Both smoking and vaping involve heating a substance and inhaling the resulting fumes. With traditional cigarettes, you inhale smoke from burning tobacco. With vaping, a device (typically a vape pen or a mod — an enhanced vape pen — that may look like a flash drive) heats up a liquid (called vape juice or e-liquid) until it turns into a vapor that you inhale.
“Vaping is a delivery system similar to a nebulizer, which people with asthma or other lung conditions may be familiar with,” says Broderick. “A nebulizer turns liquid medicine into a mist that patients breathe in. It’s a highly effective way of delivering medicine to the lungs.”
Conclusions and relevance: This study suggests that prenatal cannabis exposure and its correlated factors are associated with greater risk for psychopathology during middle childhood. Cannabis use during pregnancy should be discouraged.
Highlights
• PCE may impact fetal growth, with no evidence of long-term effects on size.
• Subtle effects on cognition are supported by neuroimaging and rodent studies.
• PCE is associated with direct effects on behavior and brain function.
• PCE has indirect effects on adult functioning via early initiation of cannabis use.
Research has found that prenatal cannabis use may adversely affect fetal growth and neurodevelopment, be associated with future learning and behavioral problems in children, and increase risk of neonatal morbidity. (Cornelius et al., 2002; Day et al., 1994; El Marroun et al., 2011; Fried and Smith, 2001; Fried et al., 1999; Fried et al., 2003; Fried et al., 1997; Goldschmidt et al., 2000; Goldschmidt et al., 2008; Goldschmidt et al., 2012; Metz et al., 2017; Noland et al., 2005; Willford et al., 2010; Ryan et al., 2018; El Marroun et al., 2018) Several US organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommend abstinence from cannabis use during pregnancy. (Ryan et al., 2018; Gynecologists, T.A.C.O.O.A, 2020) Despite these recommendations, there are concerns that the trend of cannabis use during pregnancy will continue to increase as more states and countries legalize cannabis and allow for commercial sales through dispensaries. (Mark and Terplan, 2017)
Results
Rates of reported cannabis use in pregnancy increased from 1.3% to 7.5% over the study period with no appreciable change in slope after legalisation in 2018. Infants of mothers reporting cannabis use in pregnancy were more likely to have major anomalies and a 5-minute Apgar score ≤ 7, require NICU admission, and had lower birth weight, head circumference, and birth length than infants of mothers not reporting cannabis use. These associations did not differ before and after legalisation.
Conclusions
Reported cannabis use during pregnancy is associated with early postnatal complications and reduced fetal growth, even after taking into account a range of confounding factors. Rates of reported cannabis use during pregnancy increased over the past five years in Nova Scotia with no apparent additional effect of legalisation.
Though research among pregnant women and marijuana-exposed neonates is limited, there is evidence to suggest that marijuana use may increase the risk of stillbirth and is associated with neurodevelopmental deficits in the infant.
Evidence-based programs to prevent initiation of marijuana use should target women of childbearing age.
In addition, THC passes from mother to baby through breastmilk; thus, cessation should continue post-partum.
In human studies, the preponderance of evidence suggests that prenatal cannabinoid exposure is predictive of several adverse neonatal outcomes, most notably FGR Fetal growth restriction and LBW low birth weight.
There is thus an urgent need to better understand the mechanistic links between these prenatal developmental events, their impact upon neurodevelopmental pathology and risk factors and how exposure to cannabinoids might synergistically modulate these complex interrelationships.
Maternal cannabis use in pregnancy and child neurodevelopmental outcomes We link pregnancy and birth data to provincial health administrative databases to ascertain child neurodevelopmental outcomes. We use matching techniques to control for confounding and Cox proportional hazards regression models to examine associations between prenatal cannabis use and child neurodevelopment.
Very scientific and medical article.
