Autism & Marijuana: Yes, It Actually Does Help

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Not everybody. I never have, for one. I think the rate is more like 60-70%...

I just think the government ought to stop being so paternalistic. They should make laws against hurting other people; but if you're doing something that's hurting only yourself, or nobody at all, then that's your business.

Pasted from https://www.greenpassion.org/index.php? ... july-2010/


I have updated Granny's list from the 2010 List which is now called, Granny's MMJ List-January 2011. I have also made a topic with an index for the new and updated list. I am giving you the links to my new 2011 list and it's index... Please book mark the new one as this 2010 List will not be here in the near future. I hope you do enjoy...

Granny's MMJ List-January 2011 https://www.greenpassion.org/index.php? ... ntry351490

Link to the 2011 index for Granny's List https://www.greenpassion.org/index.php? ... ntry351488

I smoked once in my life because of "socializing" -reasons - well, I have a light syaesthesia with sound and colour and when smoking it became a trip...if I would smoke I' would be even more unfunctional than I am already. But maybe it depends of the degree of autism you have, I don't know.

It might be a possibility for those with lots of anxiety and tension--maybe it's a possible addition to our arsenal of anti-anxiety medications. Maybe it could be used as a quasi-sedative. But I really want research on it. It has side-effects, like any medication does; and it changes your brain--long-term; at least as long-term as SSRIs do; for months or more. And if it does turn out to be useful, we need a delivery system that doesn't involve getting gunk in your lungs.

But all this word-of-mouth and haphazard testimonial stuff... that's just no good. For all we know, the effect is so unreliable as to be unusable as medicine; and we know there are side effects that need to be studied. Maybe there are groups of people who absolutely shouldn't take it, or groups of people for whom it's especially effective. Maybe there are interactions with other substances, or even with foods. We don't know any of that, and it needs to be studied.

Recommending marijuana as medication right now is absolutely premature. There needs to be research on it. If you're going to experiment with it yourself, fine; it's your lungs and your brain and your criminal record you're risking. But widespread recommendation of it has to wait until after we have gotten a proper research program going on it.

I use it often for both anxiety and depression. It drastically lowers my social anxiety and allows me to socialize with others; on my own I can't even introduce myself to strangers. I can eat a brownie in the morning and be able to give a lecture to 100+ students; without pot I would not be able to speak. I can take crowded buses without having an anxiety attack, and that was always an issue for me.
I also use it when I'm very depressed; anti-depressants have never helped me without leaving me unable to function. I need to be able to think for my work, If I can't think I might as well not show up, so I have not taken perscription anti-depressants in years.
Pot is the only treatment for either of these that I have used that has left me mentally able to do my work, which is research. In 7 years of using pot medicinally (unofficially) I have managed my depression fairly well and have been able to function well enough socially to be a successful grad student and research scientist.
Pot seems to have a bad rep for a few reasons. A big one is the giggling stoner issue, high schoolers at the mall give regular folks a bad impression of its effects. Also there are the 'well, its illegal, so its bad" folks, who haven't got the marbles to ask themselves "is it illegal because it is bad, or is it bad because it is illegal?"
I would recommend anyone with anxiety or depression issues to try it if their current treatments don't give them what they need. I also really recommend injesting. Smoking gives more of the idiot stoner effect, whereas injesting (for me and those I know) results in more of the calming, focussed effect, where a small dose (~1/2 gram) is sufficient for a full day away from home.

I feel that it helps me, not nessisarly with the AS.....I have not worked out quite how it effects that. But it seems to help with the depression, anxiety and PTSD though it can't really cure any of those things.

A major reason for keeping pot illegal is the claim that the plants can't be distinguished from hemp plants, and they want to keep hemp illegal so that it won't compete with things like the cotton and wood pulp industries. So, they say the plants look alike, then they can ban growing of hemp. This is foolish. Hemp is renewable and far less resource intensive to cultivate than other crops. Think about bio fuel. Hemp would be much more efficient than corn to grow. But the other industries are too powerful.

