Medical Marijuana Use in Children: Is it Safe?

Many Americans agree, and have shown with their votes, that marijuana should be legal for medical purposes. It has been proven to be a potent pain reliever and to help heal and treat certain conditions. Voters have already legalized it for these purposes in nearly half of all states. What about using this as a medication in children, though? A recent report by ABC News is raising questions about the efficacy and safety of giving cannabis to children.

The mother of a seven-year-old diagnosed with leukemia enrolled in the Oregon medical marijuana program so that her daughter could take cannabis oil as part of her treatment. Erin Purchase, the mother, approached one doctor with her idea and was rejected and told to find another care provider. The second physician agreed to allow the young girl to take one gram of the cannabis oil each day. Purchase stated that while the doctor has agreed to it, he does not discuss this aspect of treatment with them.

The legality of Purchase’s choice is clear: minors are allowed to enroll in the medical marijuana program in Oregon with consent from a parent or a legal guardian. And this child is not the only one to do so. There are five children between four and nine, six between ten and fourteen, and forty-one between the ages of fifteen and seventeen that are enrolled in the program in the state of Oregon. The children are enrolled in the program to take cannabis for various reasons including the treatment of nausea, severe pain, muscle spasms, and seizures.

Purchase’s daughter is now in remission, and she cites the medical marijuana for getting her there. The little girl responded poorly to initial treatments with chemotherapy and they were considering a bone marrow transplant before she went into remission. Purchase believes that while taking the cannabis for nausea and pain relief, the medication also contributed to the remission of the cancer. Some studies have shown that compounds in cannabis may have anti-cancer properties, but whether it is really capable of the results this little girl experienced is unknown.

Whether or not the medical marijuana helped Purchase’s daughter achieve remission, an important question remains: is it safe for her to be taking cannabis oil? The quick answer is that no one knows for sure and that is a cause for concern among doctors. What effect the compounds in cannabis could have on the development of a child is unknown.

Proponents of using medical marijuana for children argue that we also do not know the effects of other prescription medications. Children with cancer are often given drugs such as the opiates morphine and oxycodone. Kids with mental illnesses are given powerful antipsychotics and the effects on the development, on the brain, and on the health of these children are not fully understood. Those who use medical marijuana for children, such as Purchase, argue that if kids can be given these other potent drugs, cannabis should be acceptable as well.

Another argument both for and against the use of marijuana in children is the addictive nature of drugs. It is possible to be addicted to marijuana, but the occurrence of addiction to it is much lower than to opioid drugs. Opioids, whether used in adults or children, can cause serious physical symptoms of withdrawal when use is discontinued. They can also cause nausea and vomiting, often symptoms of children with cancer that cannabis is used to relieve.

The official stance of the American Academy of Pediatrics is that medical marijuana should never be used in the treatment of young children because of the potential for addiction and because any negative side effects or long term effects are unknown. Another organization made up of scientific experts, the Institute of Medicine, studied the data on marijuana use in children and adults and found that it warrants further study. They also suggest that cannabis may be appropriate for patients with nausea and pain who do not respond well to other treatments.

The current debate over medical marijuana use by children will likely continue and it brings up one very important point: medical use of cannabis needs more research. There are hundreds of compounds in the cannabis plant, which means that understanding the effects of it on both children and adults is complicated. Research into its effectiveness for treating cancer and other diseases, as well as its long term effects on people will be important to its future use.