BY RUTH HILL R.N.
On June 5, 2024 MIT scientist Stephanie Seneff blamed increased autism rates on exposure to the herbicide glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) and warned that by 2025, half of all U.S. children would be autistic. What would we do if half of all children had autism? Would people still choose to reproduce? Would they be willing to take that risk? How would the government respond?
Stephanie Seneff has for decades investigated possible causes for the high rates of ASD in American children. Her research showed the risk for ASD when children are exposed to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller is also present in many foods. So, Cannabis Corner is asking you—not rhetorically, but because we really want to know: What do you think life would be like in the United States if half the children born were autistic?
Autism (ASD) is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. It impacts the normal development of the brain in areas of social interaction and communication skills. A person with ASD may exhibit repeated body movements, unusual responses to people or attachments to objects, resistance to changes in routine, and aggression. ASD is the fastest growing developmental disability in the country.
Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting Hypotheses
Childhood vaccines were considered the culprit, due to thimerosal, a preservative toxic to the nervous system. Today, the most commonly used vaccine preservative is aluminum, not thimerosal. According to a 2018 study, people with autism were found to have high amounts of aluminum in brain tissue.
In 2014 a senior scientist at the CDC admitted to omitting data suggesting 3.36 times increase in autism in African American males who received the MMR vaccine before the age of 36 months. The latest estimates show that 1 in 30, or 3.49%, of children ages 3 to 17 were diagnosed with ASD in 2020.
Treatment options
The benefit/risk profile of medical marijuana seems fairly benign when compared to Risperdal the least useful and most dangerous of psychotropic drugs. Reports from parents indicate that medical marijuana often works when no other treatments, drug, or non-drug, have helped.
Mieko Hester-Perez, the founder of the Unconventional Foundation for Autism, is an advisory board member to Cannabis Science and advocates for medical cannabis. Coming from a conservative family with deep roots in law enforcement, she’s an unlikely cannabis advocate. However, she is the mother of Joey, the boy for whom the cannabis strain, “Joey’s” was developed. Buds and Roses Collective in Los Angeles carried this strain developed by master cultivator Kyle Kushman.
Biomarkers Determining Effectiveness of Cannabis
Dr. Bonnie Goldstein, is a pediatric physician, specializing in treating refractory childhood diseases with cannabis. Her groundbreaking research used cannabis-responsive Biomarkers, chemicals in our body, that are part of chemical pathways that help our cells to function. These chemical biomarkers can be picked up in saliva, or blood, and used to measure specific behaviors or diseases. An example is when a physician measures the white blood cell (WBC) count when someone gets an infection. WBC count is an example of a biomarker for infection. Another biomarker is the PSA level which shows prostate cancer.
Goldstein’s research measured 31 biomarkers for autism, that shifted physiological changes when cannabis was ingested. A number of studies found children with autism have low levels of anandamide (THC), which is a natural endocannabinoid that we make. Low levels, or a deficiency, of anandamide is present in autism. CBD is not a direct replacement for anandamide. It can help make the body’s own anandamide work better, but some patients need THC. We know from Dr. Mechoulam and others, THC seems to be the direct replacement for anandamide.
The last weekend of music for the 2024 17th Annual Concert culminates at The Tack Room Tavern in Indio, CA, on Saturday, October 19th. To help the Concert for Autism raise funds for the Desert Autism Foundation, donate by calling Josh Heinz at 760-702-4110 or email at contact@concertforautism.com. All donations are tax deductible.
For comments email hilruth@gmail.com.
