More and more expectant mothers are using marijuana in states where it is legal, the results of a new study of California women suggests.
The proportion of women there who used marijuana in some form while they were pregnant nearly doubled between 2009 and 2016.
In many states, medical marijuana can be prescribed for treating conditions including severe nausea and pain – both of which may affect pregnant women – but the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends women stay away from weed if they want to have a baby.
In 2018, marijuana will be legally available for recreational use, suggesting that that even more pregnant women may have access to and indulge in it.
The new research from Kaiser Permanente suggests that women know that their doctors would not approve of their marijuana use: Less than half of the women that tested positive for marijuana copped to using it when asked in a survey.
The youngest women were the most likely to use marijuana while pregnant, according to a graph form the new study, and those number are expected to rise
California was the fist state in the US to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. It is now legal in 29 states and Washington, DC.
The jury is still out on exactly what adverse health effects the drug may have. It has long been used to help subdue nausea in cancer patients, but 2017 also saw the first reported marijuana overdose in a baby.
Though little clear evidence exists on the effects of marijuana on developing human fetuses, animal studies have revealed that it may disrupt brain development.
The Kaiser Permanente researchers analyzed medical records from more than 30,000 pregnant women in its insurance network in California.
In 2009, only about four percent of pregnant women were using marijuana.
By 2016, that number had nearly doubled to seven percent.
‘Of concern’ to the researchers was that fact that marijuana use was particularly common among younger pregnant women.
More than 20 percent of pregnant teenagers tested positive, and 19 percent of expectant mothers between 18 and 24 had used marijuana while they were pregnant.
More than half of all Americans reported having tried marijuana at some point in their lives, and about 22 percent of those qualify as regular users.
In spite of its wide use, the new research suggests that pregnant women are still aware of some stigma against them for partaking in a toke or an edible.
Consistently, about half of the women whose drug tests revealed marijuana in their systems
While only about 30 percent of the pregnant women in the study reported that they used marijuana in a survey, about 55 percent tested positive for it in a drug screen, though self-reporting did increase in line with use each year.
Worryingly, if women are not reporting their marijuana use in their medical records, their doctors are unable to counsel them about the risks of using marijuana, or what alternative reliefs for symptoms like nausea might be available.
On January 1, 2018, marijuana will become legal for recreational use in California, making it easier to buy for anyone over 21 there.
This past year was a slow one for marijuana legalization in the US. After four out five states that tried to pass a measure succeeded in 2016, no additional states legalized it in 2017.
But, according to a Forbes analysis, at least three states – Vermont, Michigan and New Jersey – are likely to pass a legal weed bill in the coming year.