Early detection and alerting pregnant women about the risks of cannabis use during pregnancy is one way to minimize its possible harm. ..An active involvement is required from primary care, obstetricians, pediatric, mental health and drug dependence services
Consumption of cannabis during pregnancy results in cannabinoid placental crossing and accumulation in the fetal brain, and other organs, where it interferes with neurodevelopment and the endocannabinoid system. Use during the postnatal period can also lead to secretion in breast milk for extended periods (up to a week) after last use. From retrospective studies, we know prenatal cannabis ingestion has been associated with anemia in the mothers as well as low birth weights, greater risk of preterm and stillbirths, as well as increased need for neonatal intensive care unit admissions.
What Do I Need to Know about Marijuana? Podcasts Answers all the myths with science and facts. Is it safe to drive using marijuana? If it is a medicine, how can it hurt me? What does marijuana use do to my brain? ....
Cannabis effects on fetal growth (eg, low birth weight and length) may be more pronounced in women who consume marijuana frequently, especially in the first and second trimesters.4 This study highlights the importance of screening and interventions for cannabis use among all pregnant women.
This study highlights the importance of screening and interventions for cannabis use among all pregnant women.
The study found that a number of brain disorders and behaviors predicted accelerated aging, especially schizophrenia, which showed an average of 4 years of premature aging, cannabis abuse (2.8 years of accelerated aging), bipolar disorder (1.6 years accelerated aging), ADHD (1.4 years accelerated aging) and alcohol abuse (0.6 years accelerated aging). Interestingly, the researchers did not observe accelerated aging in depression and aging, which they hypothesize may be due to different types of brain patterns for these disorders.
Significant effects of prenatal cannabis exposure have been found on children's sleep, cognitive functions (memory and scholastic skills), as well as on executive (frontal lobe) functions (reasoning, attention, impulsivity, and motivation), and affective (depression) and anxiety symptoms throughout the stages of development. Following the presentation of two case vignettes, we integrate the published information on outcomes of maternal use of cannabis during pregnancy on the developing fetus and the "soft" neurological deficits and neuro-behavioral disturbances manifested by them from early childhood and evolving to peaks in adolescence. Taken together, these data serve to define what we call a heretofore unspecified "fetal cannabis spectrum disorder".
Researchers say psychoactive compounds in marijuana easily cross the placenta, exposing the fetus to perhaps 10 percent of the THC — tetrahydrocannabinol — that the mother receives, and higher concentrations if the mom uses pot repeatedly.
Large-scale, longitudinal studies of humans whose mothers smoked marijuana once or more per week and experimental work on rodents exposed to cannabinoids in utero have yielded remarkably consistent intellectual and behavioral correlates of fetal exposure to this drug. Some exposed individuals exhibit deficits in memory, cognition, and measures of sociability. These aberrations appear during infancy and persist through adulthood and are tied to changes in the expression of multiple gene families, as well as more global measures of brain responsiveness and plasticity. Researchers currently consider these perturbations to be mediated by changes to the endocannabinoid system caused by the active compounds in cannabis.
There was more alarming news. Use of illegal drugs, including cocaine, marijuana, and opioids by pregnant women increased significantly between 2015 and 2017. About 7 percent of pregnant women reported using marijuana. Three percent said they used it daily.
McCance-Katz says marijuana use is linked to fetal growth problems, preterm births, stillbirths, hyperactivity and impaired cognition in newborns.
The importance of the published findings and the emerging research regarding the potential negative effects of marijuana on brain development are a cause for concern despite the limited research and are the basis for the following recommendations:
Women who are considering becoming pregnant or who are of reproductive age need to be informed about the lack of definitive research and counseled about the current concerns regarding potential adverse effects of THC use on the woman and on fetal, infant, and child development. Marijuana can be included as part of a discussion about the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs and medications during pregnancy.
As part of routine anticipatory guidance and in addition to contraception counseling, it is important to advise all adolescents and young women that if they become pregnant, marijuana should not be used during pregnancy.
