Does anyone else take LDN for Closed Head Injury symptoms? If so, does it help
with the constant bad headache? Thanks for any info, for a friend of mine.
Sonya

Hi Dudley,
 Thanks I wasn’t aware of Dr. Jaquelyn McCandless’s book –that sounds great. I don’t understand why you think my post sounds like an ad for pot. My post is about the movie “The Horse Boy” in response to the post about this mother using marijuana for her autistic son.  I think you might have been confused and thought I posted the long story of the marijuana helping this boy- I didn’t and I am not sure  who did. I got the post from art_ldn on  Sunday 11/8 in my e-mail inbox and just responded because I had just seen this movie about this family taking their son to Mongolia in search  of Shamans to help heal their son of autism. It was a very touching movie.
All the best to you,
Lela
 
   

Hi Lela,

Are you aware that Dr. Jaquelyn McCandless has successfully used LDN to treat autism and written a book about her experience called "Children With Starving Brain"?

Your post reads like an ad for pot!

All the best,

Dudley Delany
http://profiles.yahoo.com/dudley_delany
 
   

----- Original Message -----

From: Crystals MS TM LDN Website

To: LDN_Users@yahoogroups.com ; lowdosenaltrexone@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 5:02 PM

Subject: [LDN_Users] Re: [lowdosenaltrexone] An Update on Stan's Angels

 

I had a run in with this Stan whoever he says he is about a couple years ago and he was very arrogant back then as well and didn't want to know anything about LDN. I had him on my MySpace and when he started being that way I deleted him off. He wanted to know what he could do for me lol....I told him nothing....
 

 

May there be a miracle in YOUR life today and may you have the EYES to see it.

From My Heart to Yours
Love, Hugs & Blessings,
Crystal
LDN_Users Group Owner

Diagnosed November 2004 with Secondary Progressive MS, Transverse Myelitis and an Advocate for LDN!! 4 years on LDN with Skip's Pharmacy..... No Relapses....


Crystal's MS,TM & LDN Website
www.crystalsmstmldn.org

Mary Boyle Bradley’s LDN Online Radio Show

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mary-boyle-bradley

LDN Website
www.ldninfo.org

Crystal's LDN Support Group
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LDN_Users/

LowDose Naltrexone Database
http://ldn-database.carnebeach.com/

LDN Help - International Users' Resources
www.ldn-help.com

Up the Creek with a Paddle
www.marybradleybooks.com

Skip's CompoundingPharmacy
www.skipspharmacy.com


"We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same."

 

---

From: JOYCE MARTINO <jam2006@verizon.net>
To: LDN_Users@yahoogroups.com; lowdosenaltrexone@yahoogroups.com; Sherri White <sherriwhitern@yahoo.com>
Sent: Mon, November 9, 2009 9:39:01 PM
Subject: Re: [lowdosenaltrexone] An Update on Stan's Angels

 



Very very interesting.  Why am I not surprised.  Thanks for this.  I will continue with my LDN and share with as many as I can reach.   joyce 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: art_ldn

To: LDN_Users@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 6:28 AM

Subject: [LDN_Users] Re: OFF TOPIC: Can Marijuana Help Kids with Autism?

 

Marijuana should be legalized.

