We can't test medical marijuana to treat children because it hasn't been tested yet, biased researchers claim

(NaturalNews) An article titled "Medical Marijuana for Children with Developmental and Behavioral Disorders?" and subtitled "Despite lack of evidence, some are advocating cannabis for children with autism" was published in a February 2015 issue of the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.

The words of the study authors, Scott Hadland, MD, MPH, John R. Knight, MD, and Sion Kim Harris, PhD, of Boston Children's Hospital will be in italics, while this authors commentary will be in regular font:

Given the current scarcity of data, cannabis cannot be safely recommended for the treatment of developmental or behavioral disorders.

Well what about the scarcity of data for off-label pediatric pharmaceuticals that have been used on youngsters with developmental or behavioral disorders?

For example, least 10,000 toddlers two to three years of age are on pharmaceuticals for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) nationwide.

That's how many toddlers that the CDC officially reported were on methylphenidate drugs, such as Ritalin, Concerta, Daytrana and Metadate CD.

That's one example of how pharmaceuticals with known short- and long-term adverse consequences are managing to somehow be "safely recommended for the treatment of developmental or behavioral disorders at this time."

Adolescents with developmental and behavioral disorders--especially ADHD--may be predisposed to early and heavier substance use. Meanwhile, a growing body of evidence links cannabis to "long-term and potentially irreversible physical, neurocognitive, psychiatric, and psychosocial adverse outcomes."

Ritalin was tested over a decade ago by the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The BNL study determined that Ritalin is pharmacologically similar to cocaine, with perhaps even worse brain-damaging potential.

Even the DEA classifies methylphenidate (Ritalin) as a Class II controlled substance with "a high potential for abuse which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence."

Harvard Medical School child psychiatrist Dr. Nancy Rappaport commented that ADHD exists but is overdiagnosed, and children under six may be harmed developmentally by using drugs for ADHD.

This is just one example of dangerous pharmaceutical drugs thriving on the market that have long-term damage and potential for addiction.

Meanwhile, accidental ingestions by smaller children of cannabis preparations may be increasing, with emergency room visits at a Colorado pediatric hospital increasing from 0% (none reported) to 2.4% of all unintentional ingestions following change in state drug enforcement laws allowing possession of marijuana for medical purposes.

Still got a long way to go to keep up with acetaminophen (Tylenol, etc) national ER visits at over 78,000, with 26,000 hospitalizations and 458 deaths (liver failure). How does that compare to a 2.4 percent increase in a (as in one) Colorado pediatric hospital?

Therefore, counseling adolescents with ADHD to avoid driving while under the influence of marijuana is critical, particularly since many youth believe that marijuana does not affect their driving abilities.

Yes, 41 percent think it improves their driving through relaxed higher awareness and focus, while a third don't think it affects their driving at all. Neither does the insurance industry, which after a 20-year study concluded that marijuana users were a much lower accident risk than alcohol consumers.

Additionally, regular adult users who started cannabis use in adolescence exhibit decreased volume in the hippocampus and amygdala, which are involved in memory processing....

Maybe you researchers should check with stock broker and medical marijuana activist Irvin Rosenfeld, who started using pot in college to reduce the pain of his unusual bone disease. He has been authorized to smoke 10 joints daily due to a legal loophole since 1982, and he's been a successful stock broker the whole time.

And there's this study by the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University, which concluded: "[T]he adverse impacts of cannabis use on cognitive functions either appear to be related to pre-existing factors or are reversible in this community cohort even after potentially extended periods of use."

But the bottom line of this report is apparent with how it seems very inclined to favor approved pharmaceuticals that attempt to imitate cannabis benefits, unsuccessfully and with side effects, while suggesting further research for more of the same. It's all part of Big Pharma's attempt to cash in on the rising awareness of cannabis's benefits.

Sources:

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