Medical Marijuana For Add? State Considers

[Michael Komorn]

Medical marijuana for ADD? State considers it

I have said for a long time that if and when the state of Michigan gets it act together and takes the step, as outlined in the MMMA, to add psychiatric and psychological disorders to the registry the number of patients in Michigan would increase to 300,000. Seattle in this article is taking those steps now, here is the article to support that action and those arguments

 

 

By VANESSA HO, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFFUpdated 10:49 p.m., Tuesday, December 20, 2011

State medical officials will consider a petition next month to add ADD and OCD to a list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. Photo: seattlepi.com archive. Photo: Gilbert Arias/seattlepi.com File / SL State officials will consider a request to allow medical marijuana for people with ADD and OCD, nearly two years after denying the drug to depressed and bipolar patients.

The petition is the latest attempt to add a mental illness to Washington's list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis. Three other petitions, for depression and other mental health disorders, have been denied.

Passed by voters in 1998, Washington's law allows patients with terminal or debilitating conditions to use marijuana. Qualifying conditions include cancer, HIV, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma and "intractable pain." It also includes anorexia, as a disease that results in nausea, vomiting and wasting away.

The latest request involves an Edmonds man who petitioned authorities in September to include attention deficit disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, conditions he said he has suffered from for years.

The man said he had seen a psychologist regularly with little relief. He said various medications -- stimulants, depressants, anti-psychotics, anti-depressants and anti-convulsants -- have not helped.

"At this point, my psychiatrist ... has recommended that I write a letter asking for an opinion on medical marijuana, as other options have been exhausted," the man wrote.

The Medical Quality Assurance Commission and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery will consider the man's petition at a hearing on Jan. 11.

"What they're looking for is some clinical and scientific basis for adopting it," Blake Maresh, the osteopathic board's executive director, said Tuesday.

'Incredibly complex issue'

In February of 2010, the medical commission denied a request from a man who had suffered from a social anxiety disorder since the fifth grade. He said cannabis had helped him more than any other treatment.

Other patients with bipolar disorder, severe depression and other anxiety disorders also told the commission that pot was the only thing that helped.

But the commission found insufficient scientific evidence that showed pot helped patients with those conditions. It found that no rigorous, controlled, randomized, peer-reviewed and published trial had been done on the issue.

That denial followed the rejection of two other similar requests. In 2001, the commission denied medical marijuana for patients with manic or chronic depression. In 2004, they again denied it for people with depression and severe anxiety.

The issue has raised unanswered questions for mental health advocates and health-care providers. While many patients report feeling better with marijuana, many doctors say the drug's mood-altering qualities can mask and worsen symptoms.

"Marijuana usage among individuals who live with serious and persistent mental illness is an incredibly complex issue," said Christine Lindquist, executive director of the local National Alliance on Mental Illness chapter.

"Many people who self-medicate with marijuana report significant relief from their symptoms, although for others, complete abstinence from drugs or alcohol is necessary for stability in their health."

The last qualifying condition added for medical marijuana in Washington was chronic renal failure in 2010.

Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news. Contact Vanessa Ho at 206-448-8003 or vanessaho@seattlepi.com, and follow her on Twitter as @vanessaho.

 

 

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Medical-marijuana-for-ADD-State-considers-it-2415882.php#ixzz1h9zPoUdu

[donnachris]

My daughter has ADD and all through her primary education stuggled with learning and passing her classes. Now that she is an adult she has been diagnosed with scoliosis (sp) and has become legal for mmj. She has since found that the mmj is helping her with her ADD and ahe is getting 4.0's in college when she couldnt even pass her classes in grade school and high school.

[Michael Komorn]

What a great story. It is a story that has been told before, and it is a story that is based in medicine and science. Our state has absolutely failed the voters by not providing the mechanism as outlined in the MMMA to add new conditions to the registry. ADHD, add, anxiety, depression, should all be added. Also the is much evidence that suggests these conditions are traditionally over proscribed pharmaceutical drugs, resulting in way to many negative side effects, none of which come from medical cannabis.

Thanks for sharing your story, and passing along the truth.

[kruztydj]

Sad as it is our state has yet to even seat a panel to review new conditions as the Act requires them to do. Let alone finding research anywhere on the subject as the feds wouldn't allow research. They'd rather see folks suffer then have the truth come out finally that in fact Cannabis does help..I have depression and chronic and for years. Cannabis is the ONLY thing I've ever taken that's help me, ever..................

[donnachris]

What a great story. It is a story that has been told before, and it is a story that is based in medicine and science. Our state has absolutely failed the voters by not providing the mechanism as outlined in the MMMA to add new conditions to the registry. ADHD, add, anxiety, depression, should all be added. Also the is much evidence that suggests these conditions are traditionally over proscribed pharmaceutical drugs, resulting in way to many negative side effects, none of which come from medical cannabis.

Thanks for sharing your story, and passing along the truth.

 

Your welcome. If I can share information that will help even one person I will be glad to share the information.

[ScrogBubbles]

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[+Green Cross]

Thank you Michael for launching this thread. Green Cross Compassion Club in Lansing takes special interest in helping military veterans returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We help many Vietnam vets already and seek more so get in touch if you're a vet from any service. Many current duty and recently-discharged vets experience psychological difficulties that respond well to cannabis therapy. What is the Number One medical complaint many vets report? PTSD. Does the MMMAct authorize PTSD as a qualifying condition? No. Thus we are restricted from providing help to more wounded warrior heros whose service protects America's liberty. This is wrong and should be remedied by inclusion of PTSD as a qualifying medical condition.

