2023-06-27 08:07:36
Whenever it comes to the legalization of cannabis, the argument is made that it can severely damage children and young people in their development. Of course, it is very dangerous to resort to intoxicants, especially during pregnancy, since the use of the substance can have an impact on the unborn child.
Alcohol consumption is known to cause serious harm or even death to babies. Not much is known about the possible effects of cannabis use during pregnancy on the offspring. However, Hanf Magazin has already reported that there may be a slightly higher rate of premature births when comparing mothers who use medicinal cannabis to women who do not use the natural medicine.
However, a new study from the USA has now looked at the brain functions of children who have been passively exposed to cannabis during their time in the womb. The result: no differences to other children can be determined.
Almost 3,000 children examined several times
Children exposed to cannabis in utero do not show clinical neurodevelopmental deficits later in life, according to US longitudinal data published in the journal Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology. Columbia University researchers studied the neurodevelopment of a cohort of 2,868 children born between 1989 and 1992. Study participants were examined in late childhood and again in early adulthood.
After the researchers adjusted for the influencing factors, children exposed to cannabis in utero did not perform differently on any of the assessments than children who were not exposed to this factor. The authors of the study therefore concluded that children with PME – i.e. prenatal marijuana exposure – performed no worse than unexposed children at the age of 10 on neuropsychological assessments. Even years later, at an age of 19 to 20, differences were not measurable.
Further research would now be warranted in a more recent birth cohort with a range of neuropsychological findings. This may further elucidate the actual impact of prenatal marijuana exposure on neurodevelopment in children and young adults, the researchers say.
Confirmation from past studies
The results of the study are consistent with several previous cohort studies examining the long-term health consequences of in utero cannabis exposure. A 2017 review of these studies concluded:
“The evidence base for the health consequences of cannabis use during pregnancy for mother and child is more robust than for many other substances. Although it is theoretically possible that cannabis impairs neurodevelopment, human data from four prospective cohorts did not identify long-term or long-lasting significant differences between children exposed to cannabis in utero and those who were not.”
The full text of the study, entitled Neurodevelopmental outcomes in children after prenatal exposure, appears in Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology.
Sources
pubmed.ncbi.nlm
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