Why I Give My 9-Year-Old Pot

[Chris]

Last spring, I wrote about applying for a medical marijuana license for my autistic, allergic 9-year-old son, J., in hopes of soothing his gut pain and anxiety, the roots of the behavioral demons that caused him to lash out at others and himself.  How is J. doing now, four months into our cannabis experiment? Well, one day recently, he came home from school, and I noticed something really different: He had a whole shirt on.

Pre-pot, J. ate things that weren’t food. There’s a name for this: pica. (Pregnant women are known to pica on chalk and laundry starch.) J. chewed the collar of his T-shirts while stealthily deconstructing them from the bottom up, teasing apart and then swallowing the threads. By the time I picked him up from the bus stop after school, the front half of his shirt was gone. His pica become so uncontrollable we couldn’t let him sleep with a pajama top (it would be gone by morning) or a pillow (ditto the case and the stuffing). An antique family quilt was reduced to fabric strips, and he even managed to eat holes in a fleece blanket—so much for his organic diet. I started dressing him only in organic cotton shirts, but we couldn’t support the cost of a new one every day. The worst part was watching him scream in pain on the toilet, when what went in had to come out. I had nightmares about long threads knotting in digestive organs. (TMI? Welcome to our life!)

Next, we started seeing changes in J.’s school reports. His curriculum is based on a therapy called Applied Behavioral Analysis, which involves, as the name implies, meticulous analysis of data. At one parent meeting in August (J. is on an extended school year), his teacher excitedly presented his June-July “aggression” chart. An aggression is defined as any attempt or instance of hitting, kicking, biting, or pinching another person. For the past year, he’d consistently had 30 to 50 aggressions in a school day, with a one-time high of 300. The charts for June through July, by contrast, showed he was actually having days—sometimes one after another—with zero aggressions.

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.

http://www.doublex.com/section/health-science/why-i-give-my-9-year-old-pot-part-ii?page=0,1

[Chris_]

So s/he's doping him up with a natural drug vs. an engineered one.  He'd be doped either way.  Sounds like it's working.

[mamacags]

I don't have any problems with this at all.  If something works then it works.

[Deuce]

Yeah, banning marijuana from being used for legitimate medical purposes is asinine. Marijuana has also showed promise in treating Alzheimer's, in far greater effectiveness than other medicines we have right now.

All because of some fear of... what, exactly? That medical use would lead to recreational use and then we'd have stoners everywhere wreaking havoc on our convenience stores' supply of doritos?

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

I'm not pro-recreational use because if potheads could keep heir promise about keeping their habit under wraps then there is no need to legalize because we would never know what they are doing so as to have to arrest them.

However, I've had medically prescribed morphine more than once and it was an absolutely horrifying exerience and would never repeat. I've even refused meds for pancreatitis during my 3rd bout.

That said: I can see my way clear to medical pot because Heaven knows it can't be worse then morphine.

[Schadenfreude]

I'm not pro-recreational use because if potheads could keep heir promise about keeping their habit under wraps then there is no need to legalize because we would never know what they are doing so as to have to arrest them.

However, I've had medically prescribed morphine more than once and it was an absolutely horrifying exerience and would never repeat. I've even refused meds for pancreatitis during my 3rd bout.

That said: I can see my way clear to medical pot because Heaven knows it can't be worse then morphine.

Tell me about your experience with morphine. My son had it when his knee was dislocated. As you know, he has autism and in all honesty, the morphine seemed to give him clarity of mind.

[RobJohnson]

Smoking pot is not good on the lungs, especially a child.

[debk]

I'm not sure marijuana is going to be any worse for a child than ritalin or aderol.

ADD and ADHD are so often misdiagnosed, yet doctors (and schools) have no problem with a child taking ritalin, aderol or whatever the latest drug is called....in large daily doses. As far as I'm concerned...the only difference is one is legal. (sorry.. this is a real issue for me )

At least if marijuana is legalized....it would bring in a whole lot of money in taxes.

[Chris_]

Smoking pot is not good on the lungs, especially a child.

Children don't smoke it.  It's mixed into a digestible substance such as food or a chewable tablet.

[Toastedturningtidelegs]

I'm not sure marijuana is going to be any worse for a child than ritalin or aderol.

ADD and ADHD are so often misdiagnosed, yet doctors (and schools) have no problem with a child taking ritalin, aderol or whatever the latest drug is called....in large daily doses. As far as I'm concerned...the only difference is one is legal. (sorry.. this is a real issue for me )

At least if marijuana is legalized....it would bring in a whole lot of money in taxes.

