In the United States and in most countries around the world, cannabis is illegal. Still, according to recent data from the U.S., more than 25 million people reported past month cannabis use, easily outpacing the number of current cocaine (2.2 million) and heroin users (494,000).
11 states in the United States have legalized adult cannabis use, while 33 states now allow medical use of the plant. As a result of these recent developments, increased concerns have been raised about cannabis use by pregnant individuals and the impact it may have on the developing fetus. Indeed, cannabis is the most frequently used “illicit substance” by reproductive aged women in the U.S.
Unfortunately, across the United States, children and their parents routinely face separation and other forms of punishment due to legal and medical policies around prenatal cannabis exposure, and the notion that cannabis use during pregnancy may harm children’s development.
But, according to a review of research to date, there’s no evidence to support this belief about cannabis, nor the inarguably harmful policies which rely on it.
After nearly six years of comparing study results, researchers at Columbia University, the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Swinburne University have found that prenatal cannabis exposure does not lead to cognitive impairment in children, based on data from decades’ worth of studies on this issue.
To read more about this, you can find a more in depth look at cannabis use in pregnancy and breastfeeding on my blog: https://notyournormalparent.com/?p=390