The same is true for the countless anxiety attacks, or the moments when I feel triggered by a traumatic event related to past autism-related abuse.
I am not alone among people with autism who believe that weed helps.
“I think the biggest stigma out there is that cannabis makes you lazy, or is a drug used to escape reality,” Lehman told Salon over email.
Scientists generally agree that both cannabis and cannabinoids “may have promising effects in the treatment of symptoms related to ASD , and can be used as a therapeutic alternative in the relief of those symptoms,” but the problem is simply that there have not been enough “randomized, blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials” to definitely determine that.
Indeed, there may be downsides to marijuana use for autistic people, at least in certain cases.
This was not true for Joann Fouquette, who in December talked to CNN about how CBD helped her young autistic son Ezra.
“Blocking the CB1 receptor can relieve seizures and memory issues in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome, a condition related to autism,” Spectrum News explained, citing a 2013 study in Nature Medicine.
In short, we know for sure that marijuana has positive effects when it comes to helping both people and animals cope with autism-like symptoms. Marijuana may or may not be helpful to autistic young people, although autistic adults who use it frequently have positive things to say.
Yet while the medical consensus is that there should be more research on autism and marijuana, federal law makes it difficult for scientists to actually conduct the necessary tests.
Autism is so frequently undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed as other conditions, which then makes it difficult for things like sensory issues to be properly understood and addressed.” She later added that for many autistic adults “it may feel like they are living in an overwhelming world with little support.
As mentioned before, this author is also autistic and uses medical marijuana to cope with his symptoms. As Lehman put it, I too have encountered stigmas because of my usage.
But it is — at least I’ve been told — it is connected or it’s not infrequent that it would be connected with someone who is on the autism spectrum.
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