Yes actually! Those drugs are pretty powerful amphetamines. If a "normal" person takes them they have a speedy affect,someone with ADD or ADHD? It actually slows them down!

[RobJohnson]

I'm not sure marijuana is going to be any worse for a child than ritalin or aderol.

ADD and ADHD are so often misdiagnosed, yet doctors (and schools) have no problem with a child taking ritalin, aderol or whatever the latest drug is called....in large daily doses. As far as I'm concerned...the only difference is one is legal. (sorry.. this is a real issue for me )

At least if marijuana is legalized....it would bring in a whole lot of money in taxes.

At least the drugs you mentioned are FDA tested, I don't think pot has been proven safe for children.

[Toastedturningtidelegs]

At least the drugs you mentioned are FDA tested, I don't think pot has been proven safe for children.

Just because they're FDA tested doesn't mean they are safe! Especially over a long period of time. While I have mixed feelings about the use of cannabis it really is pretty harmless compared to some of the "FDA tested" drugs on the market now.

[RobJohnson]

I have more faith in the FDA then I do in pot advocates.

It's never a good idea to give a 9 year old an illegal drug. The parents should be locked up.

What unsafe FDA tested drugs are still on the market?

[Eupher]

Slightly off-topic, but FDA is something near and dear to my heart.

I am a quality assurance manager with some 15 years experience in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. I've also been privy to the inner workings of how drug compounds (small molecule) are developed, subjected to toxicology testing (and a dizzying array of other types of testing), scaled up from the lab bench through the pilot plant to full-scale production, validated, documented, and THEN AND ONLY THEN, submitted to FDA for review and, hopefully, approval.

The process doesn't end there, of course. FDA conducts what is called a "pre-approval inspection" whereby the compound in question is reviewed within the environment in which it's manufactured.

This entire process may take anywhere from 8 to 12 years, sometimes more.

And it's done entirely on the nickel of the pharmaceutical company that hopes to market the drug product.

(Generics are a different world, and for ease of discussion, I won't go there now.)

It needs to be pointed out that FDA doesn't test squat, unless it's doing it for cause. In the course of normal drug development through final FDA approval, FDA won't generally have cause to test any drug product.

FDA relies on the documented evidence submitted to FDA attesting to the drug product's safety and efficacy.

There are a TON of pitfalls and problem areas that surface along the way. Not all promising drug products wind up to be so promising, and these are either discarded outright or another use is found for the compound. (That was the case when Viagra was developed - it was originally intended as a drug to help men who have chest pain.)

In any event, FDA is a GOVERNMENT AGENCY of the department of Health and Human Services. It is staffed with professional bureaucrats, scientists, and workers at all levels who endeavour to try and ensure that food, drugs, and cosmetics (not to mention medical devices and biologics) actually do what their developers say they can do. Like any government agency, it is going to have excellent people, as well as hacks and shitbirds.

FDA is very much a political animal. Its leadership is subjected to the same kind of politics that any other organization is subjected to.

Idealism aside, it is very useful to keep in mind that FDA is not perfect. And it never will be. But it's the best we have and it's a damn sight better than most governmental agencies at what they do.

[djones520]

I'm not pro-recreational use because if potheads could keep heir promise about keeping their habit under wraps then there is no need to legalize because we would never know what they are doing so as to have to arrest them.

However, I've had medically prescribed morphine more than once and it was an absolutely horrifying exerience and would never repeat. I've even refused meds for pancreatitis during my 3rd bout.

That said: I can see my way clear to medical pot because Heaven knows it can't be worse then morphine.

If medical marijuana was as strictly regulated as Morphine was, then I'd be more about supporting it.  But in a lot of places it's so damn easy to get, it might as well be OTC.

[Eupher]

If medical marijuana was as strictly regulated as Morphine was, then I'd be more about supporting it.  But in a lot of places it's so damn easy to get, it might as well be OTC.

Let's keep in mind that not only is morphine regulated by FDA, it's ESPECIALLY regulated by the Drug Enforcement Agency. It's a Schedule I (the highest level) narcotic.

Believe me, you don't want to incur the wrath of the DEA. Accounting for Schedule I and Schedule II narcotics and drugs is a very, very serious business.

