WHAT DO DOCTORS SAY?

Dr Louise Lindenberg has more than 20 years of experience working with children with ADHD and autism. The Cape Town-based doctor is in favour of using medical cannabis to treat patients with anxiety – but she says, all CBD products need to be subjected to regulatory standards and quality tests. Without proper regulation, there’s no way of knowing if a CBD product also contains THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), she explains.

CBD is one of the more well-known components of cannabis, along with THC. Both chemicals affect the brain – THC makes users feel high and CBD makes some users feel more relaxed.

Dr Lindenberg cautions parents to be careful with products containing THC as reports have shown it changes the structure of the brain and its function, which is not good for children’s developing minds.

Dr Lindenberg also doesn’t recommend using CBD products to treat ADHD unless the child has anxiety that’s linked to ADHD. She urges parents to seek medical help first before giving children CBD. “Just because you did research on the internet doesn’t mean it is a good idea to buy it without your doctor’s guidance.”

However, Dr Carla Jardine, a specialist paediatrician at Garden City Hospital in Johannesburg, says she would not recommend CBD as a treatment option because there is no scientific evidence to support the use of CBD in children with ADHD. “CBD oil is an unregulated product,” Dr Jardine says.

“There have been no studies to prove its effectiveness or safety in children. The manufacturing process may not be stringent enough to prevent traces of THC from being in the oil.”

The THC in cannabis, she says, is known to cause adverse effects such as neuropsychological deficits in the child’s developing brain. “Heavy use causes impairments in memory and attention. There is also a risk CBD may be a gateway drug for young adolescents,” she adds.

“My advice would be not to give it to your child.”

See page 56 for more medical input on CBD use and children.