# Medical Consequences of Smoking Pot While Pregnant **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027 "2008-10-01T17:43:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![A\_shameful\_cracka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@A\_shameful\_cracka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_shameful_cracka)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/21 "2008-10-02T00:54:14Z")
When I quit, I didn’t have any physical side effects, and I used pretty heavily for a long time (about 1/2 oz. a week for years). I did miss it sometimes, but I never had trouble sleeping, jitteriness, or trouble sleeping. I was actually quite a bit less jittery because it used to make me kinda paranoid and wanting to talk about whatever got in my head…I probably seemed a lot calmer when I wasn’t smoking. ---
**Author:** ![BaileyC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@BaileyC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaileyC)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/22 "2008-10-02T00:55:28Z")
> [@bufftabby](#): > > Disclaimer: I am not pregnant, nor do I intend to be any time soon. This is not medical advice, nor would I need this question answered if _I_ were impregnated. > > I would like to explain to someone very clearly and concisely why she should not smoke pot while she is pregnant. I know it’s a terrible, selfish thing to do, but I want the cites to back it up. “It’s just bad, that’s why” doesn’t seem to be doing the trick. What are some specific possible or definite consequences of regular consumption of marijuana to a fetus/embryo/zygote? Opinions on the moral character of a person who would do such a thing should be minimized, please. I think we can all agree that this is a BAD THING to do. But why, exactly? Seems to me that the most compelling answer is that if the wrong (or right, depending on your point of view) person finds out that she is using illegal drugs while pregnant, they could put her in jail for the duration of her pregnancy and then immediately take her baby away from her once it’s born. [http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi\_0199-6470053/The-detention-confinement-and-incarceration.html](http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6470053/The-detention-confinement-and-incarceration.html) L & k, BaileyC ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/23 "2008-10-02T01:43:06Z")
**bufftabby** , and I say this with all due compassion and respect, but you’re really going about this the wrong way 'round. A good scientist (hell, a right thinking person) doesn’t begin a search for truth with “I know it’s a terrible, selfish thing to do,” they start with, “I wonder what the effects are” or “I predict the effects will be…” and then you look at ALL the data you can find before reaching a conclusion. **pantheon** ’s provided the same links I was prepared to give, with the most damning evidence I’ve seen to date. ---
**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/24 "2008-10-02T02:00:44Z")
Hmm, it looks like maybe it’s not the end of the world to do so. It looks like pot may not be the _healthiest_ thing for a fetus, but isn’t on par with cigarettes. Hey, I’m happy as hell to be wrong about that. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/25 "2008-10-02T02:40:34Z")
> [@A\_shameful\_cracka](#): > > I did miss it sometimes, but I never had _trouble sleeping_, jitteriness, or _trouble sleeping_. I can’t resist… how about your short term memory? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/26 "2008-10-02T12:44:55Z")
I have to wonder why, then, if it’s so easy to give up, why people don’t just give it up during pregnancy? It’s _nine months_, and presumably a wanted baby you’re bringing into the world. Motherhood entails all kinds of sacrifices. True, there may be no connection proven yet, but honestly, why take the chance? ---
**Author:** ![pantheon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@pantheon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantheon)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/27 "2008-10-02T14:40:41Z")
> [@groman](#): > > I can’t resist… how about your short term memory? 😛 [Answer.](http://catsnstuff.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/dude-wait-what.jpg) I would hope she would be willing to give it up for nine months too (um, and [breastfeeding](http://www.naturalchildbirth.org/natural/resources/breastfeeding/breastfeeding08.htm) if applicable) out of concern for legal ramifications as mentioned above, if nothing else. My ex did during both pregnancies, and we were daily users. Another thing is- if _anything_ goes wrong, it’s one less variable, easily in your control, that you can remove from having to wonder and worry about/regret forever. Personal choices during pregnancy, up to and including abortion, are a minefield of ethical dilemnas. ☹ When my ex was tempted, I asked her at what age we would just allow the child to smoke joints straight up? Shotgun 'em hits at 3 months old? Hookah with a nipple at 6 months? Teach 'em to roll before or after kindergarten? All of these seem appalling? Then why give them THC in utero? Seemed to work well enough to distract her through the craving/temptation until she settled for some chocolate/sex/pickles/mocha milkshake/footrub- whatever the next craving was lol. