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Pot, Not Dangerous Drugs, Best for My Autistic Son

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted May 12, 2009 4:19 PM CDT

(Newser) – Marie Myung-Ok Lee gives marijuana to her 9-year-old autistic son and has no intention of stopping, she writes for doubleX, a new Slate spinoff for women. It’s working to calm him and curb his aggressive behaviors, writes Lee, who had her own misgivings initially. “I was already the weirdo mom who packed lunches with organic kale and kimchi,” she writes. “Now, I’d be the mom who shunned the standard operating procedure and gave her kid pot instead.”

But medical marijuana was an easy choice compared with other drugs prescribed to children with autism, like Risperdal, responsible for “45 pediatric deaths” between 2000 and 2004. “The drugs that our insurance would pay for,” Lee writes, “pose real risks to children.” Pot may be “clouded by stigma” but at worst it’s harmless. And in her home state of Rhode Island, Lee is “following the law—and the Hippocratic oath.” She’s doing no harm, she writes, and “sticking with the weed.”

[Images (5)]

[Quotes (1)]

A Hindu devotee puffs marijuana. (AP Photo)

A supporter of the legalization of cannabis protests during the Global Marijuana March in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo)

A state police officer stands amid marijuana plants. (AP Photo)

8-year-old Charlie Blakey, who was diagnosed with autism at age 3. (AP Photo)

One woman found her 9-year-old son, diagnosed with autism, developed resistance to synthetic drugs, and that marijuana curbed aggressive behaviors. (©melloveschallah)

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As we anxiously peeked in, half-expecting some red-eyed ogre from Reefer Madness to come leaping out at us, we saw instead that he was sleeping peacefully. Usually, his sleep is shallow and restless. J also woke up happy. -

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 7 comments

fancygapva

May 21, 2009 10:35 AM CDT

In general, I don't agree with you, but like Risperdal, marijuana usually causes weight gain and therefore we could think that marijuana MAY lead to Type II Diabetes. There is a warning on the Risperdal box, though, about it leading to Type II Diabetes--not in every case, but more frequently than would happen by chance. So one is something we might suppose and the other is shown statistically to be more likely than pure chance.

fancygapva

May 21, 2009 10:28 AM CDT

I don't have anything against medical marijuana, or against marijuana in general, taking into account that it may be harmful to children. In terms of Autism and the normal effects of marijuana, however, frequent symptoms of Autism resemble Attention Deficit Disorder and marijuana does not increase attention span in typical people, also, children with Autism also display something that looks like anxiety and marijuana can increase anxiety in typically functioning people. That's not to say that what looks like attention deficit and anxiety in children with Autism IS attention deficit or anxiety, but there has been no scientifically based study on it and it would be difficult to do so given the current research climate. On the other hand the mother in the article is correct about the dangers of Risperdal and other anti-psychotics used in the treatment of Autism. It has killed some people and it generally causes significant weight gain often culminating in type II diabetes.

justme

May 13, 2009 12:48 PM CDT

Right on both counts. Cannabis causes stupidity and the munchies. It also stunts or at least slows emotional growth in teens and adults. So we as a nation should legalize another drug (we already have tobacco and alcohol) that adversely affects the health and well being of our citizens. Don't even start on the eventual medical costs.

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parenting • autism • medical marijuana • children • marijuana • Risperdal • medication

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