Injustice, share your views

[TheAntichrist]

Hi everyone, my name is Liam and I am 14 years old, living in Cape Town and I started smoking weed around december 2016

 

I have high spectrum aspergers syndrome and I have been on many different kinds of prescription medicine throughout my life

 

In addition to this I've struggled with depression in my life, I also have insomnia and anxiety that can cause serious nausea. I have never been helped/affected by the meds that were prescribed to me. After trying weed I started sleeping, I was able to control the crippling nausea due to anxiety and stress. i used to constantly self harm and was very depressed. Since I started smoking weed I have not self harmed in many months, like I said I've actually been able to get to sleep and it's really helped me and balanced me out. I do not abuse it as a medicine, I only smoke after 6PM and have no more than 4 joints a night.

 

My father (emotionally and physically abusive for 12 years) has alerted Social Services of my use of the herb as he smelt it when he returned my sisters after taking them out (i do not speak to him as he and I cant speak without fighting) and social services (they have some other minor issues with us, my dad has lied and bent the truth) have threatened to remove me and my sisters from the home unless I attend drug counseling (and we fix the other stuff)

 

I have many people who will attest to the maaaasive change in my character since i started puffing, and I think I'm much better off using it

 

I am just posting this to see what the community thinks and to get some ideas on how to protest this.

Any advice or help would be greatly appreceated

 

-Liam

[__DANNY__H__]

Hi Liam, welcome to 420SA.

 

I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder as preteen and carried that with me until I started smoking cannabis regularly at about age 15 (albeit infrequently at first). So I think I understand you there.  The sleep thing... Well, I still use weed to help me sleep to this day during exam periods at uni, hehehe. That being said, I've seen some studies that claim cannabis causes abnormal brain development if used frequently by adolescents so I can't say "ja, go for it man" without any hesitation. Then again as someone on the spectrum you are already a bit "abnormal" (no offense intended), I suppose, so these effects may be significantly different on you. I don't think there are many studies about ASD and cannabis.

 

I unfortunately can't really offer you any advice or experience regarding your family or Social Services. One thing that kind of messes with me is why would they take your sisters?

 

I don't see any obvious 'protest' route you can take here since as a minor you basically have no say in anything according to our fucked up societal standards...

[TheAntichrist]

Hi Liam, welcome to 420SA.

 

I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder as preteen and carried that with me until I started smoking cannabis regularly at about age 15 (albeit infrequently at first). So I think I understand you there.  The sleep thing... Well, I still use weed to help me sleep to this day during exam periods at uni, hehehe. That being said, I've seen some studies that claim cannabis causes abnormal brain development if used frequently by adolescents so I can't say "ja, go for it man" without any hesitation. Then again as someone on the spectrum you are already a bit "abnormal" (no offense intended), I suppose, so these effects may be significantly different on you. I don't think there are many studies about ASD and cannabis.

 

I unfortunately can't really offer you any advice or experience regarding your family or Social Services. One thing that kind of messes with me is why would they take your sisters?

 

I don't see any obvious 'protest' route you can take here since as a minor you basically have no say in anything according to our fucked up societal standards...

Hi Danny, thanks for sharing your story, I appreciate you taking the time

 

I should mention that this is sanctioned by my mom and I was given tacit approval by a therapist, even though my mom doesn't like it cos of the smell lol. Anyway my mom wants to say a couple words just to provide some context and add a bit more background

 

Also, no offense taken it's good to be a little abnormal

 

Here's my mom's views:

 

