Personal Plants , Founder
Personal Plants , Founder
House of Puff , Principal & COO
House of Puff , Principal & COO
As a Family Nurse Practitioner and Medical Cannabis Specialist, I regularly consult with parents who are curious if CBD or THC could be beneficial for their child. The most common reasons being afflictions such as cancer, epilepsy, PTSD, and conditions related to autism (self-injury, aggression, sleep disturbances). I have seen cannabis change people’s lives, but it is not for everyone. It is important to not only do your research, but to have realistic expectations going in. What I do know is that through proper consultation, diagnosis, and support nearly all of our patients who use cannabis therapeutically have derived benefits from it; qualitative research has shown that this is the experience of most individuals who use cannabis medicinally. Despite the proven medical efficacy of cannabis for multiple conditions, families still face barriers in trying to access this option for their children. They often experience negative feedback, social stigma in their communities, and pushback from medical providers. The cost of treatment is not covered by insurance and there is great risk and a valid fear of legal trouble for treating their child with a substance that is illegal at the federal level. In the face of all of this, more and more families are moving forward with medicinal cannabis as a treatment option, in the hopes that this plant might help their child where traditional pharmaceuticals and treatments have failed. The question I hear most frequently is, “will this have negative long-term consequences on my child’s brain?” and the truth is we don’t have enough long-term data to be able to answer this unequivocally. What we do know is that cannabis has an excellent safety profile and that it is a neuroprotectant. There have been some studies correlating heavy THC use with negative psychiatric outcomes in susceptible individuals. However, the studies were looking at illicit cannabis use (which could potentially include high THC concentrates) - not supervised medical use – and they did not establish a causal relationship between THC use and any mental disorder. We need more research so we can develop pediatric medical guidelines. In the meantime, what’s important for families considering cannabis as an option, is to have a careful risk-benefit analysis done prior to starting treatment, and close follow-up with an experienced provider versed in treating pediatric patients with medicinal cannabis. As a practitioner, the best advice I can give to parents is to enlist the help of a cannabis clinician, cannabis nurse, or doctor trained in the endocannabinoid system. Most medical providers simply are not qualified to manage this treatment because they lack both education and experience with cannabis as medicine. A cannabis clinician is trained to provide education about the cannabis plant and how it works in the body, to offer dosing and administration guidance to parents and patients, to assess potential drug interactions, and to advocate for the patient as part of their medical team. If mental health issues are part of your child’s clinical history or if they are a teen, I highly recommend including a cannabis-informed mental health provider as an additional support person to assist in the proper monitoring of your child for any unwanted or unforeseen side effects. I believe that cannabis can be a safe and highly effective treatment option for many conditions, and that it should be available for pediatric patients - not just as a last resort. When it comes to minors especially, getting the advice of a licensed professional is important. You don’t want to wing it, rely on just what you come across online, or simply take the advice of family and friends. Finding the lowest effective dose for an individual is both an art and a science that requires patience and good communication from everyone involved, but the benefits for the child can be enormous.
As a Family Nurse Practitioner and Medical Cannabis Specialist, I regularly consult with parents who are curious if CBD or THC could be beneficial for their child. The most common reasons being afflictions such as cancer, epilepsy, PTSD, and conditions related to autism (self-injury, aggression, sleep disturbances). I have seen cannabis change people’s lives, but it is not for everyone. It is important to not only do your research, but to have realistic expectations going in. What I do know is that through proper consultation, diagnosis, and support nearly all of our patients who use cannabis therapeutically have derived benefits from it; qualitative research has shown that this is the experience of most individuals who use cannabis medicinally. Despite the proven medical efficacy of cannabis for multiple conditions, families still face barriers in trying to access this option for their children. They often experience negative feedback, social stigma in their communities, and pushback from medical providers. The cost of treatment is not covered by insurance and there is great risk and a valid fear of legal trouble for treating their child with a substance that is illegal at the federal level. In the face of all of this, more and more families are moving forward with medicinal cannabis as a treatment option, in the hopes that this plant might help their child where traditional pharmaceuticals and treatments have failed. The question I hear most frequently is, “will this have negative long-term consequences on my child’s brain?” and the truth is we don’t have enough long-term data to be able to answer this unequivocally. What we do know is that cannabis has an excellent safety profile and that it is a neuroprotectant. There have been some studies correlating heavy THC use with negative psychiatric outcomes in susceptible individuals. However, the studies were looking at illicit cannabis use (which could potentially include high THC concentrates) - not supervised medical use – and they did not establish a causal relationship between THC use and any mental disorder. We need more research so we can develop pediatric medical guidelines. In the meantime, what’s important for families considering cannabis as an option, is to have a careful risk-benefit analysis done prior to starting treatment, and close follow-up with an experienced provider versed in treating pediatric patients with medicinal cannabis. As a practitioner, the best advice I can give to parents is to enlist the help of a cannabis clinician, cannabis nurse, or doctor trained in the endocannabinoid system. Most medical providers simply are not qualified to manage this treatment because they lack both education and experience with cannabis as medicine. A cannabis clinician is trained to provide education about the cannabis plant and how it works in the body, to offer dosing and administration guidance to parents and patients, to assess potential drug interactions, and to advocate for the patient as part of their medical team. If mental health issues are part of your child’s clinical history or if they are a teen, I highly recommend including a cannabis-informed mental health provider as an additional support person to assist in the proper monitoring of your child for any unwanted or unforeseen side effects. I believe that cannabis can be a safe and highly effective treatment option for many conditions, and that it should be available for pediatric patients - not just as a last resort. When it comes to minors especially, getting the advice of a licensed professional is important. You don’t want to wing it, rely on just what you come across online, or simply take the advice of family and friends. Finding the lowest effective dose for an individual is both an art and a science that requires patience and good communication from everyone involved, but the benefits for the child can be enormous.
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