana Babayeva, a professor at the Touro College of Pharmacy in New York and recently published<\/a> in the scientific journal Frontiers in Bioscience<\/em> found, a growing number of \u201cclinical studies have shown promising results of cannabis treatment in\u201d autism spectrum disorder (ASD).<\/p>\n

How Cannabis Helps Autism<\/strong><\/p>\n

This makes practical and scientific sense. CBD and THC activate the network of receptors called the endocannabinoid system<\/a>. \u201cDue to its vital role in regulating emotion and social behaviors, the endocannabinoid system represents a potential target for the development of a novel autism therapy,\u201d the study states.<\/p>\n

Cannabis does help autism, as this latest review, prior studies and loads of compelling, convincing anecdotal stories say. But what cannabis treatment would work best for each individual case of autism, and how much cannabis should be given in those instances?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too early for anyone to recommend cannabis as a validated, well-studied type of a substance,\u201d said Dr. Nathan Call, director of clinical operations at the Marcus Autism Center in North Druid Hills, Georgia, in a recent interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the final word on cannabis and autism that\u2019s yet to be spelled out. In the meantime, autism and cannabis suffer from the same knowledge gaps<\/a> plaguing the rest of cannabis-based medicine.<\/p>\n

Defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as \u201ca developmental disability caused by differences in the brain,\u201d autism has several known risk factors, but lacks a clearly identifiable cause. Treatments generally involve the off-label use of pharmaceutical drugs as a last and final desperate intervention to prevent behavior dangerous to the person or to others, as well as careful education\u2014and plenty of coping skills.<\/p>\n

However, as the authors of the Frontiers in Bioscience<\/em> review noted, \u201cseveral studies have suggested that dysfunctions in the components of the endocannabinoid system may contribute to the behavioral deficits and neuroinflammation observed in autism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other studies have associated autism with problems with the body\u2019s immune system. And there are endocannabinoid receptors found in immune cells that could \u201ccontrol the movement of inflammatory cells,\u201d meaning if the receptors can be given the right amount of cannabis to generate the right response, that, too, might soothe the symptoms sufficiently to allow the sufferer to enjoy something closer to a \u201cnormal\u201d life.<\/p>\n

Given the knowledge gaps, studies investigating cannabis\u2019 potential in treating autism have, by necessity, taken a shotgun approach, trying concoctions with low THC, no THC, high THC or ratios of CBD to THC including 20:1.<\/p>\n

The 20:1 concoction, hit on by researchers in Israel, seemed to consistently present good results for most participants, with self-injury and rage improving in 67.6% of children in one 53-person study\u2014but worsening in 8.8% of participants. And using cannabis in children is, of course, particularly delicate work.<\/p>\n

What We Know, What We Don\u2019t<\/strong><\/h4>\n

But despite knowing this much, we still don\u2019t know enough. As Babayeva and her co-authors stated, \u201cthere are very limited clinical data on the impact of cannabis on autism\u201d\u2014which, like cannabis, has many different phenotypes. And what works for someone with behavioral outbursts might not work for someone with severe anxiety.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile cannabis might be beneficial in persons with one phenotype, it may have no effect or severe adverse outcomes in persons with other phenotypes,\u201d the researchers wrote in their review.<\/p>\n

Simply put, there isn\u2019t enough data yet on specific cannabis concoctions for specific phenotypes of autism, leading parents and practitioners to grope around in the dark, hoping to stumble onto the winning formula.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore clinical investigations are needed to discover the efficacy, safety and dosing of the therapy,\u201d the report states. \u201cThis would be a significant advance in the treatment of autism and could lead to improved functioning and quality of life for the patients and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cannabis and Autism: The Final Word<\/strong>, For Now<\/h4>\n

Dale Jackson lives in Georgia, one of the states where adults can\u2019t use cannabis without risking arrest, but where children with autism\u2014like Jackson\u2019s nine-year-old son Colin\u2014are supposed to be able to access the drug. Without cannabis oil, Colin engages in the kind of self-harm associated with an autism spectrum disorder. Jackson wakes up at night hearing a thumping sound from his child\u2019s room: the sound of Colin knocking his own head against the bedroom wall.<\/p>\n

Cannabis has helped, but the problem, as Jackson said recently, is that Georgia\u2019s nice-sounding law is unworkable. There\u2019s \u201cnowhere to buy it in Georgia,\u201d Jackson recently told WALB, which means Jackson must resort to illicit means: underground medicine-makers in Georgia, or legally obtaining cannabis oil in other states and then illegally transporting it across state lines.<\/p>\n

These are reasonable acts for a desperate parent with a child in distress, but both are unlawful.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re a caregiver of a child who\u2019s hurting you every day or hurting themselves every day, you\u2019re willing to try a lot of things to try to make your life a little bit better,\u201d Dr. Call told The<\/em> Atlanta Jewish Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

At the present time<\/a>, seven studies investigating cannabis in autism are in various stages of completion at universities across the US and Israel. Once the new data is presented, more, larger and longer-term studies will be required to present a definitive answer on how much CBD or THC is needed for the exact autism spectrum disorder. Until then, the final word on cannabis and autism is that it seems to help\u2014it may even be a miracle cure. But finding the right mix is a shot in the dark.<\/p>\n

The post Can Cannabis Treat Autism?<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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Fewer and fewer places in the US remain where it\u2019s still a criminal act for adults 21 and older to use cannabis. Even fewer places deny sick Americans (with the right sickness to qualify them as medical marijuana patients) some accommodation to use cannabis lawfully. But even these 14 cannabisContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1044,50,263,417,53,139],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54460"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54461,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54460\/revisions\/54461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}