My Autistic Son's Pot Use Changed My Liberal View on Legalization | Opinion
- Newsweek · Sep 14, 2023
The author's son, who has autism, ADHD, and cannabis use disorder, has been failed by the mental health systems in place to help him.
The son's cannabis use has worsened with its legalization in the New York metro area, leading to chaotic behavior and a decline in cognitive function.
The son has access to talk therapy through Medicaid but faces a long wait time, and his housing voucher and federal assistance are not enough for him to live on.
The author, once in favor of cannabis legalization, now believes it has backfired for families like hers, causing distress and financial strain.
Our son, 25, has autism type 1, AD/HD, and cannabis use disorder (a fancy name for what we used to call being a pothead). He—and we—feel we have been failed by the mental health systems that are supposed to help him. Last fall, he became unhoused when, for his own protection (we were told), he was turned away from the psychiatric emergency room where other psychotic patients could have hurt him as a slim, "effeminate" gay man with communication difficulties caused by his autism.
He was given a "diagnostic impression" (not a diagnosis) of bipolar disorder after months of treatment with a variety of medications. The ones most used to treat bipolar had no effect on his mood or behavior. Half a year later it seems it was the cannabis that he took in unknown quantities that caused the manic…
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Our son, 25, has autism type 1, AD/HD, and cannabis use disorder (a fancy name for what we used to call being a pothead). He—and we—feel we have been failed by the mental health systems that are supposed to help him. Last fall, he became unhoused when, for his own protection (we were told), he was turned away from the psychiatric emergency room where other psychotic patients could have hurt him as a slim, "effeminate" gay man with communication difficulties caused by his autism.
He was given a "diagnostic impression" (not a diagnosis) of bipolar disorder after months of treatment with a variety of medications. The ones most used to treat bipolar had no effect on his mood or behavior. Half a year later it seems it was the cannabis that he took in unknown quantities that caused the manic…