[bmf725]

I hope they approve add as a qualifying condition. When I was in high school I had add and anxiety witch I still have. But I would get crap for grades and didn't have many friends. In about half way through my junior year I tried cannabis for the first time. Then my senior year I used cannabis almost everyday before school to deal with the anxiety and add. It's kinda funny how when I used cannabis I had more friends and went from getting C's and D's to mostly B's and a few A's.

 

Edit: I then got legal and went on to graduate college with a 4 year degree. When my high school guidance counselor straight up told me I would only get in to a community college!

[AmishRnot4ganja]

My daughter has ADD and all through her primary education stuggled with learning and passing her classes. Now that she is an adult she has been diagnosed with scoliosis (sp) and has become legal for mmj. She has since found that the mmj is helping her with her ADD and ahe is getting 4.0's in college when she couldnt even pass her classes in grade school and high school.

 

 

I personally know 5 people with stories similar to your daughter's. It is very frustrating to still hear the government's BS regarding this plant that is a bona-fide medical miracle.

[donnachris]

I hope they approve add as a qualifying condition. When I was in high school I had add and anxiety witch I still have. But I would get crap for grades and didn't have many friends. In about half way through my junior year I tried cannabis for the first time. Then my senior year I used cannabis almost everyday before school to deal with the anxiety and add. It's kinda funny how when I used cannabis I had more friends and went from getting C's and D's to mostly B's and a few A's.

 

Edit: I then got legal and went on to graduate college with a 4 year degree. When my high school guidance counselor straight up told me I would only get in to a community college!

 

Thank you for posting your story. I'm glad to find other people out there in the same predicament that my children are in, not that I'm trying to sound like it's a good thing because being in that situation is NOT a good thing.

 

I've done a lot of research on ADD and if you have any questions I would be glad to answer them. Let me suggest this...my children had a hard time with red yellow and blue food dye, so basically if a food a dye in it, then at least one of my children were bothered by it. In my research all I found was information on the red food dye but one of my children reacted badly towards yellow and blue and the combination of the two. Read ALL your food labels and watch what you eat and your attention span might be a little long and you might not be as active which is always a good thing.

 

One more thing, IMO I wouldn't give those drugs that the doctors give children today for ADD. I read somewhere that it causes hear problems. But this is only my opinion as to what I have read as I am not a medical person.

 

If you find a strain that works well for your ADD please let me know so that I can try and grow it for my daughter to help her with her college career.

[Anishfisher]

I have been reading a lot about using mmj to treat all sorts of psych issues and what I am reading I am very impressed with. My 17 year old son and my 11 year old son have both been diagnosed ADHD/Bipolar for years. Both have been on standard pharmaceuticals since they were about 5yo. I HATE that they have to take these meds, but it is actually a safety issue for them (not just that they don't listen and get on my nerves from time to time, lol). When they are on their pharmaceuticals they do great but, the potential long term side effects of these drugs are terrifying. My oldest son complains a lot about the side effects of his ADHD meds. He has been on almost everything that is on the market over the last 12 years (which I hate). What he is on now seems to help but, there is definitely room for improvement. We can't increase that med because he is already on the highest dose possible, so as of right now we are out of conventional options.

I am planning to try mmj with my oldest son within the next couple of weeks. I'm going to start with eliminating the ADHD meds first then move to reducing and eventually eliminating his bipolar meds. we'll see what happens. I hope it works. I'd love nothing more than to be able to get both boys off of the garbage they are on. Hopefully there isnt already major damage from the meds they have been on.

If all goes well, I'll try it with the younger one too. I have real hopes of this working.

[donnachris]

I had seen this list before and I think it is a pretty good place to find som good information. Check it out... http://www.mountainmedicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/grannys_latest_list.pdf

 

Another big helper of mine was coffee and mt dew. When I gave my son coffee and he got it several times a day while he was in school, his grades when from F's to A's and B's. Caffeine seems to help them concentrate more than they normally can.

 

I'm going to guess that your children don't qualify for Special Education?? That is actually a good thing. The school won't tell you this so I will. If you have paperwork from your doctor stating that your children have ADD then they have to offer a program called Section 504. They won't tell you that because it is actually a lot of extra work for them, even more than if your children were in special ed because at least then they could push her off on another teacher.

 

A couple things that section 504 will afford your children is more time taking her tests. If the class gets an hour they can give her two or maybe even three. They can cut the amount of assignments that your daughter does, a lot of what kids do is repetitive so they take out the repetition for kids on section 504. They sometimes give highlighted books, only the information that is going to be tested on is highlighted so that the children only learn what will be on the tests. They can give you teacher notes so that you the parent knows what was taught for the day and if the child needs help the you know exactly what was gone over for the day. There is a plethora of things that they can do for the children but they don't say anything because it is extra work for them. AND DON'T LET THEM TELL YOU THAT YOUR CHILDREN HAVE TO BE MEDICATED BECAUSE THEY DO NOT.

 

Do a little bit of research, get to know some of the rules of Section 504 because the more you seem to know the more help your children will get. And just so that you know, this help does not stop when they graduate High school, it continues with college.

 

I hope that they help your children with 504.

 

I hope soon that ADD will be an identified ailment on the list of ailments to qualify people for medical marijuana.