Study finds women unaware of the risks associated with cannabis during pregnancy

A woman exhales after taking a hit from a bong during the annual 4/20 cannabis culture celebration at Sunset Beach in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday April 20, 2016. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is warning pregnant and breastfeeding women about the potential dangers of cannabis use. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The legalization of cannabis and its distribution through a provincially-owned company (SQDC) have made it a more easily accessible consumer product. Yet marijuana remains a psychoactive substance that can have undesirable effects, particularly during pregnancy.

A recent Quebec institute of public health (INSPQ) study shows that many women are still unaware of the risks.

In a study entitled "Social representations of cannabis use during pregnancy," Individual and Community Development Directorate specialist and scientific advisor Louise Pouliot concluded that the women questioned were "very little informed about the precise health risks."

The researcher also observed that female cannabis users turn to social networks and try to explain their choice by "different personal reasons for using" rather than opening up to health professionals because of the stigma associated with the drug.

Although there is not an abundance of scientific evidence on the impact of cannabis during pregnancy, certain risks have been well documented, according to Karine Bertrand, a professor in the addiction department of the Université de Sherbrooke's faculty of medicine.

She said that the indicator best supported by empirical evidence is low birth weight. While it is not yet known what the consequences are very well, we also know that cannabis crosses the placenta and that cannabinoid receptors in the brain are formed very early in the fetus's development.

"So the recommendation to avoid exposure to cannabis comes from the fact that there is a potential risk," said Bertrand. "We know that there is a psychoactive product there that will cross the placenta and be picked up by receptors in the child's brain."

An update on the state of knowledge published by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction in May 2022 points out that cannabis is the second most widely used psychoactive substance during pregnancy.

Alcohol remains first.

It also states that longer-term effects have been observed in children whose mothers used cannabis regularly during pregnancy. During childhood, adolescence and even early adulthood, these children are more likely to develop "attention disorders, emotional disorders, hyperactivity and impulsivity, sleep disorders and substance abuse."

Cannabis use by a breastfeeding mother could also have consequences for the child. According to the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction's publication entitled "Squelching the Cannabis Smoke," "cannabis compounds can pass into breast milk," which the child ingests and metabolizes.

AWARENESS-RAISING AND PREVENTION

Among the "ideas for consideration" Pouliot proposes is the need to develop and disseminate "public health messages about the effects of cannabis use during pregnancy."

All of this should be done using "neutral, non-stigmatizing and supportive language," said the INSPQ researcher.

The expert also suggests using social media to reach the women concerned. She also believes that health-care professionals need to be better equipped to ensure that their patients are less reluctant to talk about their cannabis use.

According to Bertrand, the scientific community agrees on the urgent need to speed up studies on the effects of cannabis on mother and fetus.

The addiction specialist also believes that the legalization of cannabis "offers an opportunity to open dialogue more easily" for health professionals and that they should take advantage of this.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 10, 2023.