--- In LDN_Users@yahoogroups.com, Lela Landman <lelaji@...> wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> > I am a Cancer patient and also have Polymyositis -Have been on LDN for about 6
> > months and am doing extremely well on it. I am also a medical marijuana user
> > although I don¹t use it very much anymore. I just went to see a movie called
> > The Horse Boy about a family in Texas with an autistic child that sounds
> > similar to Marie Myung-Ok Lee¹s son- it was a very moving story and his father
> > has written a book of the same name, his father is Rupert Issacson and the
> > book and the DVD are available on Amazon.com. This family went to Mongolia to
> > Shamans that helped although not cured his son immensely. He and his wife now
> > run a horse ranch in Texas dedicated to helping and healing other autistic
> > children. Just thought I¹d post this if Ms. Lee or anyone else is interested.
> > Lela Landman
> >
> >
> >
> > This mom says giving her kid pot has made all the difference.
> >
> > As the mother of an autistic child, Marie Myung-Ok Lee is navigating uncharted
> > territory as she struggles to manage her son's condition. She has bravely come
> > forward to share her son's battle with this mysterious disorder, and to
> > discuss how medical marijuana has brought them both back from the brink of
> > despair.
> >
> > During what Marie calls the "dark phase," her son J had unpredictable mood
> > swings that could erupt into fitful rages. Her 9-year-old would scream during
> > lengthy tantrums, he refused to eat and threw his food on the floor. J broke
> > plates, windows, and other household items as a way of expressing his pain and
> > frustration. The family would hide out within the confines of their home until
> > the darkness passed.
> >
> > J's behavior disrupted his school performance and terrified the staff. "The
> > teachers were wearing tae kwon do arm pads to protect themselves against his
> > biting," Marie said. The school monitored J's daily outbursts on an
> > "aggression chart" that documented as many as 300 episodes in one day that
> > involved hitting, kicking, biting, or pinching another person.
> >
> > With her son in crisis, Marie had no choice but to perform an intervention.
> > But the only solution offered by child psychiatrists came in a pill bottle.
> > "His school tried to force us to medicate him," says Marie, who feared the
> > risk of dangerous side effects associated with commonly prescribed
> > antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal. Many of the FDA-approved drugs on the
> > market used to treat symptoms of autism have no proven safety track record for
> > use in children.
> >
> > Despite the unknown risks, more kids are using prescription drugs than ever
> > before. The number of children on psychiatric meds has skyrocketed in recent
> > years, according to reports in medical journals such as Archives of Pediatrics
> > and Adolescent Medicine. Prescription drug use is growing faster among
> > children than the elderly and baby boomers. But when it comes to medicating
> > kids with marijuana, the issue becomes taboo.
> >
> > "There's no such thing as a harmless drug, but marijuana is much less harmful
> > than other drugs," said Lester Grinspoon, M.D., a professor emeritus of
> > psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Grinspoon is a leading expert in the
> > field of medical marijuana, who has authored several books on the subject. "No
> > one in the world has died from marijuana," insists Grinspoon, who has spent
> > four decades researching the illicit drug.
> >
> > Undeterred by the social stigma, Marie pursued this more natural approach to
> > calm J's demons. After discussing her wishes with J's pediatrician, Marie
> > decided to check out Marinol, a synthetic form of THC, which is the primary
> > cannabinoid in marijuana. After fine-tuning J's dosage, she began hearing
> > praises like, "J was a pleasure to have in speech class," instead of
> > complaints about his violent episodes.
> >
> > After a few months, J built up a tolerance to the drug and his unruly behavior
> > returned. "The drawback of taking Marinol is that it's only THC. That's the
> > most powerful cannabinoid, but it may not be the most relevant," said Mitch
> > Earleywine, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at the State
> > University of New York at Albany. Earleywine says there are about 70 different
> > cannabinoids in the marijuana plant, many of which have medicinal value. Marie
> > decided to take a chance on the real deal.
> >
> > All it took was a signed prescription and a background check for J to become
> > the youngest person in Rhode Island to obtain a license for pot. After buying
> > some marijuana-infused olive oil, Marie made a batch of pot cookies. That
> > night, J ate half of one cookie and "he was tired and conked out," said Marie,
> > who checked hourly on his sleep, "half-expecting some red-eyed ogre from
> > Reefer Madness to come leaping out at us." To her relief, J slept soundly and
> > appeared happy and mellow the next day.
> >
> > Over the past four months, Marie has documented her son's progress in an
> > online blog entitled, Why I Give My 9-Year-Old Pot, Part II. While she doesn't
> > believe marijuana is a cure for autism, it "allows J to participate more fully
> > in life without the dangers and sometimes permanent side effects of
> > pharmaceutical drugs." Dr. Grinspoon has seen positive results with a number
> > of his autistic patients who are undergoing pot therapy. "I can confidently
> > say to a parent that marijuana relieves some types of pain. It's not going to
> > hurt them if you use it responsibly," Grinspoon says. Ingesting the drug works
> > better because the effects can last up to eight hours. "A little goes a long
> > way," says Earleywine, who reminds parents that the drug can take up to an
> > hour and a half to kick in, "so wait a little while before administering any
> > more."
> >
> > While a growing number of distressed parents are turning to the herbal remedy,
> > many moms with autistic kids are skeptical. "I feel it does more harm than
> > good," says Trish, the mother of a 7-year-old boy with autism. "You are
> > sedating the child, not treating the cause of the rage." Trish believes that
> > medicating kids with pot is a cop-out. "Nobody said parenting was going to be
> > easy, or that the solution to every problem is to get our children stoned."
> >
> > The mainstream medical community shuns the subject, and the government refuses
> > to fund any research that would legitimize marijuana use in treating autism or
> > aggression disorders. "Marijuana is a very loaded subject," says Cara
> > Natterson, M.D., a pediatrician and mother of two. "As a parent and as a
> > pediatrician, I feel a responsibility to know that what I am putting into a
> > child -- mine or someone else's -- is safe and tested."
> >
> > The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes the legalization of marijuana, but
> > does support further research into the potential medical benefits of cannabis.
> > "We need to make sure the treatment is safe -- we haven't done that,"
> > Natterson adds. The doctor can sympathize with parents who desperately want to
> > help their child. "But wanting to advocate for your child and making sure your
> > child is safe are two different things," Natterson said.
> >
> > Marie is confident that she has made the right choice when she sees J's
> > transformation. "He doesn't look stoned. He just looks like a happy little
> > boy."
> >
> > http://www.momlogic.com/2009/11/can_marijuana_help_kids_with_autism.php
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

