IS MARIJUANA A VALUABLE TREATMENT FOR AUTISM?

I am not an advocate for drugs, either legal or illicit. I have never
smoked and I don't care at all for alcohol. I agree with Oliver Wendell
Holmes: "I firmly believe that if the whole materia medica could be sunk to
the bottom of the sea it would be all the better for mankind and all the
worse for the fishes."

Recently, our newsletter, Autism Research Review International, published a
letter from a father in New Jersey whose teenage autistic son had become
extremely assaultive, sending members of his family to the hospital and
requiring police intervention on a number of occasions. Like that New
Jersey father, thousands of parents are dealing with autistic children who
are so out of control, and so violent to themselves and others, that they
can make their own lives and those of their families hellish.

We then heard from a mother in Florida whose very large autistic son had
changed from a sweet, loving boy to a teenager who flew into unpredictable
rages that "were usually associated with self-injury, aggression and
property damage. At times I had to lock myself in the bathroom; otherwise
he would attack me. We gave him many medications, but nothing worked."

A friend suggested a solution: a brownie with marijuana baked into it.
"Soon after he ate the brownie," she said, "my son's anxiety disappeared,
and his sweet, loving behavior returned. He shows no signs of being under
the influence of a drug. He now receives one marijuana brownie and several
doses of Marinol, which contains the active ingredient in marijuana, each
day. This has clearly saved my child's life and my family's life."

Some severe behavioral problems in autistic children have improved
remarkably when the child is given a treatment of high-dose vitamin B6 and
magnesium, which has been proven to be safe and effective in more than 20
research studies. But in many cases that treatment does not work. Drugs
such as risperidone (Risperdal) are often used to control severe behavior
problems in autistic individuals, but they have a large range of highly
toxic effects. It seems to me that if one is going to need to use drugs
because the safe nutritional supplements do not work, one ought to consider
a relatively safe drug such as marijuana, if research bears out the good
results that a number of parents have reported.

While medical marijuana is not a drug to be administered lightly, compare
its side effects to the known effects of Risperdal, which include massive
weight gain, a dramatically increased risk of diabetes, an elevated risk of
deadly heart problems, and a host of other major and minor problems. Other
psychotropic drugs are no safer, causing symptoms ranging from debilitating
tardive dyskinesia to life-threatening malignant hyperthermia or sudden
cardiac arrest. Of all drugs, the psychotropic drugs are among the least
useful and most dangerous; in comparison, the benefit/risk profile of
medical marijuana seems fairly benign. Moreover, the reports we are seeing
from parents indicate that medical marijuana often works when no other
treatments, drug or non-drug, have helped. Among the comments received:

"I know it's not the end-all answer, but it's been the best answer for the
longest time for us in [comparison] to all the other medications. I cannot
tell you how many months we would go on a medication wondering if it was
doing anything, anything at all. Here we can see the difference in 30 to 60
minutes."

"My son (who is almost nine years old) has been on medications to address
his severe autistic behaviors. . . . None of the medications has ever made
a difference, except for making his behaviors worse. . . . A few months ago
we tried the prescription drug Marinol and noticed a drop in the severe
episodes, no fits and little to no aggression toward his teacher and family
members on a daily basis. A few weeks ago we started him on cannabis and
stopped the Marinol. He has been in a much better mood and is much easier
to keep on task in the classroom now. . . . He still has days when he gets
angry and moody, but we can adjust the dose to help him through those days.
. . . I feel much more comfortable administering cannabis than something
like Risperdal."

Medical marijuana is not legal in most states. Information on whether or
not medical marijuana can be legally prescribed in your state is available
on the Internet at (http://www.mpp.org)www.mpp.org. Additional information

can be found at (http://www.maps.org/mmj)www.maps.org/mmj,
www.NORML.org, and (http://www.druglibrary.org)www.druglibrary.org.

It is important to keep in mind the distinction between legalizing
marijuana for medical uses, which has been done in some states, and
"recreational" drug use, which is illegal throughout the US. Judging from
the evidence in hand, I believe legalization of medical use is justified.
Legalizing marijuana for nonmedical use, as has been done for tobacco and
alcohol, is quite another issue.

Even if medical marijuana can be legally prescribed in your state, doctors
are likely to be very reluctant to help you obtain it. You might be able to
obtain information or help from local AIDS awareness and advocacy groups,
which have been in the forefront of making medical marijuana available to
the public.

Again, I stress that I am strongly opposed to drugs in general, and
consider them a last resort, to be employed only when safer and more
efficacious treatments fail. But while I am not "pro-drug," I am very much
"pro--safe and effective treatment," especially in cases where an autistic
individual's behaviors are dangerous or destructive. Early evidence
suggests that, in such cases, medical marijuana can be a beneficial
treatment, as well as being less harmful than the drugs doctors routinely
prescribe.

A two-page letter provided to the Autism Research Institute (ARI) by a
parent, providing additional information about medical marijuana and a list
of more than 20 websites on the topic, is available on request. Fax ARI at
619-563-6840, or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Autism Research
Institute, 4182 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116. Specify that you would
like information about Marinol.