Autism and Medical Marijuana

Can Autistic Children Benefit From Marijuana?

By Deborah Huso

When California mom Mieko Hester-Perez appeared on "Good Morning America" Monday morning to tell the world she has been administering medical marijuana to her 10-year-old autistic son under the advisement of a doctor, controversy ignited. Her son Joey, who had long exhibited self-injurious and aggressive behavior, became so unwilling to eat that his weight had dropped to 46 pounds. It was then Hester-Perez knew she had to do something to save him. She claims that since giving him doses of marijuana in brownies, he has shown a substantial change in both his appetite and behavior.

Hester-Perez is not alone.

Rhode Island mom Marie Myung-Ok Lee gives her nine-year-old autistic son medical marijuana as well. She decided it was far less detrimental to him than the side effects of common antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal. She has been blogging about her experiences giving her son cannabis-infused tea and cookies and claims it has calmed his temperament and eased his troubles at school.

But is it safe? Various studies have been conducted, showing that patients suffering from many illnesses and disorders benefit from marijuana use. However, autism isn't one of them. Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), is skeptical and even deeply concerned that the media focus on these kids and their parents is taking away from the real medical benefits of marijuana. Instead, it's placing emphasis on a population where the effects of cannabis have not even been studied. "Adolescents are rarely included in clinical trials on marijuana," he says.

Lester Grinspoon, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry emeritus at Harvard Medical School and author of "Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine", says he believes clinical trials in children will come in the future as the public becomes more comfortable with the medical uses of cannabis. However, he doesn’t think parents whose children are suffering from severe psychiatric disorders should necessarily be deterred by the lack of studies. “If there is a brain disorder where a lot of violence is involved, cannabis isn’t going to take this away, but it makes it more manageable,” Grinspoon says, “and it’s less toxic than Risperdal.”

“I don’t believe there are any controlled studies in children,” he adds, “but I don’t believe marijuana is going to hurt anybody as long as it’s controlled. Nobody in the world has ever died of marijuana.”

Ronald Drabman, Ph.D., retired professor, director of the University of Mississippi Medical Center Clinical Psychology Training and an expert in behavior modification as it relates to children suffering from autism, says he has never heard of using marijuana to treat autism. "I am always suspicious when science isn't consulted," Drabman says. "Until double-blind placebo tests have been done, I'd be very skeptical about this."

Drabman says there have been a lot of unusual treatments prescribed for autism over the years, and some have seemed to work anecdotally but fail once administered in clinical trials. "The placebo effect can be very strong, especially when parents want to see their children get better," he points out. "The fact that a couple of parents say it's helping their kids isn't very meaningful."