The diagnosis of a child with autism has been described by some families as almost like experiencing a type of death. But an unlikely treatment is helping bring even the most severely autistic kids magically, almost mystically, back to life. That treatment—an herb long renowned for its medicinal properties—is actually not so mystical at all: cannabis.
Indeed, regardless of whether marijuana is legal in their state or still criminalized, parents are now using cannabis, both in CBD and the more potent THC forms, to help combat a battery of autism symptoms. They aren’t just handing their kids joints and telling them to “toke up.” Rather, working with doctors, ganja growers, legislators, and other families, they’re harnessing the calming powers of cannabis to give their kids a chance at ultimately healing themselves.
