Israeli Study Shows CBD Effective for Autism

A study conducted by researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Soroka University Medical Center in Israel has shown that cannabis oil has a significant effect on the symptoms of autism, The Growth Op reports.

Autism can be difficult to categorize and study because it can exhibit differently in each child. To date, there has been limited evidence that cannabis is an effective remedy for autism; this is likely both because of the difficulty of studying the condition as well as federal prohibition continuing to limit cannabis research funding.

Researchers in Israel gave cannabis oil to 60 children suffering from autism and polled their parents to see if there was a change in the number of tics, depressive episodes, or rage attacks.

“Overall, more than 80% of the parents reported significant or moderate improvement in their child.” — Lihi Bar-Lev Schleider, lead study author, in a statement

Over the six-month study, 30 percent of the children showed “substantial” improvement and 53 percent showed “moderate” improvement. The remaining 15 percent did not seem to respond favorably to the treatment. About 40 percent of the patients who improved with CBD were able to shower and dress themselves after treatment, 30 percent had better sleep, and 10 percent were able to concentrate better.

The study used a cannabis oil with a 30 percent CBD to 1.5 percent THC ratio derived from medical cannabis plants and not industrial hemp. Researchers cautioned that a double-blind, placebo-controlled study needs to be conducted to confirm the results.