There has been a great deal of warranted curiosity in the last few years regarding how Cannabis treatment might affect the symptomatology of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Being on the Autism Spectrum is not an illness or disease, but rather a unique functioning of the neural pathways in the brain that often manifests as a classifiable set of impaired behaviors. These behaviors occur within a range, hence the ‘spectrum’ part of the diagnosis. ASD is characterized by functional deficits in three areas: mental development, social interaction, and behavior patterns. Some people on this spectrum are relatively high functioning, but others are dramatically hindered by this disability, to the point that they are dependent on people or institutions to meet their basic needs and may find it very difficult, if not impossible, to function within a typical societal format.
I first became intrigued with the potential benefits Cannabis could have on ASD when I was doing the patient intake at the Synergy Wellness office. I spoke with a customer who had a severely autistic toddler and decided to try treating her with one of our tinctures. He reported back to us that, to his amazement, his daughter who had always been non-verbal, had started to express herself with sound after just one dose! This was a few years back and I would be dishonest if I said that I continued to track this customer to see how it all unfolded but it sparked something in me – gave me a glimpse of what could be inherently possible with this medicine in yet another context.
The fact that there is a big ‘buzz’ around treating ASD with CBD is due to the fact that there are no medications that address autism’s core symptoms. Existing medications are used to target co-morbid symptoms such as anxiety, psychosis, or aggressive behavior but they often cause notable negative side effects which limits their use and scope.
A Brazilian study from 2019 administered CBD-enriched Cannabis extract to 18 severely autistic patients. Of the 15 that continued treatment for the length of the study, only one showed lack of improvement in autistic symptoms.
An Israeli study from 2015-2017 observed 188 autism patients, most of whom were treated with a 20:1 oil. After 6 months of treatment, activities of daily living, mood, and quality of life were assessed. It found that 30% of patients reported significant improvement, 54% moderate and 6% slight improvement, while 9% experienced no change to their condition. The most common side effect reported (in less than 25% of study subjects) was restlessness. The study concluded that this high-CBD and low-THC treatment in autism patients appeared to be well-tolerated, safe, and effective.
There have been other studies with similar findings but they are not considered empirical because they often employed no placebo control aspect. In addition, the time span of the study relied on reporting from the caregivers which some scientists theorize might have been influenced by their bias in wanting the treatment to work.
An interesting thing to note is there have been many scientific findings that people with autism often have deficiencies in the production and regulation of endogenous cannabinoids, (the ones our own bodies make) such as Anandamide which has a big role in mood stabilization. This neurotransmitter, known also as ‘the bliss molecule’ is crucial for the proper functioning of the whole neurotransmission network as it helps regulate the glutamate and GABA system. An imbalance in this system is often linked with autism.
In a 2018 Stanford University study, anandamide concentration was significantly lower in children with ASD as compared to controls, leading researchers to theorize whether treating with cannabis might correct this.
THC is the cannabinoid most closely linked with bringing about effects similar to anandamide thus researchers theorize that THC has therapeutic potential in the treatment of autism. THC, however can also be very destabilizing to people with autism because of its mind-altering characteristics, which is why tempering the THC by allowing CBD to dominate the formulation is highly recommended. Because the hemp products that are legal in all 50 states contain no THC at all so it is better to find a provider where you can source a product with a ratio of somewhere between 15:1 to 25:1 rather than with a commercial hemp CBD product (Synergy Wellness and Healing Essence have several options in this category).
In closing, I would like to share the story of Alexa, who spoke with me at length about her 10 year-old son, who has a very extreme presentation of Autism (diagnosed at the age of 2). She and her husband had struggled for years in all the ways parents of severely autistic children are familiar with but the most difficult aspect for her was the frequent hours-long ‘melt-downs’ he would have which not only exhausted his parents but made them wary of bringing him anywhere public or leaving him with a caregiver, making even the simplest daily tasks very challenging. Alexa was very averse to turning to sedatives for him but was starting to feel desperate. Just about a year ago, a friend recommended she try a cannabis tincture that she had. Once Alexa figured out the right ratio (high CBD to low THC tincture), all of their lives have profoundly changed for the better.
“It’s night-and-day difference, literally a life-saver for us!” she expressed in our interview. She says that now he can actually self-regulate and talk himself off the ledge when he starts to feel like he is escalating into a tantrum state, which is something Alexa doesn’t perceive typically prescribed medications for ASD can provide. “I know it sounds kind of corny but this has literally changed our lives.”
The abundance of anecdotal data accumulating regarding Cannabis as a treatment for ASD is an indicator that we will probably start to see empirical studies and data follow suit because the desire for proof is growing, as is the diagnosis of ASD. According to the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM), the prevalence of ASD has gone from one in 150 children in 2000 in the U.S. to 1 in 54 children in 2021. It’s notable that that statistic has been the same since 2016; that is to say, the ADDM has not reported a higher incidence in the last 5 years – perhaps that is because treatment with cannabis has become much more popular in the last 5 years? Just my own personal lightbulb moment, not something I have come across in my research but I find it compelling.
It is my sincere hope that Cannabis studies will continue to flourish so we can find the myriad ways that these jewels from the plant world can continue to support the many physical and spiritual woes that have befallen humankind, and that their benefits will be eventually validated for use in the global medical marketplace.
References:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2019.01145/full
https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/medical-marijuana-for-autism
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2333794X18815412
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/addm.html
https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-021-00420-2
https://www.joinsprouttherapy.com/studio/autism/statistics-and-rates