Article
(NEWS) “Marijuana effective against morning sickness: study; 92% of pregnant
users surveyed report relief” by Don Harrison, The
Province. “The controversial use of
medicinal marijuana as a weapon against pregnancy-induced morning sickness has
been given a boost in a B.C. study to be published by a British journal. The study will be published by the Journal
of Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, likely in 2006, said Philippe
Lucas, co-author of the report.” Click here
for more.
Article (NEWS) “STUDY FAVOURS POT
SMOKING IN PREGNANCY” by Mark Browne, (Source:Esquimalt News) Regional News - 07 Oct 2005 - British
Columbia. “Some people might be shocked
at the idea of pregnant women smoking marijuana to deal with the nausea that
comes with pregnancy. But a UK-based
medical publication, Journal of Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice,
has taken the idea seriously and published a study conducted by the Vancouver
Island Compassion Society on the topic.”
Visit: http://www.esquimaltnews.com/
See also > Vancouver Island
Compassion Society ( http://www.mapinc.org/find?235
) < and > Cannabis - Medicinal -
Canada ( http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm
) <
Article (NEWS) “Pregnancy and Pot;
Cannabis can be a special friend to pregnant women in
times of need” by Dr.
Kate (01 Sept, 1998). “In the 5 years I
have been practising as a midwife, many women have asked my advice on how to
have the best possible pregnancy, labour and birth. Most women know they should
avoid drugs in general, as well as additives, chemicals, cleaners, etc. But
what about pot? Where does the marijuana herb fit in to pregnancy?
Pot can be safely used during pregnancy, and can help with several of the
discomforts/problems associated therewith - a fact little known by the medical
community, and even much of the herbalist community.” Visit:
Article (NEWS) “Cannabis and Pregnancy” It is concluded, that the use of cannabis is not a major prognostic
factor regarding the outcome of pregnancy, but is an indicator of low
socioeconomic status and (possible) use of other substances. Visit:
http://www.biopsychiatry.com/canpreg.htm
Marijuana Myths, Claim No. 7
MARIJUANA USE DURING PREGNANCY HARMS THE FETUS
A powerful accusation in anti-drug campaigns is that
children are permanently harmed by their mothers' use of drugs during
pregnancy. Today, it is commonly claimed that marijuana is a cause of birth
defects and development deficits.
THE FACTS
A number of studies claimed reported low birth weight
and physical abnormalities among babies exposed to marijuana in utero. 43
However, when other factors known to affect pregnancy outcomes were controlled
for - for example, maternal age, socioeconomic class, and alcohol and tobacco
use - the association between marijuana use and adverse fetal effects
disappeared. 44
Numerous other studies have failed to find negative
impacts from marijuana exposure. 45
However, when negative outcomes are found, they tend to be widely publicized,
regardless of the quality of the study.
It is now often claimed that
marijuana use during pregnancy causes childhood leukemia. The basis for this
claim is one study, in which . 5% of the mothers of leukemic children admitted
to using marijuana prior to or during pregnancy. A "control group" of
mothers with normal children was then created and questioned by telephone about
previous drug use. Their reported .5 % marijuana use-rate was used to calculate
a 10-fold greater risk of leukemia for children born to marijuana users. 46
Given national surveys showing marijuana prevalence rates of at least 10%,
these "control group" mothers almost certainly under-reported their
drug use to strangers on the telephone.
Also used as evidence of
marijuana-induced fetal harm are two longitudinal studies, in which the
children of marijuana users were examined repeatedly. However, on closer
examination, the effects of marijuana appear to be quite minimal, if existent
at all.
After finding a slight deficit in
visual responsiveness among marijuana-exposed newborns, no differences were
found at six months, 12 months, 18 months, or 24 months. 47
At age 3, the only difference (after controlling for confounding variables) was
that children of "moderate" smokers had superior psycho-motor skills.
At age 4, children of "heavy" marijuana users (averaging 18.7
joints/week) had lower scores on one subscale of one standardized test of
verbal development. 48
At age 6, these same children scored lower on one computerized task - that
measuring "vigilance." On dozens of others scales and subscales, no
differences were ever found. 49
In another
study, standardized IQ tests were administered to marijuana-exposed and
unexposed three year-olds. Researchers found no differences in the overall
scores. However, by dividing the sample by race, they found - among
African-American children only - lower scores on one subscale for those exposed
during the first trimester and lower scores on a different subscale for those
exposed during the second trimester. 50
Although it is sensible to advise
pregnant women to abstain from using most drugs - including marijuana - the
weight of scientific evidence indicates that marijuana has few adverse
consequences for the developing human fetus.
Women, Marijuana, And Pregnancy
Copenhagen University In two Copenhagen University
hospitals 12,885 pregnant women, seen during the period 1/8/1992 to 30/04/1995,
answered questionnaires regarding consumption of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and
other drugs. The prevalence of cannabis use was 0.8%.
Women using cannabis but no other
illicit drugs were each retrospectively matched with four randomly chosen
pregnant women in the same period and the same age group and with same parity.
Eighty-four cannabis users were included.
These women were socio economically
disadvantaged and had a higher prevalence of present and past use of alcohol,
tobacco and other drugs. No significant difference in pregnancy, delivery or
puerperal outcome was found. Visit:
“Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and
Neonatal Outcomes in Jamaica: An
Ethnographic Study” Melanie C.
Dreher, PhD; Kevin Nugent, PhD; and Rebekah Hudgins, MA
Measurements and main
results. Exposed and nonexposed neonates were compared at 3
days and 1 month old, using the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale, including
supplementary items to capture possible subtle effects. There were no
significant differences between exposed and nonexposed neonates on day 3. At 1
month, the exposed neonates showed better physiological stability and required
less examiner facilitation to reach organized states. The neonates of
heavy-marijuana-using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality
of alertness, irritability, and self-regulation and were judged to be more
rewarding for caregivers.
