A US judge has allowed the mother of a hyperactive child to carry on giving him cannabis to calm him down.
The judge dismissed a petition by social services to remove the child from his mother's home in Rocklin, California.
The eight-year-old has a severe mental disorder. Doctors diagnosed the boy as suffering from multiple mental and behavioural disorders, resulting in extreme mood swings, biting and hitting other children.
The woman has been giving her son cannabis, claiming conventional medicine has had little effect on his condition.
"I can't believe it's finally over," the woman said after an appearance before Judge Colleen Nichols in Placer Superior Court.
Child Protective Services had accused her of being an unfit mother after learning of the treatment.
Initially, the mother prepared the boy's "medicine" in the form of muffins, which she fed him regularly. But she eventually turned to cannabis after surfing the internet. A pediatrician suggested she give it a try.
She says her son's behaviour improved markedly, his mood swings levelled off and he developed friendships with other children.
AP