A YouTube star who was trolled for her stutter claims taking CBD oil has helped to cure her speech impediment.
Matice Ahnjamine Morris, 30, from Killeen, Texas, started vlogging about her stammer two years ago to try to raise awareness, having developed it when she was just five years old.
She told how her stutter becomes more pronounced the more stressed she is, and explained that CBD – aka cannabidiol – helps to reduce her anxiety levels, thereby lessening it.
Matice, who has nearly 30,000 subscribers on YouTube, told FEMAIL: ‘My stuttering is more pronounced when I’m nervous, anxious or when I’m stressed.
Matice Ahnjamine Morris, 30, from Killeen, Texas, pictured, started vlogging about her stammer two years ago to try to raise awareness, having developed it when she was just five years old
‘CBD helps me relax. And the more relaxed I am, the less I stutter. It made me calm and laid back and when I’m like that, my fluency increases and my stuttering goes down.
‘It will definitely help you relax and if you are a person whose stutter makes you extremely anxious, this will help, 100 per cent.’
Charity The British Stammering Association estimates around 700,000 people in the UK suffer from the speech disorder.
CBD is extracted from the cannabis plant but contains only trace amounts of the high-giving chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, making it perfectly legal in the UK.
Matice told how her stutter becomes more pronounced the more stressed she is, and explained that CBD – aka cannabidiol – helps to reduce her anxiety levels, thereby lessening it
Matice, an accountant who works in retirement planning, credits the medication for helping her to stop tripping over her words.
Her advice clips on YouTube have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
She said: ‘Since starting the blog, trolls have told me I’m “making a fool of myself” and how I should “write comments down instead of speaking them”.
‘A lot of stutterers tell me that they couldn’t do what I do, to open myself up like this.
‘But I’ve got to the point where I don’t care one way or the other about the bad comments. The people making them are just dumb.’
Matice, an accountant who works in retirement planning, credits CBD oil for helping her to stop tripping over her words
Matice isn’t the only one using CBD to help ease the symptoms of their stutter.
Business manager and lifelong stammer sufferer Jack Gandolfo, from Utah, is penning a book on the subject.
He said: ‘I learned everything I could about CBD and all of its benefits. Within a short time it proved to be the most effective solution to my problem. My speech improved the more I consistently used CBD.
‘I found that the words were more fluent and no longer getting stuck in stressful situations.’
He added: ‘I recognise that it might not work for everyone because of the different severities and causes.’
Since starting her blog, Matice says trolls have told her she’s ‘making a fool of herself’ and should ‘write comments down instead of speaking them’
David Barcly, CEO of leading UK brand CBD Armour, is calling for research into links between stammering and the use of CBD products.
He said: ‘At this present moment in time, we’re still learning about the clinical effects of CBD. We’re at the start of what’s likely to be a long process.
‘And while we have a plentiful supply of anecdotal evidence, we still need proper peer-reviewed scientific studies into CBD before we can make any bold claims.
‘All we do know is that many of our customers have told us they’re taking CBD to help with anxiety, sleep problems to aid general wellbeing.
‘And if CBD can be used to ease the symptoms of stammer, then that’s clearly a development we’d welcome.’
Matice said the oil will definitely help you relax and if you are a person whose stutter makes you extremely anxious, this will help, ‘100 per cent’
The British Stammering Association, aka STAMMA, says around eight per cent of children will stammer at some point, with most going on to talk fluently. But for up to three per cent, it will be a lifelong condition.
Most stammering develops during childhood and is a neurological rather than a psychological condition.
It is often hereditary – around 60 per cent of people who stammer have another family member who stammers – and mainly affects men.
It’s thought to be caused by an abnormality in the part of the brain which controls language, known as the ‘Broca’s area’.
A spokeswoman for The British Stammering Association says they would welcome research into CBD helping those who stammer.
‘Stammering is not caused by nerves or anxiety, but we are aware that having a stammer can make people anxious as they worry about how others will react to their speech,’ she said.
‘We have not seen any studies on the impact of CBD oil on stammering, but would welcome research into the matter.’