Consider this: If the authorities in Canada and other countries can tell pot plants from hemp plants, what's wrong with our law enforcement?

As for research, it's been banned for so long in the US, though I don't know the state of things right now. The claim has been that there's no medical benefit, so possessing and using it for research has not been allowed. But not being able to do the research is what has kept the assumption that there's no medical benefit from being tested. Other countries have tested it for medical uses, risk of addiction, likelihood of it being a "gateway drug", chances of overdose, degree of connection with auto accidents, effects over time, and who knows what else. But the results are kept from the public in the US unless you know where to find postings of legitimate, properly conducted, published studies or you happen across something that slips into a mainstream magazine. Otherwise, you have to hope the stuff you read, whether pro or con, isn't just propaganda.

I think it was either Scientific American or Discover in which I actually found an article explaining why pot works for pain and why morphine is bad. In a nutshell, it's all about the messages the body gets when in pain. Lingering injury indicates damage, so the body cranks up the sensitivity, which is why chronic pain gets so bad. Numbness also indicates injury, so the body compensates with increased sensitivity then, too. Morphine numbs pain, mimicking one of the signs of nerve damage, so sensitivity goes up. That's why you need more and more morphine over time - to thwart the body's compensation technique. Pot, on the other hand, soothes the nerves, which tells the body to back off from sensitivity. (This is all part of the very interesting study of glial cells, btw - you know, what they call white matter, as opposed to gray matter, in the brain and other areas of the nervous system.)

True, no medicine is right for absolutely everyone. But here's something to consider: A lot of how someone reacts to being high on pot has to do with their head space beforehand. Also, what's the environment you're in when high? I recommend, as an activity when not high, regular meditation. It's really great for you anyway, and it helps with a lot of stuff like stress and self understanding. Then, when you eat something with pot in it, which gives you some time, meditate again while you wait to get high. When the high comes on, do something you like, such as listen to music with candles, Christmas lights, or other dim lighting. Get high alone or with one or two people you really trust, so that you don't feel worried about anything. If they're experienced with this, they can answer any questions you have as you experience your high, and that may be very reassuring for you. It also gives you an experience you're sharing in common, and that can be nice. If you feel agitated, do something like play a game or a musical instrument you like, so that you have something to do that takes your attention. And be mindful that you don't want to get too high, or else it's hard to do the activities and easy to feel unwell (get a headache or funny stomach).

I can only enjoy taking in about half as much when I use it as the people around me, I think. I'm sensitive to it, so a little goes a long way. Plus, I only want it about once or twice a week, and sometimes I want a break of anywhere from a week to several months. Maybe I just need it entirely out of my system from time to time. One of the really great things about pot is that you can start at whatever level suits you, use it for as long as you want/need, stop cold turkey if you like and for as long as you like, and then start again at the level you used before, all without hurting yourself. If you try that with a prescription medication, you're screwed! It's really dangerous! But pot is safe, so you can choose your dosage, adjust it on your own, and go on and off it at will, all without harm.

All this is what I learned when I started with it a year and a half ago. Before that, I'd only been high once, in my mid-twenties. I think I got too much of it then, so I was too high and didn't like it. Now I know the high is good for pain from fibromyalgia, and then I feel more calm and sleep better for days after that.

Yeah. Sounds a lot like I thought when I was 19 too.

Smoked for 12 years, then, when the euphoria wouldn't come anymore for several years, I started thinking, "Why the hell am I wasting my time and money on this crap?"

So, I quit. And it wasn't until I did that I fully began to understand that wasn't all I was wasting.

Trust me or not, and I know you probably won't. It's doing more harm than good. And the ONLY people I know with Autism that disagree with me are people who haven't quit yet. Those that have done it and have quit, know what I'm talking about for the most part.

Allow me to ask the OP a poignant question.

How many of your "social friends" either rarely drink, or don't drink at all, and don't do any drugs at all, except for appropriate over the counter drugs and those prescribed to them by doctors?

I'd be wiling to bet very few, if any at all.