Poll of the Day > Research showing marijuana helping with autis*.

(+) Yeah! (+)

http://usat.ly/2q0inqW

Interesting stuff.

There is anecdotal evidence that marijuana’s main non-psychoactive compound — cannabidiol or CBD — helps children in ways no other medication has

Sadly, another reason why it won't be legalized anytime soon
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This is very interesting to me since my niece has autism. She is doing well in preschool but has delayed speech development, she just uses a few simple signs to communicate. I've heard of some parents having real success using the non-psychoactive oils taken from plant.

Then again her parents are staunchly opposed to marijuana, so I don't know if I could bring it up without upsetting them.
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Here's a summary:

There is anecdotal evidence that marijuana’s main non-psychoactive compound — cannabidiol or CBD — helps children in ways no other medication has. Now this first-of-its-kind scientific study is trying to determine if the link is real.

Autism is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders, affecting 1 in 68 children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its debilitating symptoms include impaired communication and social skills, along with compulsive and repetitive behaviors. Autism typically emerges in infancy or early childhood
Only two medications have been approved in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration to treat the symptoms of autism. Both are antipsychotic drugs that are not always effective and carry serious side effects.

Noa is part of a study that began in January at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. It involves 120 children and young adults, ages 5 to 29, who have mild to severe autism, and it will last through the end of 2018.

Adi Aran, the pediatric neurologist leading the study, said nearly all the participants previously took antipsychotics and nearly half responded negatively. Yael desperately pushed Aran and other doctors to prescribe cannabis oil after a news report aired about a mother who illegally obtained it for her autistic son and said it was the only thing that helped him.

Aran cautioned against premature conclusions about cannabis as a treatment for autism, but he said many children have shown significant improvements. Some no longer hurt themselves or throw tantrums. Some are more communicative. Others were able to return to classes after they had been suspended for behavioral problems.
Tamir Gedo, CEO of Breath of Life Pharma, which provides the cannabis oil for the study, said one mother reported, "My child is speaking relentlessly. … He never spoke before. And he's 12 years old.”

One major concern is the long-term impact of prescribing cannabis to young patients, said Sarah Spence, co-director of the Autism Spectrum Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. “There certainly could be harm” to brain development, she said.
But opioids and antipsychotic drugs currently prescribed to children are more harmful, said Gedo. “These families have no other hope.”
the U.S. government has funded $1.4 billion in marijuana research since 2008, but $1.1 billion of that went to studying addiction, withdrawal and drug abuse.

Basically the study is still ongoing but showing promising evidence that marijuana can help with severe autism.

Bump

smoke weed everyday
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Junpeiclover posted...

There is anecdotal evidence that marijuana’s main non-psychoactive compound — cannabidiol or CBD — helps children in ways no other medication has

Sadly, another reason why it won't be legalized anytime soon

lol, anecdotal evidence. Also why would that have anything to do with it not being legalized?

GameLord113 posted...

Basically the study is still ongoing but showing promising evidence that marijuana can help with severe autism.

Except nothing in that article seems to suggest that it's actually "helping" them, it's just sedating them. It's not like their condition is actually improving.
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smoke weed zues
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/controversial-cannabis-treatment-helps-9-year-old-120157532312.html

This is another anecdotal case, but I hope more studies will be done and that legislators can understand how this is different from marijuana as a whole

This could potentially help a lot of kids who are having trouble developing
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Zeus posted...

Except nothing in that article seems to suggest that it's actually "helping" them, it's just sedating them. It's not like their condition is actually improving.

They're using CBD oil that doesn't get you high, but yes more than likely they're slowing down a hyperactive brain and allowing it to better function. They do state evidence of improved behavioral and communication skills, so yes that is an improvement of the condition. Overall, it is too early to tell a causal relationship between the two, but it is promising.

When something is illegal to research you're only going to get anecdotal evidence.

CBD is underrated compared to THC. That's one place where legalization is going to help: being able to take the time and resources to breed high CBD strains in the best way possible. On the black market the demands push for strains with more THC, if it's not just random ditch weed.
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