[jinxmchue]

Put some disgusting-flavored stuff on his shirts.  It'd be better and cheaper than making him a pothead.  A mouthful of something incredibly bitter will immediately stop him from chewing on his clothes.

[thundley4]

Let's keep in mind that not only is morphine regulated by FDA, it's ESPECIALLY regulated by the Drug Enforcement Agency. It's a Schedule I (the highest level) narcotic.

Believe me, you don't want to incur the wrath of the DEA. Accounting for Schedule I and Schedule II narcotics and drugs is a very, very serious business.

It makes me wonder about how much easier it will be to get such drugs under 0Bama's idea of "give them a pill" instead of surgery.

[Eupher]

It makes me wonder about how much easier it will be to get such drugs under 0Bama's idea of "give them a pill" instead of surgery.

Good question. Lord Zero's love for government control over everything might just lob a few billion more to DEA and FDA just because it's a good idea to keep government as bloated as 'chelle's hips.

[Chris_]

I have more faith in the FDA then I do in pot advocates.

It's never a good idea to give a 9 year old an illegal drug. The parents should be locked up.

What unsafe FDA tested drugs are still on the market?

Your assumption that the child was smoking the marijuana leads me to question your knowledge on the subject.

Thousands of FDA regulated (not tested by) drugs are "unsafe" if misused, misprescribed or a myriad of other potential situations.  

Marijuana is being legally prescribed by physicians in states that allow it.  And it has been tested to prove its benefits and other attributes (which by the way, make it much safer than many drugs prescribed to children for ADD/ADHD, autism and various emotional & physical disorders and conditions.

[Toastedturningtidelegs]

I have more faith in the FDA then I do in pot advocates.

It's never a good idea to give a 9 year old an illegal drug. The parents should be locked up.

What unsafe FDA tested drugs are still on the market?

Google Lamictal!

[debk]

Yes actually! Those drugs are pretty powerful amphetamines. If a "normal" person takes them they have a speedy affect,someone with ADD or ADHD? It actually slows them down!

At least the drugs you mentioned are FDA tested, I don't think pot has been proven safe for children.

Just because they're FDA tested doesn't mean they are safe! Especially over a long period of time. While I have mixed feelings about the use of cannabis it really is pretty harmless compared to some of the "FDA tested" drugs on the market now.

I will try not to soapbox this .....but I have extremely strong feelings about it.

At the time my child was in elementary school in the 80's-90's, TN had the highest percentage of kids on ADHD drugs in the country, and my county had the highest percentage of children on them in the state.

AT THAT TIME....a child who was medically determined to need ADHD drugs was classified by the school system the same way as a child with Down's.....mentally handicapped.

THE SCHOOL SYSTEM RECEIVES MONEY FROM BOTH THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN.

The elementary school my children attended....at that time was ranked as one of the top elementary schools in the county. Not only in test scores, but teachers/principal, and parental involvement. It also was one of the highest for income/education levels of the parents.

At that time....if a teacher was "concerned" about a child's behavior....the teacher filled out a questionnaire with 13 questions on it. If the three question were answered positive.....the child was determined to be ADD/ADHD by the teacher and then reviewed by the school system's psychologist. The school psychologist interviewed the child, gave a couple of tests...said "yep, kid is ADHD...let's get the pediatrician to write a presciption". The teacher would then relay to an IEP team made of principal, teachers, school psychologist, and parents if the kid was ok or needed more drugs. If the teacher felt the kid wasn't "chilled out enough"....the dosage was upped.

Do you see a pattern here?

My kid was also evaluated by a private psychologist.

Kid has an IQ in the upper 140's and is dyslexic...and was diagnosed with ADHD. Took ritalin until a freshman in high school. Graduated high school with a 3.5 ...undrugged. Is a math and science wizard, but sucks in English. Gee....do you think that could be because of the dyslexia?

I still don't believe the kid is, or ever was, ADHD....I DO believe the kid was extremely bored....with a father who thought discipline was best accomplished by handing out money or expensive objects for bribes (not good behavior) and if that failed ....just ignore the kid and blame the behavior on someone else.

ADD/ADHD is such an easy diagnosis and so very often wrong. And people wonder why we have so many kids and younger adults with drug problems. It's because they spent their childhood's drugged....it's the only way they know how to cope with even the most basic everyday living.

 

[Chris_]

I will try not to soapbox this .....but I have extremely strong feelings about it.

At the time my child was in elementary school in the 80's-90's, TN had the highest percentage of kids on ADHD drugs in the country, and my county had the highest percentage of children on them in the state.

