Today I saw on the news that there is a campaign to add autism to the list of conditions that doctors may prescribe medical marijuana for in Michigan, along with insomnia, asthma and PTSD. Frankly I don't think it will get very far. Michigan is far too divided a state for that and they are still fighting over the currently allowed conditions and who may get a card and so forth.
First, a disclaimer. I do not use marijuana in any form. But in the interests of full disclosure, I am not an unbiased observer. I have a vested interest in the subject because I work in preclinical pharmaceutical research. That means for some of you out there that I work for the "bad guys" (Big Pharma) and therefore you are free to take what I have to say on the subject accordingly.
The problem as I see it with medical marijuana as it is currently practiced is that it is not treated like any other drug that is on the market. Opponents of medical marijuana claim that this is just a sneaky way to legalize marijuana rather than a legitimate medical treatment, and I think that they may have a point. From what I have read, the jury is still out regarding the medical benefits of marijuana. That means a lot more research needs to be done (and this is where my bias comes in).
If the supporters of medical marijuana want to be taken seriously, then they should agree to have marijuana regulated and treated just like any other pharmaceutical. That means instead of setting up separate dispensaries to distribute it, it should be distributed through regular pharmacies. Just like any other drug.
I also think that the current method of smoking/ingesting the whole plant is inefficient and obsolete (and that is where my other bias comes in). We no longer prescribe foxglove tea for heart patients, for example, but have isolated and purified the ingredient digitalis so that it can be given in standardized form, thus reducing the risk of overdose or side effects from other compounds present in the foxglove plant. The same ought to be done for any compounds from the marijuana plant that eventually prove to be medically useful. But of course that would mean that Big Bad Pharma would be involved. I suspect that some (not all) of medical marijuana's appeal is that it is a way to circumvent Big Pharma--a type of do-it-yourself medicine. But I warned you, I have a vested interest in the subject.
It may very well be that medical marijuana could be helpful for certain types of autism. And that is why we need more research on both. We need well-regulated, soundly designed preclinical and clinical studies. It's not enough to put autism or any other condition on the list and just dispense medical marijuana willy-nilly. We may end up doing more harm than good that way.
First, a disclaimer. I do not use marijuana in any form. But in the interests of full disclosure, I am not an unbiased observer. I have a vested interest in the subject because I work in preclinical pharmaceutical research. That means for some of you out there that I work for the "bad guys" (Big Pharma) and therefore you are free to take what I have to say on the subject accordingly.
The problem as I see it with medical marijuana as it is currently practiced is that it is not treated like any other drug that is on the market. Opponents of medical marijuana claim that this is just a sneaky way to legalize marijuana rather than a legitimate medical treatment, and I think that they may have a point. From what I have read, the jury is still out regarding the medical benefits of marijuana. That means a lot more research needs to be done (and this is where my bias comes in).
If the supporters of medical marijuana want to be taken seriously, then they should agree to have marijuana regulated and treated just like any other pharmaceutical. That means instead of setting up separate dispensaries to distribute it, it should be distributed through regular pharmacies. Just like any other drug.
I also think that the current method of smoking/ingesting the whole plant is inefficient and obsolete (and that is where my other bias comes in). We no longer prescribe foxglove tea for heart patients, for example, but have isolated and purified the ingredient digitalis so that it can be given in standardized form, thus reducing the risk of overdose or side effects from other compounds present in the foxglove plant. The same ought to be done for any compounds from the marijuana plant that eventually prove to be medically useful. But of course that would mean that Big Bad Pharma would be involved. I suspect that some (not all) of medical marijuana's appeal is that it is a way to circumvent Big Pharma--a type of do-it-yourself medicine. But I warned you, I have a vested interest in the subject.
It may very well be that medical marijuana could be helpful for certain types of autism. And that is why we need more research on both. We need well-regulated, soundly designed preclinical and clinical studies. It's not enough to put autism or any other condition on the list and just dispense medical marijuana willy-nilly. We may end up doing more harm than good that way.