Hi Roger,

If you know that LDN should be taken on an empty stomach, surely you know also
that it should be taken at bedtime.

This site discusses LDN dosing:

http://tinyurl.com/ldn-side-effects

All the best,

Dudley Delany

http://profiles.yahoo.com/dudley_delany

Can anyone tell me how long one should wait after taking LDN (on an
empty stomach) before eating anything - don't want to miss supper :-)

Cheers,  Roger B
NZ

Hi Betty.  I have been on LDN for one week at 3 mg.  I haven't seen any changes
in my MS.  I have had MS for 16 years and I'm wondering if I just have too much
damage.

I will stay on LDN because I have no insurance and this is the only thing I can
afford.  Good luck to both of us.

--- In LDN_Users@yahoogroups.com, "dAVId" <dhallgar@...> wrote:
>
> Betty, I would not allow myself to be discouraged, as they say, it took quite
a while to get down where you are, so it may take some time for LDN to correct
your immune system, then the immune system to correct your body.
> I am very sensitive to medication, and I felt a kick in the pants within a
couple weeks of LDN, and got another kick in the pants when I began
> ALA, as I must have had problems converting glucose to energy.  Oral ALA broke
me into a sweat for a couple days, the sweats broke, and I have more energy.
> kind regards david a
>

Pot smokers usually agree that smoking pot is more fun than
drinking alcohol. Pot smokers seem like a harmless lot. There are
no pot smokers whom you can see laying in the gutter covered with
their own excrement, urine and vomit. They generally do not dig
through garbage cans for something to eat or beg for money to
feed their pot habit. Neither are these people found in the
emergency wards after passing out and falling under a tram or an
automobile or having their heads wrapped in bandages after
blacking out and falling flat onto their faces. You do not
usually find these pot smokers belligerently picking fights and
suffering the cuts and contusions that result thereby. Neither do
they suffer from liver and kidney malfunction, high cancer rates,
arthritis and heart disease. They do not have a high incidence of
auto accidents where they drive over innocent pedestrians. Also,
arson, destruction of property, vandalism, assault and battery,
murder, theft, etc., are not noticeably high among this group.
However, you DO find such things and many other evils besides
among those people who drink alcohol to excess...

(continued)

http://tinyurl.com/cly5u8

I've been going through the process of trying to decide about Medicare
and donut holes and parts A & B & D and supplimental & blah blah. It's
so difficult with a muddled brain, but I think it would be anyway.

I called one company yesterday to see about coverage for LDN and
Copaxone, in particular. "yes", she said, "in 2010, it (LDN) has been
added to coverage". That was after I explained what L-D-N stands for.

I was surprised and asked for the web page she was on. I could tell
she didn't know diddly about what I was asking and was filling boxes &
reading results to me. She didn't "know", when I asked. About 4.5 vs
50 mg. As I thought, Naltrexone listed under drug abuse at 50mg is
covered.

DH said "doesn't matter, we'll find a way" for the LDN. It's different
for the copaxone, which is on the list - as a code 5 ($500+ co-pay,
$310 deductible).

Now to get my brain & energy to look into types of costs for switching
to a different CRAB, their side effects & results. Seems they cover
more on the other 3, when I drive to an attended medical facility and
have a nurse or 3 keep watch over me and do the injecting
(infusions?). Ticks me off! This one is working for my PRMS, I just
don't have the money to pay 3 or 4 hundred a MONTH out of pocket for a
Specialty drug that "they" refuse to allow to have a generic version.
On my limited income, anything out of pocket is also out of house
payment.

