Parents have been desperately trying to find relief for their children suffering from neurological disorders like schizophrenia and autism. Thanks to the Obama Administration’s efforts in late June bureaucratic obstacles that were prohibiting the compounds found in cannabidiol oil from being researched were removed. This opened up legal avenues to apply marijuana medically and there is at least now hope for more research into what types of therapeutic relief can be found for children suffering from these disorders.
“Compared to the studies done for schizophrenia, which number more than 1,000, autism and marijuana has gotten almost no research attention”.
Unfortunately, autism still has little to no research being conducted to see if the symptoms can be treated using the compounds found in cannabidiol oil. Social media movements, however, may play a key role in gaining attention to drive further research.
“That hasn’t stopped a grassroots movement from growing up around using pot as an autism therapeutic, with one Facebook group, MAMMAS (Mothers Advocating Medical Marijuana for Autism), boasting almost 5,000 followers, and one writer and autism parent advocating for its use from a public pulpit.”
The concern about the long term effects of THC and the question of whether or not a short term relief is worthwhile have slowed down the efforts to begin research. This has led authors to push for the research to be in high-cannabinoid/low-THC products.
“No one brings up using willow trees for pain or blood thinners, even though they originated the active compound in aspirin, and no one says they take ’foxglove’ as a heart medication–they take digoxin instead.”
Read full article in Forbes here…
There needs to be a shift in the way we think and talk about marijuana because the plant is full of many compounds, some harmful and some beneficial. Our focus needs to be on the parts of the plant that can help us find a cure for disorders that desperately need a solution.