Raphael Mechoulam (left) and Jeffrey Hergenrather, MD, at a conference in 2013. The sharing of info between scientists and clinicians has advanced the field of Cannabis-based Medicine.
Thanks for your kind words and interesting info.
I stopped taking subscriptions for O’Shaughnessy’s after Tod Mikuriya died in 2007 because the future was uncertain. (I had launched it at his urging and with his backing.) And the future still seems uncertain. I will send some hardcopies of back issues via Zach. Meanwhile, I’m putting all our material online in an “O’Shaughnessy’s Reader.”
For an update on what the California cannabis clinicians have learned about autism, I asked Dr. Bonni Goldstein. She replied:
I start them at low doses of CBD and increase the dose over a few weeks to assess response. Some do well with low – moderate doses (5-50 mg, of course these doses are relative as I am seeing children as young as 4 years up to 20+ year of age). Some parents report a stimulating effect – often described by the parents as “ramping up” the behavior (not in a good way). At this point I will start very low dose THC oil, usually 1 mg, and increase depending on response. I have a number of children who have been able to function very well at school on a low mg dose, CBD:THC ratio ranging 10:1 to 1:1.
With CBD ranging from 5 cents up to 30 cents per mg, high doses are expensive (300 mg/day would cost $450/month out of pocket using the lowest dose oil, which also happens to have the lowest amount of THC).
One case of a boy who was aggressive, self-injurious and non-verbal, now on two oils (ACDC and OG Kush) combination doses that equal 1:1 ratio of CBD:THC, moderate mg doses, able to attend school, talking, focusing, having imaginary play, excellent reports from teachers. His younger sibling also with autism did not respond to the combo of his oil. But with different strains (Harlequin and Master Kush), he is now starting to talk, cessation of self-injurious behavior, able to focus and play more typically.
Part of O’Shaughnessy’s original purpose was to keep Dr. Mikuriya and his small group of doctors (and their very interested patients) apprised of what you and your colleagues were learning. Fortunately, Tod has a worthy successor in Jeffrey Hergenrather, and the group of cannabis clinicians is growing and I’m still on the story. Attached is a souvenir from the first ICRS meeting I covered, La Grand Motte, 1998.
Best wishes to you and Dahlia,
Fred Gardner