I'm the last person anyone would ever expect to advocate marijuana, not because I disapprove of it, but for purely asthetic reasons, I dislike the smell, and the effects on me are anxiety producing, however my son was diagnosed very late in his life at 12, with aspergers as he's said, prior to which he was volatile and difficult and he struggled year on year to get a correct diagnosis for his behavior. Over the years he was put on a variety of expensive and unhelpful medicine with terrible side affects, none of which alleviated his symptoms, in fact for the most part they exasperated his symptoms, in particular his anxiety. He became so overwhelmed with feelings of fear and terror when performing seemingly simple tasks that he would pass out. So dire were the effects of his undiagnosed condition on him, it had a huge impact on family and friends. It was a huge relief when he was diagnosed with aspergers, as we finally had something to work with and he underwent counseling at a local hospital. However I was given a grim diagnosis by the leading psychiatrist, that because of such a late diagnosis, his chances of learning communication skills, feelings of empathy and compassion and maturity were very slim. It was also noted that his muscle coordination would probably remain sub-par. I was warned that when he hit puberty, round about the age of 14, he may become so violently aggressive he may need to be institutionalized for a period of 6-12 months, if not longer. The nature of high functioning aspergers means that he has a highly developed brain in certain areas, however it is "generally accepted" that his emotional growth is highly stunted. He researched a number of options in terms of how to manage his condition as he understood it, given the limited amount of information he was handed to work with. He proposed to me that he try the use of weed. My initial reaction was immediately yes, strange but true as we had explored many other options. I watched Liam over the following weeks to asses whether he would abuse the substance or use it wisely to manage his condition. I have allowances for the fact that he is still a teenager and would initially enjoy it as a recreational substance more than a medicine (no other family members were involved in this at the time). He, as any teenager would, did have an initial reaction of euphoria and curiosity, however over time I watched him mature and grow, he was more patient with his sisters, more tolerant with his environment, more considerate toward other people's feelings (something he was never predicted to overcome). A few months after he started smoking, he joined ninjutsu, in which he has excelled, despite requesting that I not inform his instructors that he had this condition as he wanted to be judged on merit alone. He has matured into the polar opposite of what was predicted, and as a parent im far too smug about this . He is by no means perfect, no one is, but without any knowledge of him using marijuana, reports from his tutor, grandparents, family and friends, rolled in thick and fast during the course of the year, attesting to the massive change in his behavior, attitude and maturity. His intellect is frightening and sensitivity is unprecedented for someone with his condition. He does not abuse marijuana and by abuse I mean smoke in excess or outside our home, or make a fool of himself whilst using. He and his father (my ex), have had a difficult and abusive relationship, his father verbally, emotionally and physically abused him, baited and provoked him into a physical altercation for a year after our separation. It was through my own fault that I allowed him to do such to me, thereby causing Liam to physically lash out at his father, who smiled throughout the entire incident, after a year of knowing about my sons medical use of Marijuana decided to inform social services of this. I have also been called up on a number of issues that I'm more than happy to face in court, however I believe my son should be allowed to continue to use marijuana as it has had no negative affect on him and continues to benefit him in unimaginable ways. To remove this medicinal healing aspect from him would be very detrimental at this point. I am prepared for the fact that South African law may not be accepting of this as he is a minor and would require a medical license in order to continue smoking marijuana in the evenings

However id like to bring it into the public eye so that a precedent can be set for the use of medical Marijuana in cases that are not typically specified, eg cancer and glycoma, if nothing else I would hope that more research would be done into its benefit in other areas. So if you would like to show your support, please let us know and we will inform you with dates and times in which you could attend court hearings and/or assist with information regarding South African law about the use of marijuana at home, any medical or psychiatric perspectives or simply show your support

Please leave your details below or in a private message if you wish to get involved

Thanks for providing this forum and we can't wait to hear from all of you

 

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[Justin Hemp]

Hey there being a Dad myself of a 12 year old daughter and 6 year old son I feel your pain in trying your utmost to do what's right for your son and family at that. Having lost my father in law recently to Cancer and in that the healing nature cannabis provided for him albeit not a cure, he sure was able to cope way more than when not using it.

The advice to make use of cannabis was put forward by the doctor helself, which once again indicates how far the law is behind the advancement of medical practice. There are ways and means of dealing with your EX and I would suggest looking at a few of those options, as you have stated his not being the most supportive parent and it seems he add more fuel to the fire than anything else. Maybe you should approach the courts/ social services with regards to his behavior. More and more the plight of females and children are being highlighted in the face of abusive males.

 

Now having no experience in this regard for now I can show my support but at the same time you need to approach the medical council for the application for medical use if this is an option, added to that you may want to approach the likes of the dagga couple or feilds of green for everyone. They are particularly well versed in all things related to cannabis and the law and or medical.

 

Best of luck and keep us up to date with developments.

 

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[TheAntichrist]

Thanks Justin, I'm sorry for your loss and we'll keep you updated on further developments

 

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