Can medicinal cannabis help kids’ autism, ADHD or Tourette’s? Here’s what we know so far

In the past ten years or so there has been a lot of interest to see if medicinal cannabis can help children with emotional and behavioural problems – the ones associated with conditions such as autism, ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) and Tourette syndrome.

Australia’s drug regulator confirms doctors are prescribing medicinal cannabis for such conditions.

If discussions on social media are anything to go by, some parents want their children to try it when other strategies have not worked. Some teenagers are curious to see if it’s right for them.

But there’s not yet a lot of high-quality evidence to support medicinal cannabis for these emotional and behavioural problems. There are also potential safety concerns.

Why medicinal cannabis?

Many children with conditions such as ADHD, autism and Tourette’s have major emotional and behavioural problems, including anxiety, agitation and aggression. Alongside psychological therapy, and family and other supports, these children often take medications such as stimulants, antidepressants and anti-psychotics.

These medications can be very helpful, especially for ADHD. But these medications are not effective for all children with these conditions. They also have a high rate of side effects.

So some doctors and parents hope medicinal cannabis can help manage these emotional and behavioural problems and possibly allow some children to stop taking their other medications.

According to data from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (or TGA), autism, anxiety and ADHD are among the most common conditions for which medicinal cannabis is prescribed for children and teenagers in Australia.

However, our survey found over half of the medicinal cannabis used for children with emotional or behavioural problems was purchased without a medical prescription, and one-quarter had not told their child’s doctor about it.

Some parents hear about the potential for medicinal cannabis to help their children from online support groups. Others read about it on websites of medicinal cannabis clinics or manufacturers, or via media reports.

Does it work?

There have not been many high-quality studies of using medicinal cannabis in children with behavioural and emotional difficulties. Most have not used a placebo (such as oil without any cannabis) to compare.

The best designed study so far found mixed results in 150 people aged 5–21 years with autism. Some of its findings suggest medicinal cannabis may help with disruptive behaviour, other findings suggest it is no better than placebo.

A number of well-designed clinical trials of medicinal cannabis are being conducted internationally in children and adolescents with conditions including autism and ADHD.

Our large Australian study in children with intellectual disabilities and autism has just been completed. We expect results will be published this year.

So, to date, the published evidence does not support its use for behavioural and emotional difficulties in children and adolescents.