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/28 "2008-10-02T19:26:06Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I have to wonder why, then, if it’s so easy to give up, why people don’t just give it up during pregnancy? It’s _nine months_, and presumably a wanted baby you’re bringing into the world. Motherhood entails all kinds of sacrifices. True, there may be no connection proven yet, but honestly, why take the chance? Why leave the house? Why get out of bed? Surely the safest pregnancy would be one of total bed rest with 20 minutes of low impact aerobic exercise on a plush mat once a day. Because at the end of the day (and the beginning of it, too), pregnancy doesn’t mean I give up my body. There are some pleasures in life that, as they seem to do little or no harm, it’s not worth it to give up. It’s also possible that marijuana is used by some people (“self-medicating”) for diseases for which available and legal drugs are extremely ill-advised during pregnancy because we know for certain they cause problems - nausea, migraines and depression being the most obvious. And I say this as someone who \*did \*give up pot while pregnant. But I didn’t give up chocolate or lunchmeat or soft cheeses - all things which have been suggested women give up. I even had the occasional glass of wine. Absent clear and unequivocal evidence of harm, you and I and Joe on the street have absolutely no right to get involved with her decision. I know you, personally, see a lot of scary things in your line of work, and you work for a great agency which is doing wonderful things to raise awareness of how women can have the best odds pregnancy possible, and I’m grateful that The March of Dimes is around to do such great work. Their reducing rates of SIDS so very dramatically secures them a slot in the Good Guys hall of fame for me forever. But there are plenty of real dangers we can still work on eliminating, nevermind the ones like this that are highly questionable and objectionable primarily because of ignorance and prejudice, not science. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/29 "2008-10-02T20:25:53Z")
**WhyNot** you are making this into a slippery slope analogy and I never said anything remotely of the sort. I do not see how voluntarily inhaling a known drug is at all equivalant to getting up or leaving the house. I ask only in regards to smoking pot, and nothing else. Here is what I am saying. 1. Currently, pot is illegal. This is not the debate. But that adds another element to smoking it while pregnant. Your counter-examples, cheese and meat and wine, are not illegal. 2. It is unknown what the effects of pot on the fetus are. I personally am quite of the opinion that pot is fairly harmless to an adult human being. A fetus is not the same as an adult human being obviously. However we do know what the effects are of being caught with an illegal drug. 3. Whenever I talk to pot smokers they ALL say “I can give it up anytime.” Given the risks inherent in smoking an illegal drug and not knowing if it is dangerous or not, it seems to me to make total and complete sense to give it up for the nine months you are pregnant. Not knowing does not equal “Safe”. I disagree that pregnancy does not mean you give up your body. What the hell else does it mean? If you are carrying a wanted baby to term, why would you not do everything in your power to make sure the baby is healthy and that you won’t be, say, arrested or forced to pay a fine during the pregnancy. I do not feel at all that we should legislate “no pot use during pregnancy”. I do argue that until all of the facts are in, it should be recommended to quit toking up. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/30 "2008-10-02T21:37:42Z")
Qualification: I was a serious pot-head for more years than some of you have been alive, though I haven’t smoked in five years now. Assertion: I notice that every study that declares negative consequences to smoking marijuana speaks of using amounts that I have NEVER known anyone to use for a long time period. To be sure, there may be some individuals out there who smoke that much weed, but they are a very very tiny minority. The worst I have ever seen was my ex-wife smoking an ounce of decent weed in six days because she was completely fucking insane and was pulling another “I’m doing something irrational and stupid because I really need attention and sympathy” stunt. That was resolved by me pointing out that I didn’t have the money to buy any more for her and that she would have to go without for almost two weeks before we could get more. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/31 "2008-10-02T21:47:07Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Given the risks inherent in smoking an illegal drug and not knowing if it is dangerous or not, it seems to me to make total and complete sense to give it up for the nine months you are pregnant. Not knowing does not equal “Safe”. Disregarding the illegal part giving up pot is on the same order of magnitude as giving up anything inhaled that you do not know the fetal effects of. BBQ smoke, city smog, talcum powder, shower steam with your favorite shampoo. Speaking of shampoo – do you know if any particular shampoo brand is safe for the fetus? Isn’t it easy to just give up shampoo for nine months rather than take the chance? I think hair products have a much worse historical track record of being unsafe – and face it, nobody _needs_ shampoo. