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A new study has discovered that prenatal exposure to marijuana is linked to poorer thinking skills and behaviors like planning, paying attention, and impulse control in early childhood. These skills, the researchers explained, play a crucial role in how children interacted with others and performed at school.
The study was carried out by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, with their objective being to investigate the link between prenatal marijuana exposure and aggressive behavior and executive function at age 5.
The researchers used a cohort of 250 children for their study, 50 of whom were White while 155 were African American/Black. Of these, 80 of the children had been exposed to marijuana, with researchers finding that the use of alcohol and other drugs like tobacco during pregnancy was also common in 22-39% of the kids.
The researchers used different evaluations, which included asking caregivers about their child’s typical behaviors. They also measured skills associated with paying attention, impulse control, managing emotions, and solving problems in preschool-aged kids.
The researchers observed the children in a play lab environment, explaining that children exposed to marijuana demonstrated more aggressive behavior.
Standard age-corrected scores for inhibitory control and attention were lower for children who’d been exposed to marijuana in comparison to those who hadn’t been exposed to the drug. This, the researchers noted, explained why they had more difficulty planning, paying attention, and controlling their impulses.
However, based on the status of exposure, no differences were observed in caregiver ratings of behavior and executive function.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Sarah Keim, stated that their findings validated previous studies and supported existing recommendations for patients. She explained that there were many risks attached to using marijuana during pregnancy, despite it being a natural product.
Dr. Keim added that it was not recommended for women to use marijuana to deal with common issues of pregnancy like stress, nausea and sleep issues. Instead, she noted, women needed to consult their health care providers to determine safer options to manage these issues during pregnancy.
The study’s findings were reported in JAMA Pediatrics. Other researchers involved included Peter Fried, Mark A. Klebanoff, Keith Owen Yeates, Joseph Rausch, Kelly M. Boone, Aaron W. Murnan, Abigail Dean, and Daphne M. Vrantsidis.
It is important to note that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics both caution against the use of marijuana during pregnancy because of potential health risks to children and their mothers.
Cannabis firms like Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) hope that when calls to comprehensively reform federal cannabis policies are heeded, it will get easier to conduct marijuana studies and give different groups of patients advice or recommendations that put into consideration their specific needs and any potential risks they could face if they use medicinal cannabis products.
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