Breakthrough cannabis treatment for sick young patients to calm agressive behaviour

Victorian children as young as eight are being treated with medicinal cannabis to try and curb their extreme behavioural issues.

Victorian children as young as eight are being treated with medicinal cannabis to try and curb their extreme behavioural issues.

The Melbourne medical trial is the first step to determine if intellectually disabled children prone to aggression and self-harm can get benefits from cannabis.

The aim is to replace widely prescribed powerful antidepressants and anti-psychotic drugs which can have severe side-effects.

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If successful, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute trial could raise hopes for an alternative medication for up to 25,000 disabled young Australians. The pilot study, which involves 10 children aged eight to 16 with intellectual disabilities such as autism, began this year.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Daryl Efron said the initial research was focused on exploring the feasibility of a large-scale trial, rather than the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis as a treatment.

Becky Renton is involved in a Murdoch Children’s Research Institute study to investigate the use of medicinal cannabis for intellectually disabled children. Picture: Mark Stewart

“It is hell for these kids a lot of the time — they are really aggressive, damaging property, injuring themselves, injuring other people. We are not talking about trivial behaviour problems here,” Dr Efron said.

“I think it is quite likely to be true that medical cannabis products are gentler and have less side-effects than some of these heavy psychographic medications we have been using.

“I have no doubt medical cannabis has a wide range of application in kids, and particularly for kids with behavioural problems. But we really need to understand which kids it is going to be helpful for, which form of medical cannabis, and which particular symptoms it is going to help with — so we need to do proper studies.”

Anecdotal reports from parents claim unregulated cannabis treatment has made their children less physically aggressive. But there has never been a scientifically rigorous trial.

The institute’s study has seen eight children undergo an eight-week course of medicinal cannabis, drinking two teaspoon-sized doses of peppermint-flavoured mixture daily.

Rebecca Harvey, pictured with mum Heather, is part of the medicinal cannabis trial. Picture: Mark Stewart

Imported from Canada, the cannabis has its psychoactive elements removed and only contains the therapeutically beneficial cannabidiol element.

As only half the participants receive the cannabis — the others have a placebo — it will not be known until the trial ends how effective the treatment is.

However, Dr Efron said the early signs were positive. “The pilot has gone well and we have been able to show the study design works well. They tolerate the medicine, swallow it, and they tolerate the blood tests,” he said.

“Even the parents who think their child has been on placebo because they haven’t noticed a difference have been really positive about contributing to this research.”

Rebecca Harvey, 12, is part of the pilot trial. Mum Heather Renton said any research that could help Rebecca and others avoid harsher medications needed further support.

“I can cope with the intellectual disability and the language issues … but the behaviour is the hardest thing to deal with as a result of her genetic condition,” she said.

“She can have meltdowns, and if she doesn’t want to do something life is very challenging. Anything to help alleviate these behaviours and have my daughter calmer and not having to increase the fluoxetine (anti-depressant dose) every time things get worse has to be a good thing.”

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