Sent from my iPod,
Nancy

I stumbled on a story of a local family, autism and horses,
this morning that I thought I would share.

This is a wonderful story of the Isaccson family and their
autistic son, Rowan, who led them to his need to be in
nature through contact with horses. He crawled under a fence
one day, much to his father's horror and threw
himself on the ground in front of a mare named Betsy, who
immediately responded with caring attention.

There is a documentary film and a book. The movie and book
are called The Horse Boy. These You Tube videos are
heartwarming and amazing.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/yge66va

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2_dVq-bOrM&feature=PlayList&p=DB131556B1E34BAD&i\
ndex=1&playnext=2&playnext_from=PL


The family has formed a fee-free donation based Equine
Therapy foundation for Autistic Children.

http://horseboyfoundation.org/


Garnet


------------------
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Very_Low_Dose_Naltrexone
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LDN_Information

Dr Chris Steele, ITV's This Morning supporting LDN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVpjsDK0LPA

Marijuana should be legalized.


--- In LDN_Users@yahoogroups.com, Lela Landman <lelaji@...> wrote:
>
> >  Hi all,
> > I am a Cancer patient and also have Polymyositis -Have been on LDN for about
6
> > months and am doing extremely well on it. I am also a medical marijuana user
> > although I don¹t use it very much anymore.  I just went to see a movie
called
> > The Horse Boy  about a family in Texas with an autistic child that sounds
> > similar to Marie Myung-Ok Lee¹s son- it was a very moving story and his
father
> > has written a book of the same name, his father is Rupert Issacson and the
> > book and the DVD are available on Amazon.com. This family went to Mongolia
to
> > Shamans that helped although not cured his son immensely. He and his wife
now
> > run a horse ranch in Texas dedicated to helping and healing other autistic
> > children. Just thought I¹d post this if Ms. Lee or anyone else is
interested.
> > Lela Landman
> >
> >
> >
> > This mom says giving her kid pot has made all the difference.
> >
> > As the mother of an autistic child, Marie Myung-Ok Lee is navigating
uncharted
> > territory as she struggles to manage her son's condition. She has bravely
come
> > forward to share her son's battle with this mysterious disorder, and to
> > discuss how medical marijuana has brought them both back from the brink of
> > despair.
> >
> > During what Marie calls the "dark phase," her son J had unpredictable mood
> > swings that could erupt into fitful rages. Her 9-year-old would scream
during
> > lengthy tantrums, he refused to eat and threw his food on the floor. J broke
> > plates, windows, and other household items as a way of expressing his pain
and
> > frustration. The family would hide out within the confines of their home
until
> > the darkness passed.
> >
> > J's behavior disrupted his school performance and terrified the staff. "The
> > teachers were wearing tae kwon do arm pads to protect themselves against his
> > biting," Marie said. The school monitored J's daily outbursts on an
> > "aggression chart" that documented as many as 300 episodes in one day that
> > involved hitting, kicking, biting, or pinching another person.
> >
> > With her son in crisis, Marie had no choice but to perform an intervention.
> > But the only solution offered by child psychiatrists came in a pill bottle.
> > "His school tried to force us to medicate him," says Marie, who feared the
> > risk of dangerous side effects associated with commonly prescribed
> > antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal. Many of the FDA-approved drugs on the
> > market used to treat symptoms of autism have no proven safety track record
for
> > use in children.
> >
> > Despite the unknown risks, more kids are using prescription drugs than ever
> > before. The number of children on psychiatric meds has skyrocketed in recent
> > years, according to reports in medical journals such as Archives of
Pediatrics
> > and Adolescent Medicine. Prescription drug use is growing faster among
> > children than the elderly and baby boomers. But when it comes to medicating
> > kids with marijuana, the issue becomes taboo.
> >
> > "There's no such thing as a harmless drug, but marijuana is much less
harmful
