by Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director<\/p>\n
The Connection Magazine “News From The Net” – May 26, 2012<\/p>\n
Over the last five years there
\nhave been numerous media reports
\nabout the anecdotal use of cannabis
\nto help autistic children. Two brave
\nwomen, one on the east coast the other
\nthe west, have been at the forefront of
\nthis effort to help scientifically explain
\nwhy cannabis appears to be so helpful.
\nMarie Myung-Ok Lee wrote about her
\nexperience in Rhode Island, a state with
\nmedical cannabis laws, in 2009. Soon
\nafter, inspired by Marie\u2019s writings,
\nMieko Perez Hester and her son had
\na similarly positive experience with
\ntreating his autism in California. Mieko,
\nsoon after going public about their ex-
\nperience, was invited onto ABC\u2019s Good
\nMorning America.
\nThe reply from parents around the
\ncountry to these charter members of the
\nNORML Women Alliance experience
\nas parents using cannabis as a therapy
\nfor their autistic children has been
\noverwhelming and inspired the need
\nto perform proper scientific research
\nto possibly develop cannabinoid-based
\ntreatments for autism in both children
\nand adults.
\nTo help accomplish this Mieko es-
\ntablished The Unconventional Founda-
\ntion for Autism (UF4A), which is asking
\nthe NORML community of hundreds
\nof thousands of cannabis consumers
\nand patients to help with a scientific
\nsurvey today.
\nThe NORML community has
\njoined UF4A in this remarkable journey
\nand fight, and has offered to help solicit
\nfeedback through the survey.
\nTarget: Persons on the autism
\nspectrum currently using or interested
\nin using cannabis as a safe and effective
\nmedication to treat autism.
\nWith more than 1 in 88 children
\naffected, autism is the fastest growing
\ndevelopmental disability in the United
\nStates. Currently, there is no medical
\ndetection or cure for autism; however,
\nthere are pharmaceutical and therapeutic
\ntreatments that have proven to be effec-
\ntive in treating the condition. Among
\nthe safest and most remarkable is the
\ntherapeutic use of medical cannabis.
\nAmidst a highly controversial
\nsetting, one California mother is shar-
\ning her autistic son\u2019s triumphant and
\nlife-saving journey with the world.
\nSingle mother of three, Mieko Hester
\nPerez was watching her young son,
\nJoey, succumb to various combinations
\nof 13 different prescription drugs that
\nravaged his body and internal organs.
\nJoey weighed only 46 pounds, and was
\nin a battle for his life. (Read more:
\nwww.uf4a.org.)
\nIn 2009, The Unconventional
\nFoundation for Autism (UF4A) was
\nformed. UF4A is lighting a path in hopes
\nthat others may benefit from alternative
\ntherapies that may be available to other
\nfamilies on the Autism Spectrum. Mieko
\nhelped create a survey to help solidify
\nand amplify her results and the level of
\nhelp the Foundation can provide.
\nAt UF4A, we believe providing
\nthe most accurate information to medi-
\ncal professionals for research purposes
\nwill pave the way for clinical trials for
\nunconventional treatments.
\nWe seek to solidify and further the
\nfundamental understanding we have in
\nregards to the effectiveness of cannabis
\nalleviating symptoms along the Autism
\nSpectrum. The information collected
\nin the survey will be used to further
\nguide families, new patients, doctors
\nand lawmakers in making informed and
\nproper decisions for themselves and our
\ncommunity.
\nSURVEY LINK: If this survey
\napplicable to you or a loved one, we
\ninvite you or them to fill out the form
\nUF4A Treatment of Persons on the
\nSpectrum with Cannabis. To fill out
\nthe survey, go to https:\/\/spreadsheets.
\ngoogle.com\/spreadsheet\/viewform?for
\nmkey=dG9wYmVjaVhQdXpXWVV
\nYbUtjaDR0UGc6MQ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director The Connection Magazine “News From The Net” – May 26, 2012 Over the last five years there have been numerous media reports about the anecdotal use of cannabis to help autistic children. Two … Continue reading