Medical Marijuana Approved For Autism Treatment In RI

Autism spectrum disorder has been added to the Rhode Island Department of Health’s (RIDOH) list of conditions treatable with medical marijuana.

RIDOH Public Information Officer Joseph Wendelken announced that a petition the department received in April was signed Tuesday. He told NBC 10 that treatment is not for all types of autism.

Approval for treatment only applies to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) where specific symptoms are present. Wendelken said symptoms include:

• Repetition of self-stimulatory behavior severe enough to affect the physical health of the person with ASD or others.
• Avoidance of others and/or the inability to communicate with others to the point the person with ASD or others may be put in harm's way.

Before a doctor prescribes medical marijuana to a patient who is a child, the child is required to see a child psychiatrist or pediatric neurologist first, as well as three months after being prescribed. RIDOH said other medications must be considered and discontinued first.

“The intention of these steps is to ensure that the patient’s physician is consulting with the appropriate subspecialist to evaluate the risks and benefits, and to make a decision with the patient’s parents about the safest and most effective course of treatment,” Wendelken told NBC 10.

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