> > than other drugs," said Lester Grinspoon, M.D., a professor emeritus of
> > psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Grinspoon is a leading expert in
the
> > field of medical marijuana, who has authored several books on the subject.
"No
> > one in the world has died from marijuana," insists Grinspoon, who has spent
> > four decades researching the illicit drug.
> >
> > Undeterred by the social stigma, Marie pursued this more natural approach to
> > calm J's demons. After discussing her wishes with J's pediatrician, Marie
> > decided to check out Marinol, a synthetic form of THC, which is the primary
> > cannabinoid in marijuana. After fine-tuning J's dosage, she began hearing
> > praises like, "J was a pleasure to have in speech class," instead of
> > complaints about his violent episodes.
> >
> > After a few months, J built up a tolerance to the drug and his unruly
behavior
> > returned. "The drawback of taking Marinol is that it's only THC. That's the
> > most powerful cannabinoid, but it may not be the most relevant," said Mitch
> > Earleywine, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at the State
> > University of New York at Albany. Earleywine says there are about 70
different
> > cannabinoids in the marijuana plant, many of which have medicinal value.
Marie
> > decided to take a chance on the real deal.
> >
> > All it took was a signed prescription and a background check for J to become
> > the youngest person in Rhode Island to obtain a license for pot. After
buying
> > some marijuana-infused olive oil, Marie made a batch of pot cookies. That
> > night, J ate half of one cookie and "he was tired and conked out," said
Marie,
> > who checked hourly on his sleep, "half-expecting some red-eyed ogre from
> > Reefer Madness to come leaping out at us." To her relief, J slept soundly
and
> > appeared happy and mellow the next day.
> >
> > Over the past four months, Marie has documented her son's progress in an
> > online blog entitled, Why I Give My 9-Year-Old Pot, Part II. While she
doesn't
> > believe marijuana is a cure for autism, it "allows J to participate more
fully
> > in life without the dangers and sometimes permanent side effects of
> > pharmaceutical drugs." Dr. Grinspoon has seen positive results with a number
> > of his autistic patients who are undergoing pot therapy. "I can confidently
> > say to a parent that marijuana relieves some types of pain. It's not going
to
> > hurt them if you use it responsibly," Grinspoon says. Ingesting the drug
works
> > better because the effects can last up to eight hours. "A little goes a long
> > way," says Earleywine, who reminds parents that the drug can take up to an
> > hour and a half to kick in, "so wait a little while before administering any
> > more."
> >
> > While a growing number of distressed parents are turning to the herbal
remedy,
> > many moms with autistic kids are skeptical. "I feel it does more harm than
> > good," says Trish, the mother of a 7-year-old boy with autism. "You are
> > sedating the child, not treating the cause of the rage." Trish believes that
> > medicating kids with pot is a cop-out. "Nobody said parenting was going to
be
> > easy, or that the solution to every problem is to get our children stoned."
> >
> > The mainstream medical community shuns the subject, and the government
refuses
> > to fund any research that would legitimize marijuana use in treating autism
or
> > aggression disorders. "Marijuana is a very loaded subject," says Cara
> > Natterson, M.D., a pediatrician and mother of two. "As a parent and as a
> > pediatrician, I feel a responsibility to know that what I am putting into a
> > child -- mine or someone else's -- is safe and tested."
> >
> > The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes the legalization of marijuana,
but
> > does support further research into the potential medical benefits of
cannabis.
> > "We need to make sure the treatment is safe -- we haven't done that,"
> > Natterson adds. The doctor can sympathize with parents who desperately want
to
> > help their child. "But wanting to advocate for your child and making sure
your
> > child is safe are two different things," Natterson said.
> >
> > Marie is confident that she has made the right choice when she sees J's
> > transformation. "He doesn't look stoned. He just looks like a happy little
> > boy."
> >
> > http://www.momlogic.com/2009/11/can_marijuana_help_kids_with_autism.php
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

