Should marijuana ever be used to treat children and adolescents?
General Reference (not clearly pro or con)
John Macleod, PhD, of the Department of Primary Care and General Practice at the University of Birmingham, et al., reported in a May 15, 2004 article in The Lancet titled "Psychological and Social Sequelae of Cannabis and Other Illicit Drug Use by Young People: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal, General Population Studies":
"Available evidence does not strongly support an important causal relation between cannabis use by young people and psychosocial harm, but cannot exclude the possibility that such a relation exists.
The lack of evidence of robust causal relations prevents the attribution of public health detriments to illicit drug use. In view of the extent of illicit drug use, better evidence is needed."
Should marijuana ever be used to treat children and adolescents?
PRO (yes)
CON (no)
Bernard Rimland, PhD, of the Autism Research Institute, stated in a 2003 article published in Autism Review International:
"Clearly, medical marijuana is not a drug to be administered lightly. But compare its side effects to the known effects of Risperdal, which include massive weight gain, a dramatically increased risk of diabetes, and an elevated risk of deadly heart problems, as well as a host of other major and minor problems.
Other psychotropic drugs are no safer, causing symptoms ranging from debilitating tardive dyskinesia to life-threatening malignant hyperthermia or sudden cardiac arrest.
Of all drugs, the psychotropic drugs are among the least useful and most dangerous, and the benefit/risk profile of medical marijuana seems fairly benign in comparison.
Moreover, the reports we are seeing from parents indicate that medical marijuana often works when no other treatments, drug or non-drug, have helped."
David Hadorn, MD, PhD, Medical Consultant at GW Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., wrote in his document "Use of Cannabis Medicines in Clinical Practice," published July 17, 2003 on his former website:
"Available evidence from culture in which children are provided with cannabis [marijuana] for therapeutic purposes (e.g., Jamaica) has failed to detect any specific adverse effects from such use.
Moreover, there is powerful anecdotal evidence that some children with hyperactivity or aggressiveness can benefit substantially from cananbis medicines (in non-smoked forms).
When used in small doses as directed, cannabis is a much milder drug than Ritalin or many of the other powerful psychotropic agents commonly prescribed for such children these days. Also, one study found that a cannabinoid (delta-8 THC) was safe and effective for treatment of nausea and anorexia due to cancer chemotherapy in children."
Peter A. Clark, PhD, John McShain Chair in Ethics at Saint Joseph's University, wrote the following in his afterward for the the Apr. 2003 book Jeffrey's Journey by Debbie and LaRayne Jeffries, in which giving medical marijuana to an 8-year old is discussed (read more):
"The issue in this case is whether or not it is legal and ethical for a parent/surrogate to give consent for a minor to use medical marijuana, which the federal government maintains is unproven in terms of safety and efficacy and could be a 'gateway drug' that leads to more serious drug use...
Seriously ill patients, both adults and minors, have the right to effective therapies. To deny them access to such therapies is to deny them the dignity and respect all persons deserve. [The child's] mother is certainly acting in his best interest.
The benefits of the current treatment outweigh the burdens. No other medication or therapy has been as effective as the use of medical marijuana in relieving his pain and suffering."
Jay Cavanaugh, PhD, National Director of the American Alliance for Medical Cannabis, wrote the following in his Sep. 2002 article "For the Sake of the Children," published on the website of the American Association of Medical Cannabis:
"[C]annabis can provide unique help with some childhood disorders including cancer but also attention deficit disorder and autism.
These latter disorders are currently treated with powerful stimulants such as amphetamine in the first case and with brain numbing toxic preparations such as Haldol in the case of autism....
Imagine a child being given half a dozen psychotropic drugs from Prozac to Haldol to Valium and who continues to break down doors and assault others seemingly without provocation who now responds to therapy with medical cannabis. Imagine the parents of such children contemplating a lock up for their beloved child who now sees that child calm and functional.
Loving parents will demand that cannabis be provided to the arsenal their pediatricians and pediatric neurologists already have.
The message to our sick and suffering children is that we love them. The love is greater than any blind acceptance of the existing wrongful beliefs about cannabis that are merely the propaganda of cultural elitists.
As loving parents, these folks are willing to risk the wrath of Child Protective Services, the actions of the DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration], and the ignorance of their own physicians."
Lynn Zimmer, PhD, Former Professor Emeritus at Queens College at the City University of New York (CUNY), wrote in his 1997 book Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts:
"There is no convincing evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults...
