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Medical Weed's Been Great for My 9-Year-Old

Marijuana helps autistic, allergic child with debilitating pain

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 6, 2009 12:13 PM CDT

(Newser) – Almost as soon as Marie Myung-Ok Lee began giving daily doses of marijuana to her 9-year-old son J, she noticed a big change: He returned from school with his whole shirt on. J is autistic, has an inflammatory bowel condition, and has had two serious spinal cord surgeries. Before pot, he was in near constant pain, and he used to eat things that weren’t food—like his shirt. Every day.

Now, thanks to pot, his behavioral problems have quieted. He no longer throws dishes, and at school he’s stopped attacking other children, something he used to do 30-50 times a day. But cannabis is no "miracle cure"—J's autism has actually grown more distinct, and his vocalizations, like screams and barks, remain—but it’s allowed him to experience outside life. “The J we know now doesn’t look stoned,” writes Lee, “He just looks like a happy little boy.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

The leaves of a marijuana plant are seen as Kentucky State Police and Kentucky National Guard troops search hillsides near Barbourvillle, Ky., for the plants Wed., July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Roger Alford)

In this May 20, 2009 photo, one-eighth-ounce bags of Blue Dream medical marijuana are shown at The Green Door dispensary in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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I don’t consider marijuana a miracle cure for autism. But as an amateur herbalist, I do consider it a wonderful, safe botanical that allows J. to participate more fully in life. - Marie Myung-Ok Lee

In four months, he’d gone from a boy we couldn’t feed to a boy who could feed himself and clean up after.
- Marie Myung-Ok Lee

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Medical Weed's Been Great for My 9-Year-Old