Pubdate: Mon, 19 Jun 2017
Source: Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
Copyright: 2017 The Morning Call Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/DReo9M8z
Website: http://www.mcall.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/275
Author: Nicole Radzievich

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY LOOKS TO STUDY CANNABIS' EFFECT ON AUTISTIC
CHILDREN

As Pennsylvania prepares to award its first licenses for the fledgling
medical marijuana industry, Lehigh University intends to partner with
one of the potential growers in the Lehigh Valley to study the effect
of the drug on children with autism.

As Pennsylvania prepares to award its first licenses for the fledgling
medical marijuana industry, Lehigh University intends to partner with
one of the potential growers in the Lehigh Valley to study the effect
of the drug on children with autism. (Glen Stubbe/AP File Photo)

As Pennsylvania prepares to award its first licenses for the fledgling
medical marijuana industry, Lehigh University intends to partner with
one of the potential growers in the Lehigh Valley to study the effect
of the drug on children with autism.

While some parents of autistic children have preached the benefits of
cannabis for years, Lehigh's Dean of Education Gary Sasso confirmed
Monday that the university wants to collect some of the first
quantitative data on the controversial drug therapy. Pennsylvania is
one of the few states that specifically allows children with autism to
be treated with cannabis.

He said the anecdotal evidence is interesting, because marijuana
appears to lack the side effects of the psychotropic drugs that are
accepted in the treatment of autism. But, he cautioned, the effect of
marijuana is largely unknown, underscoring the need for the study.

If it proves to be safe, "does it mitigate some of the major
characteristics of autism -- social reluctance, language [challenges]
and other stereotypical behaviors they sometimes engage in?" he said.
"We have that kind of expertise to do that."

Lehigh has been working with autistic children for years under its
Center for Promoting Research to Practice and has organized annual
workshops and other symposiums on the topic. Its professors conduct
research and work with children at the Centennial School, a
Lehigh-governed facility that serves children with autism and
behavioral challenges.

To the average person, the show appeared to be another fabulous
staging of "The Ice Princess" by the cast at Pennsylvania Shakespeare
Festival.

About a dozen kids in the audience sat on the floor surrounding the
stage to watch the show. The actors dodged in and out of the stage
area, interacting...

To the average person, the show appeared to be another fabulous
staging of "The Ice Princess" by the cast at Pennsylvania Shakespeare
Festival.

About a dozen kids in the audience sat on the floor surrounding the
stage to watch the show. The actors dodged in and out of the stage
area, interacting... (Jennifer Sheehan)

Sasso said Lehigh would be working with BioGreen Farms, which is
competing for a license to grow marijuana in Williams Township.
BioGreen, which includes local developer Lou Pektor, has as a medical
director Dr. Sue Sisley, who has agreements with other applicants for
studies.

Sisley is a member of the steering committee at Thomas Jefferson
University's Lambert Center for the Study of Medicinal Cannabis and
Hemp.

She was part of a research team last year awarded a Drug Enforcement
Administration license to study marijuana's effects on veterans and
post-traumatic stress disorder. And she has gained national attention
for her criticism of the quality of federally grown cannabis.

The majority of Pennsylvanians polled by Franklin & Marshall College
believe all marijuana use should be legalized. The poll, which The
Morning Call reported on yesterday, found 56 percent of voters said
yes to legalizing cannabis.

Whatever you want to call it, it's all cannabis -- and it's
high...

The majority of Pennsylvanians polled by Franklin & Marshall College
believe all marijuana use should be legalized. The poll, which The
Morning Call reported on yesterday, found 56 percent of voters said
yes to legalizing cannabis.

Whatever you want to call it, it's all cannabis -- and it's high...
(Matt Coughlin)

Sisley said she is eager to be able to conduct observational studies
in Pennsylvania on lab-tested cannabis and autism.

"Moms are certainly using this actively in the black market, and now
it's time to bring everything out and into the open," she said. "It's
time to let sun shine in."

Sasso said Lehigh has not yet allocated money for the study and will
seek grants if BioGreen is awarded a grower's license. BioGreen is
among 28 growers competing for a license in the Northeast region,
which includes the Lehigh Valley. The region is expected to be awarded
two grower/producer licenses under phase one of the medical marijuana
program. The licenses will be awarded as early as Tuesday.

The use of medical marijuana with autistic children became a national
conversation in 2009 after a Diane Sawyer interview with a California
mother, Mieko Hester-Perez, who said marijuana brownies helped save
her son's life. Since then, stories have popped up across the country
and parents have organized to share their experiences.

Among them is Erica Daniels, a Montgomery County mom. Her son Leo has
enough focus to do things other 12-year-olds might find daunting --
like assembling a 300-piece puzzle. But he can be sidetracked when
anxiety associated with his autism spectrum disorder takes over. She's
tried giving him prescription medication, diet changes, herbs and a
hyperbaric oxygen chamber -- nothing has made much of an impact.

Until she tried cannabis. The first time he took it, Leo curled up
with his mother to watch the entire film, "Where the Wild Things Are,"
and was meltdown-free for a month at a time.

"Since he's been taking cannabis, it relieved that anxiety," Daniels
said.

She's among the 259 people who obtained a "safe harbor" to have
marijuana for medical purposes until Pennsylvania's industry takes
root.

Pennsylvania is among a few of the 29 states with medical marijuana
programs that specify autism as a qualifying condition that can be
treated by the drug. Delaware allows it be used for autism with
self-injurious or aggressive behavior. Doctors in California, Oregon,
Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., can recommend marijuana based on
the symptoms that make it a debilitating condition.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for
medical use.

In fact, the federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1
illegal substance -- the same as heroin. The classification means that
there is a high potential for abuse and there is no accepted medical
value. It's a higher classification than cocaine.

The American Medical Association in 2009 urged the government to
review that classification so there could be more clinical research
and the development of cannabinoid-based medicines.

The alternatives for parents like Daniels are not attractive. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 1 in 68 children
is on the autism spectrum, which can cause outbursts and other
symptoms that pose safety risks -- such as wandering and attraction to
water.

The FDA has approved antipsychotic prescription drugs to help manage
irritability associated with some forms of autism, but those drugs
come with their own risks.

Marijuana contains a nonpsychoactive component, cannabidiol -- CBD --
that has shown promise in treating the disorder, but the problem is
that it's mostly anecdotal evidence.

THC is the main mind-altering chemical found in marijuana.

Sisley said oils that are very high in CBD with minimal amounts of THC
should not have any psychoactive or intoxicating effects, but studies
need to determine that.

Dr. A.J. Marsden, an assistant professor of human services and
psychology at Beacon College in Florida, said there is little
scientific evidence to suggest it is an effective treatment. Often,
she said, the data cited by supporters are from animal-based research
that has yet to be generalized to human subjects. The research on
humans is a small number of case studies, she said.

"This is not to say that we should give up, but we also must realize
that none of the current scientific literature provides sufficient,
high-quality evidence to suggest that medical marijuana should be
recommended for treatment of ASD at this time," said Marsden, who is
preparing pitches for research in Florida. "We need more research
focusing on the effectiveness as well as the potential long-term effects."

Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Israel has launched the world's first
study on the effect of CBD treatment on autistic children. The study,
which concludes next year, includes 120 children with mild to severe
autism. Previous research in Israel, where it is easier to study the
medicinal use of marijuana, has shown that the drug has helped
children with epileptic seizures.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Pennsylvania is poised to award permits to 12 growers and up to 27
dispensaries statewide. The Northeast Region, which includes Lehigh,
Northampton and Monroe counties, is expected to be awarded four
dispensary and two grower/processor permits by the end of June.