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Even though marijuana might be the world’s most effective treatment for severe autism, Colorado’s governor does not want autistic kids to use it.
A proposed state law called House Bill (HB) 1263 would have added autism spectrum disorders to the list of health problems that Coloradoans can treat with marijuana. However, Governor John Hickenlooper (D-Denver) vetoed HB 1263 on June 5, 2018.
“This is not for people who have just a little bit of Asperger or something,” HB 1263’s co-sponsor State Senator Steve Fenberg (D-Boulder) said. “This is for people who have kids, who at the end of the day are hurting themselves. It’s not a justification to be able to smoke pot. It’s genuinely about medicine to help people. And there’s science behind it.”
Several mothers and their autistic children, who were camping outside Hickenlooper’s office, were disappointed by the governor’s action, The Denver Post reported. Those children have low-functioning or severe autism.
Kids with severe autism are often violent, hypersensitive, unable to sleep, and prone to violent behavior such as slamming their heads into the wall. The symptoms are sometimes so severe that kids cannot be left alone or allowed to leave the house.
Cannabis Oil: “It’s Like A Miracle”
A marijuana product called cannabis oil reduced violent behavior and seizures in kids with severe autism in Israel, Newsweek reported. An Israeli doctor named Adi Aran has tested cannabis oil as an autism treatment in 60 patients. During these trials, he has recorded a marked reduction in the condition’s symptoms.
Some of the children that Aran treated started speaking and stopped hurting themselves for the first time. In fact, one young man hugged his sister for the first time.
“It’s like a miracle,” said Sharon, the mother of one of Aran’s patients, to Newsweek. Sharon’s son Benjamin suffers from severe autism and he could not leave the house until he took cannabis oil. “I can leave the house and go out with him and not worry, I can breathe,” she exclaimed.
Despite the Israeli success, kids like Benjamin will not be able to get cannabis oil in Colorado until next year. Hickenlooper waited until after the state legislative session ended to veto HB 1263, which means that legislators cannot override his action. The legislature probably will not meet again until January 2019.
You may also enjoy reading an additional Off The Grid news article: 7 ‘Miraculous’ Medicinal Uses For Marijuana
What are your thoughts on Colorado’s governor denying cannabis oil treatment to autistic kids? Let us know in the comments below.