AT THAT TIME....a child who was medically determined to need ADHD drugs was classified by the school system the same way as a child with Down's.....mentally handicapped.

THE SCHOOL SYSTEM RECEIVES MONEY FROM BOTH THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN.

The elementary school my children attended....at that time was ranked as one of the top elementary schools in the county. Not only in test scores, but teachers/principal, and parental involvement. It also was one of the highest for income/education levels of the parents.

At that time....if a teacher was "concerned" about a child's behavior....the teacher filled out a questionnaire with 13 questions on it. If the three question were answered positive.....the child was determined to be ADD/ADHD by the teacher and then reviewed by the school system's psychologist. The school psychologist interviewed the child, gave a couple of tests...said "yep, kid is ADHD...let's get the pediatrician to write a presciption". The teacher would then relay to an IEP team made of principal, teachers, school psychologist, and parents if the kid was ok or needed more drugs. If the teacher felt the kid wasn't "chilled out enough"....the dosage was upped.

Do you see a pattern here?

My kid was also evaluated by a private psychologist.

Kid has an IQ in the upper 140's and is dyslexic...and was diagnosed with ADHD. Took ritalin until a freshman in high school. Graduated high school with a 3.5 ...undrugged. Is a math and science wizard, but sucks in English. Gee....do you think that could be because of the dyslexia?

I still don't believe the kid is, or ever was, ADHD....I DO believe the kid was extremely bored....with a father who thought discipline was best accomplished by handing out money or expensive objects for bribes (not good behavior) and if that failed ....just ignore the kid and blame the behavior on someone else.

ADD/ADHD is such an easy diagnosis and so very often wrong. And people wonder why we have so many kids and younger adults with drug problems. It's because they spent their childhood's drugged....it's the only way they know how to cope with even the most basic everyday living.

 

I too had similar experiences with my older child.  With each "diagnosed" child the school receives more money and "resources" yet the song remains the same.  My kid's quack doctor prescribed about 10 different meds over about 2 years before I finally told him to pound sand, and that he was a quack.  My child went off meds, off the psychiatrist's bench, and into behavioral change therapy and has done much, much better.  

I believe most ADHD/ADD kids will do much better with behavioral therapy, finding a learning/social style that works with them vs. forcing them to conform to the learning/social styles of the current educational system.  If you can homeschool, or put her with a homeschool group, her odds of success are much better.

I also agree 100% with your last statement.  The methadone clinics and rehab centers are brimming full of post-ritalin post-adolescents.

[IassaFTots]

Thank you Sherry and Deb for enlightening me.  Not having any kids, I wondered why it seemed that so many were being diagnosed this way.  I just had a little lightbulb moment.  Not to diminish the fact that there are some situations that dictate medication.  The kids I knew just seemed to have alot of energy, that wasn't being exercised out by anything other than playing video games.  Never could figure out what could be wrong with them that they would require meds. 

[debk]

Thank you Sherry and Deb for enlightening me.  Not having any kids, I wondered why it seemed that so many were being diagnosed this way.  I just had a little lightbulb moment.  Not to diminish the fact that there are some situations that dictate medication.  The kids I knew just seemed to have alot of energy, that wasn't being exercised out by anything other than playing video games.  Never could figure out what could be wrong with them that they would require meds. 

It's also a whole lot easier for an overworked teacher with an excess number of children in her class to have them drugged rather than deal with them.

Believe me....I am not blaming the teachers in any way....I am blaming the system!

It benefits the school system and the pharmacuetical companies.

It makes an excuse for a parent to not have to deal with a rambunctious child.

And it may or may not destroy the child. I can guaran-damn-tee you that it puts a label on the child for the rest of the time they are in school. A label that the child cannot lose and gives the teacher a preconceived opinion of the child before they even meet the child.

The best year in school for my child was 5th grade. The teacher did not read any of her kids' files until after the first week of school....she formed her own opinions....and then read their file. Her students loved her and the parents enjoyed helping out in her class.

I was on the PTA board at my kids' elementary school for years, ran the clinic for several years, and was a home room mother for both of them every year.

Oh yeah....and the "quack" that was writing the Rx for my kid's ritalin was my ex's partner. They increased the dosage whenever the school psychiatrist felt it was needed. When it was at a 100mg a day, and I refused to give it to the child....I was taken to court by my ex....for endangering my child.

I have very strong feelings about this subject....