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/32 "2008-10-02T22:04:54Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > **WhyNot** you are making this into a slippery slope analogy and I never said anything remotely of the sort. No? Sounds like it, or close to it. > [@](#): > > 1. Currently, pot is illegal. This is not the debate. But that adds another element to smoking it while pregnant. Your counter-examples, cheese and meat and wine, are not illegal. > 2. It is unknown what the effects of pot on the fetus are. I personally am quite of the opinion that pot is fairly harmless to an adult human being. A fetus is not the same as an adult human being obviously. However we do know what the effects are of being caught with an illegal drug. The illegality and the legal repercussions have nothing to do with the medical consequences under discussion here. > [@](#): > > 1. Whenever I talk to pot smokers they ALL say “I can give it up anytime.” There’s a reason for that: 99% of them can. I’ve never known anyone who couldn’t, and I’ve known a lot of people addicted to other substances and activities. > [@](#): > > Given the risks inherent in smoking an illegal drug irrelevant > [@](#): > > and not knowing if it is dangerous or not, it’s not for lack of data > [@](#): > > it seems to me to make total and complete sense to give it up for the nine months you are pregnant. Not knowing does not equal “Safe”. People have been looking for a connection between in utereo cannabis exposure and pregnancy complications for a long time. The best they can come up with is it might make the baby a little small and cranky, possibly. > [@](#): > > I disagree that pregnancy does not mean you give up your body. What the hell else does it mean? And here’s our fundamental divide; the rest of the disagreement stems from this, I think. As long as we disagree here, we cannot reach accord. > [@](#): > > If you are carrying a wanted baby to term, why would you not do everything in your power to make sure the baby is healthy and that you won’t be, say, arrested or forced to pay a fine during the pregnancy. And there’s our slippery slope. “Everything in your power”. > [@](#): > > I do not feel at all that we should legislate “no pot use during pregnancy”. I do argue that until all of the facts are in, it should be recommended to quit toking up. I agree, but we shouldn’t waste our time and resources on it, either. We shouldn’t belabor the point or tell our friends they’re being “terrible” and “selfish” if they decide the risks aren’t great enough to change their behavior. Focus on folic acid, treating vaginitis (which is associated with premature labor) and not taking aspirin in your third trimester - those are documentable preventable dangers that are worth worrying about which women don’t seem to know. I’m sure there are others, but I’m not convinced marijuana use is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![A\_shameful\_cracka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@A\_shameful\_cracka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_shameful_cracka)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/33 "2008-10-02T22:10:28Z")
> [@groman](#): > > I can’t resist… how about your short term memory? 😛 Well, that’s obviously gotten worse, though I think that may have more to do with aging than giving up the reefer. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/34 "2008-10-02T22:17:11Z")
> [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](#): > > So then, the question is, **does** marijuana cause physical dependence and withdrawal? Here are cites to some studies that suggest it can: [http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDA\_Notes/NNVol15N1/Evidence.html](http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol15N1/Evidence.html) [quote] Dr. Elena Kouri and her colleagues at the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory at McLean Hospital found that long-term heavy marijuana users became more aggressive during abstinence from marijuana than did former or infrequent users. Previous studies of withdrawal symptoms have relied largely on patients’ subjective reports of a range of symptoms, Dr. Kouri notes. “We studied measurable changes in one specific symptom-aggression,” she says. The researchers recruited two groups of male and female volunteers: 17 current long-term users of marijuana and a control group of 20 infrequent or former users. Current long-term users were smoking marijuana daily at the time of recruitment and had smoked marijuana at least 5,000 times-the equivalent of smoking once each day for more than 13 years. The infrequent or former users had not smoked more than 50 times in their life and had smoked less than once per month in the past year, or had formerly smoked at least daily but had not smoked more than once per week for the past 3 months.