Pediatrics, February
1994, Volume 93, Number 2, pp. 254-260.
American Academy of Pediatrics From the Schools of Nursing, Education, and
Public Health, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Received for publication Sep 21, 1992;
accepted Jun 30, 1993. Reprint requests
to (M.D.) School of Nursing, the University of Massachusetts, 111 Arnold House,
Amherst, MA 01003. Pediatrics
(ISSN 0031 4005). Copyright © 1994 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Visit:
Questions about
medical marijuana answered by the Institute of Medicine's report “Marijuana
and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base”(1999) by the National Academy of
Sciences (ISBN 0-309-07155-0). The
full report by the National Academy of Sciences can be viewed on-line at http://books.nap.edu/html/marimed/
How bad is it for pregnant women to use marijuana?
"Several studies of women who
smoked marijuana regularly during pregnancy show that they tend to give birth
to lower weight babies. Mothers who smoke tobacco also give birth to lower
weight babies, and the relative contributions of smoking versus THC are not
known from these studies. ... Babies born to mothers who smoked marijuana
during pregnancy weighed an average of 3.4 ounces less than babies born to a
control group of mothers who did not smoke marijuana; there was no
statistically significant difference in either gestational age or frequency of
congenital abnormalities. ... However, Jamaican women who use marijuana rarely
smoke it, but instead prepare it as tea. In a study of neonates born to
Jamaican women who did or did not ingest marijuana during pregnancy, there was
no difference in neurobehavioral assessments made at three days after birth and
at one month." [Pp. 123, 124]
Isn't marijuana too addictive to be used as a medicine?
"Some controlled substances
that are approved medications produce dependence after long-term use; this,
however, is a normal part of patient management and does not generally present
undue risk to the patient." [p. 98]
"Animal research has shown that
the potential for cannabinoid dependence exists, and cannabinoid withdrawal
symptoms can be observed. However, both appear to be mild compared to
dependence and withdrawal seen with other drugs." [p. 35]
"A distinctive marijuana and
THC withdrawal syndrome has been identified, but it is mild and subtle compared
with the profound physical syndrome of alcohol or heroin withdrawal." [Pp. 89,
90]
|
Drug Category
|
Proportion Of Users That Ever
Became Dependent (%)
|
|
Alcohol
|
15
|
|
Marijuana (including hashish)
|
9
|
|
[p. 95]
|
"Compared to most other drugs
... dependence among marijuana users is relatively rare." [p. 94]
"Few marijuana users become
dependent. ... Dependence appears to be less severe among people who use only
marijuana than among those who abuse cocaine or those who abuse marijuana with
other drugs (including alcohol)." [Pp. 96, 97]
"In summary, although few
marijuana users develop dependence, some do. But they appear to be less likely
to do so than users of other drugs (including alcohol and nicotine), and
marijuana dependence appears to be less severe than dependence on other
drugs." [p. 98]
Marijuana in Pregnancy (Paper) Annals
Academy of Medicine. Marijuana Use in Pregnancy KM Kuczkowski. Marijuana
in Pregnancy. KM Kuczkowski, 1MD. Introduction. Marijuana has been used
for thousands of years for both. medical and recreational purposes. Because the
… Visit:
Marihemp: Research: Re: Marijuana during pregnancy
* Re: Marijuana during pregnancy. daddy cool.
Registered on. More User Info. (Advertisement) DRUG TESTS. Message #833 posted
by daddy cool (Info) September 15, 1999 21:00:54 ET ... In Reply to: Marijuana
during pregnancy posted by Veronica September 15, 1999 ...
Message #833 posted
by daddy cool (Info) September
15, 1999 21:00:54 ET
In Reply to: Marijuana
during pregnancy posted by Veronica September 15, 1999 17:32:53 ET
hello veronica and congrats on being preggers...also congrats on not smoking to
protect your child...its a worthwhile cause!
do not worry about your pot smoking history prior to
conception...it will not make you baby come out green!
smoking tobacco or pot is not good for a developing
fetus...the immediate negative effect of smoking is to starve your blood of
oxygen (because of the carbon monoxide) which can result in low birth weights
and premature birth...PLUS it can't be too good for your body and fetus to be
putting tars and other combustion by-products in your lungs/blood...smoke
contains carcinogenic compounds which may or may not be present in high enough
concentrations to cause cancer
HOWEVER studies done on pot smoking pregnant women
have shown that their habits have not had a negative impact on their children
physically or psychologically other than a slightly lower birth weight.”
Visit:
New book on women and cannabis by Pete
Brady (17 Mar, 2003) Research shows how cannabis benefits women and
children ... health as it relates to breast feeding. A new book
edited by a respected trio of marijuana experts sheds new light on cannabis and
women.
Neurologist Ethan Russo, MD (CC#36, Pot pioneer), Dr.
Melanie Dreher, PhD (CC#15, Dr. Melanie
Dreher, reefer researcher, and CC#16, Ganja mothers, ganja
babies), and Registered Nurse Mary Lynn Mathre spent several years creating
the book "Women and Cannabis," which first appeared as an
entire issue of the Journal for Cannabis Therapeutics.
This groundbreaking volume contains information valuable to anyone who cares
about how marijuana affects women. Of
particular interest is research by Israeli scientist Ester Fride showing that
body-produced substances (called anandamides) that mimic substances found in
marijuana are critical to infant health as it relates to breast feeding. Visit:
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