New research is unlocking cannabis potential as an autism treatment. When the Georgia Legislature voted last month to expand its medical marijuana program, it wasnt to legalize growing operations or streamline the application process. Instead, they added to a list of qualifying conditions going forward, patients with AIDS, Alzheimers or Tourettes syndrome will be eligible to buy cannabis oil with very low amounts of THC, the psychoactive compound in weed. Of these newly approved conditions, one in particular stood out. State Sen. Matt Brass told Reuters that while he doesnt approve of recreational marijuana use, he wanted those with autism to be allowed to be use cannabis oil after obtaining a doctors approval. Georgias revised law allows for exactly that cannabis as autism treatment. The only problem We dont really know if it works. JlRyF5Y4tFMjaj3Wr3o6BBtSXj.jpg' alt='Watch Paranoia Online Mic' title='Watch Paranoia Online Mic' />The parents fighting to get their kids medical marijuana. Inspired by stories of epileptic children whose lives were dramatically improved by medical marijuana, parents of autistic kids took the initiative and began to experiment with similar treatments despite a lack of research. You can find these parents everywhere online, in various grassroots and support groups with names like Mothers Advocating Medical Marijuana for Autism, or MAMMA, using hashtags like cannabis. There are personal stories of autistic kids who wouldnt eat suddenly finding their appetite with the help of weed brownies, those whose self destructive rage could only be soothed with cannabis cookies and others whose violent aggression seemed to melt away thanks to pot grown by mom in the backyard. Anecdotally speaking Pot looks promising. But then you have a kid like Alex Echols, who made headlines at age 1. Three years later, Alexs dad, Jeremy Echols, shut down his blog about Alex, writing that although he was heartened by amazing stories of autistic children benefiting from marijuana, this was but one side of the truth. In a final post, he explained that cannabis no longer worked for Alex Weve stopped with the cannabis tinctures despite having a wonderful donor TJs Organic Gardens, because we just couldnt figure out what Alex needs. Weve found that while our initial struggles were lack of knowledge and supply, our struggle now is figuring out how its actually affecting Alex. Get the latest News news with exclusive stories and pictures from Rolling Stone. Was ist maxdome Deutschlands grte OnlineVideothek. Auf SmartTV, Tablet, PC, Laptop, Smartphones. Keine Werbung. Viele Videos in HD, Originalversion Dolby 5. NASA astronaut and biochemist Peggy Whitson will return to Earth as the planets new record holder for longest time cumulatively spent on space by an American or a. Tyrod Taylor and T. J. Yates, the Buffalo Bills starting and backup quarterbacks, are both concussed. This sounds like a job for. His inability to communicate has always made medications difficult, but in the case of cannabis, this countrys bullshit paranoia has made research so spotty that its 1. So its with a lot of frustration that we decided it wasnt worth the trouble to keep trying. While we still believe in cannabis, its just not going to work for Alex until theres a lot more research and understanding of which components THC, THCa, CBD, CBN, etc. And as long as thats the case, we just have no choice but to watch the idiot lawmakers keep screwing up the rules instead of making smart, compassionate decisions. Clearly, the Echols family came up against the limits of what had seemed like a potential miracle cure and sadly, some of those limits are manmade. What we know about autism and marijuana. Watch Little Savages HD 1080P on this page. Autism spectrum disorder encompasses a variety of developmental disorders with no known single cause. Theres disagreement as to whether we should even think of it as a disease. These circumstances make autism very difficult to treat or even talk about without oversimplifying. Then you have the many pernicious myths about it, compounded by a mysterious spike in cases. Still, the handful of studies about marijuana and autistic disorders have delivered tantalizing results. A 2. 01. 3 experiment discussed in Neuron highlighted the discovery that an autism linked mutation of neuroligin 3, a membrane protein that appears to create and remodel our central nervous synapses, also affects endocannabinoid signaling. The endocannabinoid system is a series of receptors throughout the body that influence everything from appetite to immune response to sleep to hormone balance these receptors respond to both the cannabinoids from marijuana  hence the name and the bodys own cannaboid like compounds, or endocannabinoids. When the authors of the Neuron study raise the possibility that alterations in endocannabinoid signaling may contribute to autism pathophysiology, they also hint at a potential therapeutic application for marijuana in autism patients. Scientists have continued to pursue the endocannabinoid autism connection. Another 2. 01. 3 study, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, revealed that one receptor in particular CB2, or cannabinoid receptor type 2 is overexpressed in children with autistic disorders. While another type of receptor, CB1, is known to be what accounts for the high of THC, since the compound binds to them, CB2 is thought to be crucial for marijuanas anti inflammatory and pain relieving properties. Our data indicate CB2 receptor as potential therapeutic target for the pharmacological management of the autism care, wrote the authors of the study. If autism is partly understood through endocannabinoid dysfunction, and marijuana directly modulates the endocannabinoid system, couldnt it be a solution for some kids Weve barely scratched the surface of the question. Finally, a clinical trial Because the U. S. continues to prohibit marijuana at the federal level, research on its implications for autism disorder therapy is advancing faster overseas. Israel, for example, has been a leader in the field of weed science since the 1. Israel legalized medical marijuana in 1. In January, Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem began the worlds first medical trial to assess the effects of cannabinoids on young people with autism disorders. Led by Dr. Adi Aran, the director of the hospitals neuropediatric unit, 1. Our waiting lists are full, Aran told the Times of Israel. Many, many families want to participate and they come from all over Israel. They hope and they heard from their friends and other families that it might help. Arans patients arent using marijuana. Instead, a pharmaceutical company called Breath of Life is breaking weed down into cannabis extracts that isolate and amplify certain compounds particularly CBD, or cannabidiol, a non psychoactive cannabinoid that has shown great medical promise. In Israel, as in the U. S., stories of marijuanas miraculous effects on some autistic children have circulated among hopeful and desperate parents. This has led some parents to step outside the law to try it We have a lot of information from television and news, one father told the Times of Israel. Everyone who spoke, either it didnt improve them or it was amazing. No one talked about a decline. Its easy to see why he and others are willing to consider cannabis as an alternative to traditional antipsychotic pharmaceuticals, which carry heavy risks for patients. Yet these scattered successes are not enough to paint a pattern, especially in such complicated disorders as autism. And while Arans study may have far reaching implications for autistic individuals and their families around the world, we will have to see many more of its kind before we understand what cannabis can accomplish in this realm of medicine. A good start for U. S. research, if we want to make that a priority, would be removing all the legal obstacles that stand in the way of what could potentially be a major breakthrough.