psychesmartautismtm's posterous http://psychesmartautismtm.posterous.com Most recent posts at psychesmartautismtm's posterous posterous.com Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:01:06 -0800 Cannabis edibles in autism: could it help tamp down the threat http://psychesmartautismtm.posterous.com/cannabis-edibles-in-autism-could-it-help-tamp http://psychesmartautismtm.posterous.com/cannabis-edibles-in-autism-could-it-help-tamp

Cannabis edibles in autism: could it help tamp down the threat

As you might know I had promised not to comment on lay journal articles about autism. It has obviously been overdone and I would not be adding much by doing that. However, a news article about a mother who used marijuana to improve her autistic son's sociability and other interactive traits caught my eye. Of course anyone who has used pot can tell you that it relaxes, mallows and removes the edge.

This is apparently due to cannabis ability to tamp down the activity of the stress system. This system is particularly overactive in autistics and gives them an overinflatedsense of fear. Fear in turn leads to withdrawal. So what we have here is a highly protective sense of self-preservation. This is manifested through fear of engaging with strangers, fear of adventure and so many other forms of fear that can be crippling to many.

Cannabis or pot can temporarily ease the grip of this inhibitory process to allow an autistic person to be more outwardly. This is obviously not a treatment or a cure but who needs to be cured of who they are anyway. This is however a way to let autistics get over a crisis in which they find themselves overly introspective, more than their usual self.

Rami Serhan, MD
consultant@sovereignresearch.org
http://sovereignresearch.org/psychesmartautismtm

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