To: Medical Marihuana Act Review Panel
Add Autism to Medical Cannabis Qualifying Conditions
This petition is intended to recruit your signature alongside physicians and other interested persons in adding autism as an approved condition for treatment with medical cannabis in the State of Michigan.
Why is this important?
"About 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network."
Autism can be a highly debilitating condition and there are virtually no known effective treatments. Cannabis has therapeutic and palliative relief for the traditional symptoms and conditions associated with autism (particularly strains with high levels of CBD present).
Parents and guardians should be protected in their choice to treat their loved ones with cannabis. In order for those who choose this option of treatment to have protections under the law in medical cannabis States it is imperative that autism be added to the list of conditions (e.g., epilepsy, spasms, chronic pain, etc.) so that physicians may legally authorize the use of cannabis in treating autism.
Parents along with experts intend to give testimony before Medical Marijuana Review Panels in MI (and hopefully in other States) to demand that autism be added as a qualifying condition! We are calling for the protection of families and physicians under medical cannabis laws in order to utilize cannabis as a treatment option for severe cases of autism! One such parent includes Lisa Christine from Belleville, MI:
“Making the decision to use Cannabis to treat Noah’s Autism and Dravet Syndrome was not a decision that was made in haste... Noah has made great strides over the past few months since he began using Cannabis... We’ve managed to wean him off all but one medication used for seizure control and he no longer relies on behavior medications to help control or stabilize his behaviors, as he no longer exhibits aggressive or self injurious tendencies.”
Parents aren’t alone in this effort. Dr. Harry Chugani, the head of Pediatric Neurology at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, has specialized in autism for over 20 years and also intends to give testimony before the Medical Marihuana Review Panel in Michigan. Dr. Chugani “supports the approval of cannabis to treat difficult externalizing behaviors seen in autism and protections for the patients, parents, guardians, and caregivers assisting those patients."
Other national and local physicians continue to endorse this effort including Dr. Lester Grinspoon, who is an Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Grinspoon was senior psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston for 40 years and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Grinspoon intends on providing testimony in regard to the relative safety of cannabis.
We encourage all physicians able and willing to provide testimony in person, or that would be willing to sign an affidavit in support of these campaigns, to please contact Dr. Christian Bogner: [email protected]. This also applies to any professionals that would like additional information in regard to the research that has been gathered.
We would like to indicate to our respective review panels that the medical cannabis community is in solidarity on this issue. If you believe that autism should be added as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis, please take a moment to sign this petition! Every signature counts and we thank you for your support!
We encourage groups and individuals to form similar campaigns to the one that has been launched in Michigan in their State. By joining efforts and sharing resources, we have the ability to make a larger impact. Additional resources can also be shared including research and affidavits. Please contact Dr. Bogner ([email protected]) for more info.
Thank you,
Dr. Christian Bogner, M.D.; Chad Carr; Dr. Harry Chugani, M.D.;
Dr. Lester Grinspoon, M.D.; Michael A. Komorn; Joe Stone
Research:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/218971076/The-Endocannabinoid-System-as-it-Relates-to-Autism
Cannabis use to treat autism radio segment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX3kD7DXzho
Previous denial:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/lara/Final_Determination_Autism_436526_7.pdf