Health & Science
Why I Give My 9-Year-Old Pot, Part II
He has autism and terrible pain. Marijuana is taming his demons.
There’s a twist to the happy marijuana story, though. While the cannabis has eased J.’s most overwhelming problem, his autism has become more distinct. As the school data show, his aggressive behavior is far less frequent, but his outbursts—vocalizations that include screams, barking, yips of happiness—remain. When J. was in his dark phase, we spent our time out of sight, out of mind, inside our house with a screeching, violent, food-and-dish-flinging J. The sounds were contained by double-paned windows (when they weren’t broken). Now, within our family, we’ve reached a lovely homeostasis: household goods unbroken, our arms and J.’s face unscratched. But as we venture outside to play in the yard, take after-dinner walks, or ride with J. on our tandem bike, we can see that the people in the neighborhood know our family is different, and that this is not always to their liking.
Our closest neighbors (on one side, we could probably pass them a pie from our kitchen) have always been understanding. But on the next street, a man stops playing ball with his son when he sees us, and pushes his boy into the house as we approach, turning his back on J.’s cheery “hel-llooo!” He is the man we suspect yells at us—from behind other houses, so we can’t see him—when J. sometimes vocalizes a bit loudly outside. Then there’s the mom with the son about J.’s age (who, incidentally, sounds exactly like J. when he screams). She won’t make eye contact when we pass, and pointedly ignored a party invitation from us. I’ve also heard, from behind a fence of a family who stares at us but never says hi, “Oh, that’s J.”
And so sometimes we feel a bit the victims of a 21st-century shunning. In the larger context, however, these are small annoyances from small people. The chair of my department invites J. to her yard so he can play in her outdoor pool and lets him vocalize to her neighbors, who do not complain. A mini-gang of too-cool teen boys walks by our short fence after school and always greets J. sincerely, as he calls out adoringly, “Hi, hi, HIIIIIIIIII!” I am grateful that the cannabis has given J. the chance to get out and experience life. If it sometimes punches him back, it also offers him flowers.
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 without the dangers and sometimes permanent side effects of pharmaceutical drugs; now that we have a good dose and a good strain. (“White Russian”—a favorite of cancer patients, who also need relief from extreme pain). Free from pain, J. can go to school and learn. And his violent behavior won’t put him in the local children’s psychiatric hospital—a scenario all too common among his peers.
A friend whose child was once diagnosed with autism, but no longer (he attends school at his grade level and had three developmental assessments showing he no longer merits the diagnosis), wanted to embark on a kind of karmic mission to help other children. After extensive research, she landed on cannabis the way I had. “It has dramatic implications for the autism community,” she says, and it’s true. We have pictures of J. from a year ago when he would actually claw at his own face. None of the experts had a clue what to do. That little child with the horrifically bleeding and scabbed face looks to us now like a visitor from another world. The J. we know now doesn’t look stoned. He just looks like a happy little boy.
And cannabis still can surprise us. We worried that “the munchies” would severely aggravate J.’s problems with overeating in response to his stomach pangs. Instead, the marijuana seems to have modulated these symptoms. Perhaps the pain signals from his stomach were coming through as hunger. J. still can get overexcited if he likes a food too much, so sometimes when he’s eating my husband and I leave the room to minimize distractions. The other day, we dared to experiment with doenjang, a fermented tofu soup that he used to love as a baby. The last time we tried it, a year ago, he’d frisbeed the bowl against a tile wall. (Oh, smelly doenjang soup and the million ways it can make a mess.)
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Comments
Thanks for sharing this with us...
By: zildjean | Tue, 01/12/2010 - 23:33
I have a nephew who is autistic and I will be forwarding your blog to my sister. I was totally unaware of this use of medical marijuana.
I hope that this treatment continues to be effective for your son. Please keep us informed over the coming months; I hope that he does not developing a resistance to the marijuana, as is said to happen with cancer patients.
Best wishes for you and your family.