Pregnant women who are using marijuana or other cannabinoid-containing products to treat a medical condition or to treat nausea and vomiting during pregnancy should be counseled about the lack of safety data and the possible adverse effects of THC in these products on the developing fetus and referred to their health care provider for alternative treatments that have better pregnancy-specific safety data.
Women of reproductive age who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant and are identified through universal screening as using marijuana should be counseled and, as clinically indicated, receive brief intervention and be referred to treatment.
Although marijuana is legal in some states, pregnant women who use marijuana can be subject to child welfare investigations if they have a positive marijuana screen result. Health care providers should emphasize that the purpose of screening is to allow treatment of the woman’s substance use, not to punish or prosecute her.
Present data are insufficient to assess the effects of exposure of infants to maternal marijuana use during breastfeeding. As a result, maternal marijuana use while breastfeeding is discouraged. Because the potential risks of infant exposure to marijuana metabolites are unknown, women should be informed of the potential risk of exposure during lactation and encouraged to abstain from using any marijuana products while breastfeeding.
Pregnant or breastfeeding women should be cautioned about infant exposure to smoke from marijuana in the environment, given emerging data on the effects of passive marijuana smoke.
Women who have become abstinent from previous marijuana use should be encouraged to remain abstinent while pregnant and breastfeeding.
Further research regarding the use of and effects of marijuana during pregnancy and breastfeeding is needed.
Pediatricians are urged to work with their state and/or local health departments if legalization of marijuana is being considered or has occurred in their state to help with constructive, nonpunitive policy and education for families.
CBD oil may potentially interact in a negative way with anti-epilepsy drugs. As of now, only in vitro (test tube) observations exist with no living organism testing proving safety. Drugs that may interact include:
Researchers had two women conduct "mystery caller" phone conversations with employees at 400 dispensaries across the state, telling them that they were eight weeks pregnant and suffering from morning sickness. During the majority of those calls, the employees recommended the women use cannabis products.
They also discovered that prenatal marijuana use was associated with a 50 percent increased chance of low birth weight regardless of tobacco use during pregnancy. “Growing evidence suggests prenatal cannabis exposure has a detrimental impact on offspring brain function starting in the toddler years, specifically issues related to attention deficit disorder,” Crume said. “But much of the research on the effects of prenatal cannabis on neonatal outcomes was based on marijuana exposures in the 1980s and 1990s which may not reflect the potency of today’s cannabis or the many ways it is used.”
1. Legalizing cannabis has been shown to increase the rates of motor vehicle accidents.
2. Cannabis use is a risk factor for mental illness.
3. Inhaled Cannabis use is a risk factor for respiratory infections.
4. Cannabis use increases the rate of vascular disease. Cannabis is the third most often identified drug of abuse
5. Cannabis use during pregnancy has been associated with increased risk of adverse birth outcomes
6. Legalization of cannabis has been shown to increase cannabis exposure in the pediatric population.
7. Heavy cannabis use is associated with diminished lifetime achievements.
Doctors must educate the public about the potential harm cannabis causes with heavy, and possibly moderate, widespread use just as they do about the dangers of tobacco use. Tobacco use has declined in the United States in large part because of the knowledge the public now holds about its adverse effects, as opposed to legislative action.
Even after less than six years of smoking the drug, the ill effects were already being seen on their breathing, according the research presented at the British Thoracic Society (BTS) winter meeting.
"It is vital that young people understand the dangers of both cigarette and cannabis smoking since these habits can start having a serious impact on their lungs at an early stage."
Obstetrician–gynecologists should be discouraged from prescribing or suggesting the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes during preconception, pregnancy, and lactation. Pregnant women or women contemplating pregnancy should be encouraged to discontinue use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in favor of an alternative therapy for which there are better pregnancy-specific safety data.
There are insufficient data to evaluate the effects of marijuana use on infants during lactation and breastfeeding, and in the absence of such data, marijuana use is discouraged.