[/quoite] and > [@](#): > > Studies at Columbia University in New York City have demonstrated that, in addition to aggression, marijuana smokers experience other withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, stomach pain, and increased irritability during abstinence from the drug. “These results suggest that dependence may be an important consequence of repeated daily exposure to marijuana,” says NIDA-supported researcher Dr. Margaret Haney. > > Dr. Haney and her colleagues investigated the effects of abstinence on 12 adult males with an average age of 28 years who, in the laboratory, smoked marijuana with THC concentrations of 3.1 percent or 1.8 percent, or marijuana cigarettes containing no active THC. All participants smoked inactive marijuana during the first 4 days of the study followed by either the high concentration, low concentration, or inactive marijuana on alternating 4-day periods. Three times each day, the participants completed a 50-item checklist that rated physical conditions such as hunger, dizziness, and headache and aspects of their mood, for example, anxiety, talkativeness, friendliness, or depression. > > Abstinence from either high- or low-concentration marijuana resulted in reduced hunger, decreased ratings of “friendly” and “content,” and increased ratings of “irritability,” “stomach pain,” and “anxiety.” Moreover, Dr. Haney notes, participants receiving high-concentration marijuana rated the drug’s effects higher (“good drug effect,” “stimulated,” “high”) on the first day of exposure than on the fourth day, indicating the development of tolerance to THC. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/35 "2008-10-03T01:17:32Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Here are cites to some studies that suggest it can: > > [http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDA\_Notes/NNVol15N1/Evidence.html](http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol15N1/Evidence.html) Really? You’re citing [drugabuse.gov](http://drugabuse.gov) as a credible source on drugs? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/36 "2008-10-03T01:33:10Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > Really? You’re citing [drugabuse.gov](http://drugabuse.gov) as a credible source on drugs? :smack: No, \*\*Captain Amazing \*\*is citing two studies from the peer-reviewed journal _Psychopharmacology_. Most people don’t have access to peer reviewed journals, so the link is to a summary, but the citations are there if you’d like to read the original studies. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/37 "2008-10-03T02:58:42Z")
Chocolate? Lunch meat? _Soft cheese?_ Why on earth would anybody suggest you had to give these up during pregnancy? That is, it’s one thing if these substances suddenly don’t agree with you. But surely nobody’s claiming some harm to the fetus from lunch meat. (Obviously, a steady diet of only lunch meat wouldn’t be optimal.) ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/38 "2008-10-03T03:28:52Z")
Actually, I believe that pregnant women are advised to avoid lunch meat because it has a slight risk of carrying _Listeria_, which can harm a developing fetus. Soft cheese is banned for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/39 "2008-10-03T03:29:04Z")
> [@groman](#): > > Disregarding the illegal part giving up pot is on the same order of magnitude as giving up anything inhaled that you do not know the fetal effects of. BBQ smoke, city smog, talcum powder, shower steam with your favorite shampoo. Well, if you’re worried about things, you could research some of them to see if they’re safe. Talcum powder, for example, [isn’t](http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/cosmetics/talc.htm) because it increases a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer. ---
**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027/40 "2008-10-03T03:44:03Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Why leave the house? Why get out of bed? Surely the safest pregnancy would be one of total bed rest with 20 minutes of low impact aerobic exercise on a plush mat once a day. > > Because at the end of the day (and the beginning of it, too), pregnancy doesn’t mean I give up my body. There are some pleasures in life that, as they seem to do little or no harm, it’s not worth it to give up. It’s also possible that marijuana is used by some people (“self-medicating”) for diseases for which available and legal drugs are extremely ill-advised during pregnancy because we know for certain they cause problems - nausea, migraines and depression being the most obvious. > > And I say this as someone who \*did \*give up pot while pregnant. But I didn’t give up chocolate or lunchmeat or soft cheeses - all things which have been suggested women give up. I even had the occasional glass of wine. Absent clear and unequivocal evidence of harm, you and I and Joe on the street have absolutely no right to get involved with her decision. Out of curiosity, why did you give up pot during your pregnancy, then? Also, this particular person respects me and my opinion, and I’m sure that she would say that I _do_ have every right to warn her _if_ I think she’s doing something dangerous, and I would hope she feels like she has the same right and duty toward me. As it stands, I am going to communicate to her the realistic information that I’ve been provided in this thread. Then, of course, it will be her decision. And I will still have every right to feel about that choice, any way I want. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-consequences-of-smoking-pot-while-pregnant/466027.md?page=3)