Med MJ and J
By: Margo | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 05:34
Maria, I applaud you. Your gut wrenching story about J has given me pause. I am a CHPN (Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse). I have a large family and also struggled with a son with a learning disability. It was not autism and there was no self destructive behavior none the less his behavior caused my husband an I (and our family) many sleepless, tearful nights. We struggled for many years trying to remain positive, keep a sense of humor and continue on our mission to grow a healthy happy family. The work at times was exhausting. Our children are now happy, healthy, thriving adults who are making their own impact on our world. The son with the learning disability has blossomed into a fine young man,is married and will soon start his own family. I tell you this to let you know 'the rest of the story'. It was painful to read how some nieghbors/teachers/bus drivers treated your son. It brought back memories of mistreatment of my own son. The memories are painful ones. That all said I will now tell you what sparked my interest in reading your story. In the years I have been a hospice nurse the only patients I had who used mj for symptomatic relief were peple who had always been mj users. I believe that most patients get excellent symptom relief following evidence based palliative care guidelines. I'd not seen the sense in legalization of mj particularly as a mother seeing the effects of it's abuse. After reading your story I am convinced we must study it's use for autism (and perhaps other problems including pain relief, apetite stimulation, etc.). I will read/study more research regarding mj. Your family will forever be in my thoughts and prayers. (Also from Rhode Island.)
Congrats on great strides :)
By: sirenique | Wed, 10/14/2009 - 11:05
Marie, I am so excited to read that J has made such great strides while receiving aid from medicinal marijuana. I can't imagine how wonderful you and your husband must have felt when J took care of his doenjang bowl by himself (delicious soup btw)!! I'm intrigued by the positive effects coming from this herbal household trial, and I'm glad it's adding the balance back into your home life. Your articles are insightful and always a pleasure to read. I hope that your experiences will lead to more research, community awareness, and an overall better conditions for you, your family and J. Pharm drugs are not all bad, but sometimes they need to be studied or considered further before they are prescribed to people, especially children. And sometimes, there are other non-pharm (read as: natural organic) alternatives that just work better, and so be it. I'm glad you've found something that works for your family's situation :) I am excited to read the next installment of your columns, if you choose to write more!
Another miracle of the plant
By: medical marijua... | Mon, 10/12/2009 - 12:05
What a great story... I run a medical marijuana compassion club and see the wonders of the healing effects of cannabis all the time. Don't listen to the naysayers as the sit with their pills and mixed drinks.
Marijuana is from mother earth and God and not made by the greed of man
Good luck with your son and God bless.....med mj
Lots of respect from Virginia
By: remarking | Mon, 10/12/2009 - 10:34
I loved reading this story! It's great to hear about parents that care enough about their children to find out what will work best for them. Good luck in the future! I hope this story encourages more patients and lawmakers to look into using cannabis as medicine.
Keep on trying
By: lasciviouslynn | Thu, 10/08/2009 - 12:53
I also have an autistic child, although he is now an adult. Over the years he did become more social than your child, graduated from college, and is now working full time. During his childhood he was extremely aggressive, defiant, and sad. It was so difficult for my daughters, myself and especially my son. I tried everything. Some things worked, some worked for a while then stopped, some didn't work at all. I commend your bravery not only in trying an alternative treatment, but in sharing your story with us. You both sound like wonderful parents. I hope someday you can be in my shoes now, having a happy successful son, and living a life where I can now celebrate every small blessing I receive. Once you have been through the challenge of autism, there is very little that will upset your day. You will be in my thoughts.
TSedohr
By: pinkmachismo | Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:15
Do you really think heroin, if 100% pure and used with a clean needle, has no side effects? Do you know what heroin addiction and withdrawal are like? Do you know that track marks get infected even when clean needles are used? You're a fucking idiot. Marijuana and heroin should not even be compared.
Dear TSedohr
By: LindsayDianne | Wed, 10/07/2009 - 14:23
Your comment asserts a few things that concern me-
Cannabis use has severe side effects is your first claim.
This one is often brought up and used when it comes to this debate. "Cannabis has severe side effects." is a direct quote from propaganda material used during the reefer madness era. The studies that have found ANY side effects for marijuana have been debunked time and time again. The direct origin of this claim was a botched study involving monkeys.
[In 1974, California Governor Ronald Reagan was asked about decriminalizing marijuana.
After producing the Heath/Tulane University study, the so-called "Great Communicator" proclaimed, "The most reliable scientific sources say permanent brain damage is one of the inevitable results of the use of marijuana." (L.A. Times)
The report from Dr. Heath had concluded that Rhesus monkeys, smoking the equivalent of only 30 joints a day, began to atrophy and die after 90 days.
And ever since, dead brain cells found in monkeys who were forced to smoke marijuana has been given maximum scare play in federal booklets and government sponsored propaganda literature against pot.