For twenty-five years, researchers have searched for a marijuana-induced amotivational syndrome and have failed to find it.... Among high school students, heavy marijuana use is associated with school failure, but school failure usually comes first."
Jesse Ventura, former Governor of Minnesota, when asked about medical marijuana during an Apr. 4, 2001 speaking engagement at a University of St. Thomas political science class, said:
"Medical marijuana, I fully support it, absolutely. Who is government to tell someone if they have AIDS or cancer, what they should be taking?
To me, you've got a kid here with cancer, I don't give a damn if he smokes a joint."
The British Journal of Psychiatry reported in a Feb. 2006 article "Cannabis Use and Mental Health in Secondary School Children" by Karin Monshouwer, MSc, et al.:
"Data from 5,551 adolescents aged 12-16 years ... In a country with a liberal drug policy like The Netherlands, cannabis use is associated with aggression and delinquency, just as in other countries....
After adjusting for confounding factors, cannabis use was linked to externalising problems (delinquent and agressive behaviour) but not to internalising problems (withdrawn behaviour, somatic complaints and depression.
An increasing frequency of use resulted in stronger links."
Biological Psychiatry stated in its May 15, 2005 article "Moderation of the Effect of Adolescent-Onset Cannabis Use on Adult Psychosis by a Functional Polymorphism in the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Gene: Longitudinal Evidence of a Gene X Environment Interaction" by Avshalom Caspi and Terrie E. Moffitt, et al.:
"Recent evidence documents that cannabis use by young people is a modest statistical risk factor for psychotic symptoms in adulthood, such as hallucinations and delusions, as well as clinically significant schizophrenia. The vast majority of cannabis users do not develop psychosis, however, prompting us to hypothesize that some people are genetically vulnerable to the deleterious effects of cannabis.
In a longitudinal study of a representative birth cohort followed to adulthood, we tested why cannabis use is associated with the emergence of psychosis in a minority of users, but not in others."
May 15, 2005
Addiction published a Sep. 2002 article, "Cannabis Use and Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescence and Young Adulthood," which stated:
"Cannabis use, and particularly regular or heavy use, was associated with increased rates of a range of adjustment problems in adolescence / young adulthood -- other illicit drug use, crime, depression and suicidal behaviours -- with these adverse effects being most evident for schoolaged regular users.
The findings reinforce public health concerns about minimizing the use of cannabis among school-aged populations."
The Institute of Medicine published in its Mar. 1999 report titled "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base":
"Adolescents, especially troubled ones, and people with psychiatric disorders (including sustance abuse) appear to be more likely than the general population to become dependent on marijuana."
Glen Hanson, DDS, PhD, Associate Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), stated on July 10, 2003 during a marijuana briefing in Salt Lake City arranged by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), as reported in the Deseret News:
"Its [marijuana] effects on the brain function are compounded in adolescents because the behavior center at the frontal cortex is literally not developed...
"To use [marijuana] is to take chemical shortcuts to the brain's pleasure center. It is not like riding a roller coaster or jumping out of an airplane. This is adding chemicals to your brain, not inducing a normal sensation. You are changing the way it normally functions and, in effect, creating a mental disorder. The brain bounces and bounces and finally stops bouncing back to normal."
John P. Walters, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), wrote the following in an OpEd published in the National Review on Sep. 27, 2004:
"For youth, the harmful effects of marijuana use now exceed those of all other drugs combined.
Remarkably, over 40 percent of youths who are current marijuana smokers meet the criteria for abuse or dependency. In several states, marijuana smoking exceeds tobacco smoking among young people, while marijuana has become more important than alcohol as a factor in treatment for teenagers."
The Eagle Forum notes in its brochure "Facts You Need To Know About Marijuana," from the Eagle Forum website (accessed Mar. 2, 2006):
"Most pot smokers drink alcohol heavily, and may become so confused that they take cocaine or heroin.
When a teenage consumes excessive alcohol, he normally gets sick and vomits. However, THC stops nausea, and so a regular pot smoker can hold down a deadly dose of alcohol without getting sick.
Therefore, the basic cause of teenage alcohol overdose is marijuana....
[M]edical evidence has proven that marijuana is highly dangerous, in and of itself... Teenagers are particularly vulnerable, because pot smoking can delay and even halt the process of sexual development."
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