Hi all,
I am a Cancer patient and also have Polymyositis -Have been on LDN for about 6 months and am doing extremely well on it. I am also a medical marijuana user although I don’t use it very much anymore.  I just went to see a movie called The Horse Boy  about a family in Texas with an autistic child that sounds similar to Marie Myung-Ok Lee’s son- it was a very moving story and his father has written a book of the same name, his father is Rupert Issacson and the book and the DVD are available on Amazon.com. This family went to Mongolia to Shamans that helped although not cured his son immensely. He and his wife now run a horse ranch in Texas dedicated to helping and healing other autistic children. Just thought I’d post this if Ms. Lee or anyone else is interested.
Lela Landman
 
   

This mom says giving her kid pot has made all the difference.

As the mother of an autistic child, Marie Myung-Ok Lee is navigating uncharted territory as she struggles to manage her son's condition. She has bravely come forward to share her son's battle with this mysterious disorder, and to discuss how medical marijuana has brought them both back from the brink of despair.

During what Marie calls the "dark phase," her son J had unpredictable mood swings that could erupt into fitful rages. Her 9-year-old would scream during lengthy tantrums, he refused to eat and threw his food on the floor. J broke plates, windows, and other household items as a way of expressing his pain and frustration. The family would hide out within the confines of their home until the darkness passed.

J's behavior disrupted his school performance and terrified the staff. "The teachers were wearing tae kwon do arm pads to protect themselves against his biting," Marie said. The school monitored J's daily outbursts on an "aggression chart" that documented as many as 300 episodes in one day that involved hitting, kicking, biting, or pinching another person.

With her son in crisis, Marie had no choice but to perform an intervention. But the only solution offered by child psychiatrists came in a pill bottle. "His school tried to force us to medicate him," says Marie, who feared the risk of dangerous side effects associated with commonly prescribed antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal. Many of the FDA-approved drugs on the market used to treat symptoms of autism have no proven safety track record for use in children.

Despite the unknown risks, more kids are using prescription drugs than ever before. The number of children on psychiatric meds has skyrocketed in recent years, according to reports in medical journals such as Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Prescription drug use is growing faster among children than the elderly and baby boomers. But when it comes to medicating kids with marijuana, the issue becomes taboo.

"There's no such thing as a harmless drug, but marijuana is much less harmful than other drugs," said Lester Grinspoon, M.D., a professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Grinspoon is a leading expert in the field of medical marijuana, who has authored several books on the subject. "No one in the world has died from marijuana," insists Grinspoon, who has spent four decades researching the illicit drug.

Undeterred by the social stigma, Marie pursued this more natural approach to calm J's demons. After discussing her wishes with J's pediatrician, Marie decided to check out Marinol, a synthetic form of THC, which is the primary cannabinoid in marijuana. After fine-tuning J's dosage, she began hearing praises like, "J was a pleasure to have in speech class," instead of complaints about his violent episodes.

After a few months, J built up a tolerance to the drug and his unruly behavior returned. "The drawback of taking Marinol is that it's only THC. That's the most powerful cannabinoid, but it may not be the most relevant," said Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Albany. Earleywine says there are about 70 different cannabinoids in the marijuana plant, many of which have medicinal value. Marie decided to take a chance on the real deal.

All it took was a signed prescription and a background check for J to become the youngest person in Rhode Island to obtain a license for pot. After buying some marijuana-infused olive oil, Marie made a batch of pot cookies. That night, J ate half of one cookie and "he was tired and conked out," said Marie, who checked hourly on his sleep, "half-expecting some red-eyed ogre from Reefer Madness to come leaping out at us." To her relief, J slept soundly and appeared happy and mellow the next day.

Over the past four months, Marie has documented her son's progress in an online blog entitled, Why I Give My 9-Year-Old Pot, Part II. While she doesn't believe marijuana is a cure for autism, it "allows J to participate more fully in life without the dangers and sometimes permanent side effects of pharmaceutical drugs." Dr. Grinspoon has seen positive results with a number of his autistic patients who are undergoing pot therapy. "I can confidently say to a parent that marijuana relieves some types of pain. It's not going to hurt them if you use it responsibly," Grinspoon says. Ingesting the drug works better because the effects can last up to eight hours. "A little goes a long way," says Earleywine, who reminds parents that the drug can take up to an hour and a half to kick in, "so wait a little while before administering any more."

While a growing number of distressed parents are turning to the herbal remedy, many moms with autistic kids are skeptical. "I feel it does more harm than good," says Trish, the mother of a 7-year-old boy with autism. "You are sedating the child, not treating the cause of the rage." Trish believes that medicating kids with pot is a cop-out. "Nobody said parenting was going to be easy, or that the solution to every problem is to get our children stoned."

The mainstream medical community shuns the subject, and the government refuses to fund any research that would legitimize marijuana use in treating autism or aggression disorders. "Marijuana is a very loaded subject," says Cara Natterson, M.D., a pediatrician and mother of two. "As a parent and as a pediatrician, I feel a responsibility to know that what I am putting into a child -- mine or someone else's -- is safe and tested."

The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes the legalization of marijuana, but does support further research into the potential medical benefits of cannabis. "We need to make sure the treatment is safe -- we haven't done that," Natterson adds. The doctor can sympathize with parents who desperately want to help their child. "But wanting to advocate for your child and making sure your child is safe are two different things," Natterson said.

Marie is confident that she has made the right choice when she sees J's transformation. "He doesn't look stoned. He just looks like a happy little boy."

http://www.momlogic.com/2009/11/can_marijuana_help_kids_with_autism.php