Notably, 34–60% of marijuana users continue use during pregnancy, with many women believing that it is relatively safe to use during pregnancy and less expensive than tobacco
It is difficult to be certain about the specific effects of marijuana on pregnancy and the developing fetus, in part because those who use it often use other drugs as well, including tobacco, alcohol, or illicit drugs, and in part because of other potential confounding exposures. Marijuana smoke contains many of the same respiratory disease-causing and carcinogenic toxins as tobacco smoke, often in concentrations several times greater than in tobacco smoke.
Studies of marijuana exposure during pregnancy are potentially subject to reporting and recall bias, often relying on self-reported habits, including frequency, timing, and amount of marijuana use.
women using marijuana at least weekly during pregnancy were significantly more likely to give birth to a newborn less than 2,500
Several studies noted statistically significantly smaller birth lengths and head circumferences as well as lower birth weights among exposed offspring
In a new study, researchers in London, Ontario found that women who used marijuana while pregnant were almost three times more likely to have an infant with low birth weight than women who did not use marijuana.
Everyone should be concerned: Voters, not medical practitioners or scientists, have been able to determine medical practice.
Beneath it all, however, we must pause to seriously consider the known, detrimental effects of repeated marijuana use on the developing adolescent brain. We must act accordingly and responsibly in ways that promote the public health and safety, help delay initiation of use, and reduce, not increase, the accessibility of marijuana to this particularly vulnerable population.
Marijuana use during pregnancy can be harmful to your baby’s health. The chemicals in marijuana (in particular,tetrahydrocannabinol or THC) pass through your systemto your baby and can negatively affect your baby’s development.
Smoking marijuana can lead to a greater risk of bronchitis, cough, and phlegm production.
Marijuana users are significantly more likely than nonusers to develop chronic mental disorders, including schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a type of mental illness where people might see or hear things that aren't really there (hallucinations).
Eating foods or drinking beverages that contain marijuana have some different risks than smoking marijuana, including a greater risk of poisoning.
About 1 in 10 marijuana users will become addicted. For people who begin using before the age of 18, that number rises to 1 in 6.
Some research shows that using marijuana while you are pregnant[288 KB] can cause health problems in newborns—including low birth weight and developmental problems.
Marijuana use can slow your reaction time and ability to make decisions when driving[271 KB].
"The study suggests that the effects of cannabis use on verbal intelligence are explained not by neurotoxic effects on the brain, but rather by a possible social mechanism," said lead author Natalie Castellanos-Ryan, Assistant Professor at Universite de Montreal in Canada
“We see specific morphological changes in the brain to important neurotransmitter systems, and individuals who are exposed to THC early in life show greater sensitivity to opiates than others do,” she said. “We know that the brain definitely adapts to marijuana. It is profoundly changing the receptors and receptor signaling that impact gene expression. And the changes it makes last through adulthood and even into the next generation. So we see that there’s something about the ongoing processes in the developing brain that this drug somehow sensitizes—in the cells, the receptors, and in the signaling cascades—that makes kids more vulnerable to addiction and other problems later.”
“There is a lot of optimism for what components of the marijuana plant may offer on a medicinal level but, like all other drugs, the caveat is that you have to know what it does, what population it can be used for, and who could be vulnerable to its effects. We need a lot more research before we can say anything concrete about its future as a treatment.”
"This development of stress cardiomyopathy in younger patients who used marijuana suggests a possible link that needs to be further investigated," said Sahil Agrawal, M.D., co-author of the paper and also a chief cardiology fellow at St. Luke's.
Marijuana users were more likely than non-users to have a history of depression (32.9 percent vs. 14.5 percent), psychosis (11.9 percent vs. 3.8 percent), anxiety disorder (28.4 percent vs. 16.2 percent), alcoholism (13.3 percent vs. 2.8 percent), tobacco use (73.3 percent vs. 28.6 percent) and multiple substance abuse (11.4 percent vs. 0.3 percent). Because some of these can increase the risk of stress cardiomyopathy, the researchers adjusted for known risk factors to investigate the association between marijuana use and stress cardiomyopathy.
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