Heath "Voodoo" Research methodology involved strapping Rhesus monkeys into a chair and pumping them with equivalent of 63 Colombian strength joints in "five minutes, through gas masks," losing no smoke. Playboy discovered that Heath had administered 63 joints in five minutes over just three months instead of administering 30 joints per day over a one-year period as he had first reported. Heath did this, it turned out, in order to avoid having to pay an assistant's wages every day for a full year.
The monkeys were suffocating! Three to five minutes of oxygen deprivation causes brain damage "dead brain cells." (Red Cross Lifesaving and Water Safety Manual) With the concentration of smoke used, the monkeys were a bit like a person running the engine of a car in a locked garage for 5, 10, 15 minutes at a time every day!
The Heath Monkey study was actually a study in animal asphyxiation and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Among other things, Heath had completely (intentionally? incompetently?) omitted discussion of the carbon monoxide the monkeys inhaled.]
The Rhesus Monkey Study is to this day one of the biggest anti drug propaganda pieces used. The only thing that this one study showed us was that if monkeys don't get oxygen, they die.
If you're truly interested in the History of the War on drugs it is very readily available with government documents, signed and embossed in Jack Herer's book The Emperor Wears No Clothes.
Your second claim is that cannabis is linked to psychosis, depression and anxiety.
While anxiety is somewhat subjective, cannabis is not for everyone and anxiety can be caused by it indeed. Anxiety can also be caused by almost any pharmaceuticals that would be prescribed to you. Also, anxiety can be caused by movies, cars, trees, apple juice or whatever else can trigger fear. We can't legislate people's heart rates.
The link to psychosis is generally a reference to an Australian study which showed a link to cannabis use and schizophrenia. In the past years of medical science, this claim has been refuted by the scientific community with study after study, but again, the War on Drugs clings to what they can.
[ the totality of the evidence shows a different story. Although there are high rates of cannabis use among schizophrenics, the bigger picture shows that the level of drug taking by schizophrenics is significantly higher across the whole range of illicit and licit substances.
Unlike the population in general, schizophrenics are sick people who suffer from a mysterious and life-threatening disease. They are mad, and are treated as such; locked up, restrained, forcibly medicated. Taking drugs is the way they learn to treat their illness; and when their disease makes them depressed and suicidal, they seek out drugs to alleviate these moods. When their prescribed drugs don’t work, they use drugs from the street that are euphoriant and mood-altering. No doubt there are many occasions when these feel-good drugs work, and help those suffering from schizophrenia feel better. Likewise, there are no doubt occasions when the effects of illicit drugs compound the problems of schizophrenia and contribute to a breakdown.
You can regard the drugs in the list above either, as drugs that may cause schizophrenia (in which case, tobacco clearly causes schizophrenia) or alternatively, as drugs that schizophrenics find useful in alleviating the symptoms of their disease. ]
If your concern is that cannabis is illegal, do some research and lobby for legalization.
J. is just one of many many many people who find relief in cannabis. No one has ever died from cannabis which is something we can't say of any other treatment, nor our legal drugs.
When you post comments like the one you've posted, you're feeding into something based on complete lies for greed's sake. You should be outraged that you've been lied to. Not that someone was openminded enough to explore avenues that she knew she'd get flack for from people just like yourself.
This mother is a phenomenal woman. Like any mother should, she put her son before ANYTHING ELSE. she objectively looked at the situation, the documentation, the science and the reaction.
If only all of us could be so selfless.
Marijuana and Autism
By: StephCrain | Wed, 10/07/2009 - 11:51
Thank you so much for your generosity and bravery to try this treatment -- as well as write about it! I hope it continues to bring your son relief, as well as open up the possibilty to other families who might benefit from it.
To Kitty: Have we tried other interventions?
By: MarieLee | Wed, 10/07/2009 - 08:30
Dear Kitty,
Yes, actually in the article, which we had to cut for editing reasons, I mentioned that we have tried many other interventions--and cannabis has been one of the most successful. Since J was 3 we've altered his diet (gluten and casein free, hypoallergenic, Specific Carb, organic, etc.) and saw some huge changes then, too.
In the earlier article I also mentioned the gastroenterologist we saw diagnosed autoimmune gastroenteritis and prescribed some very strong anti inflammatories that helped J initially--until he developed a tolerance AND stomach cramps (!) as a side effect. That was when he started to become very violent and when I started becoming more mindful of possible side effects of pharma drugs.
Thanks for reading!
marie