Washington, DC—Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) highlights the dangers of marijuana to mothers and their children on this Maternal Health Awareness Day—a danger backed up by the best data and recognized by leading medical associations.
“One of the most worrying trends around marijuana is its use by expectant and new mothers,” said SAM CEO Kevin Sabet. “Thanks to years of normalization and propaganda from Big Weed, narratives that weed is harmless and can somehow help with anxiety, depression, nausea, or other issues connected to maternal health are now driving people to put their own wellbeing and that of their children at risk.
“Let’s be clear: marijuana is not medicine. Not smoked, not eaten, not drunk. It’s a dangerous drug—and the data prove how dangerous it is for moms and kids.
- Marijuana use during pregnancy is linked to hypertension and preeclampsia.
- One study found autism is almost twice as common among kids with prenatal marijuana exposure.
- Such kids are almost 150% more likely to have PTSD.
- 40% of pregnant women say they are unsure if weekly marijuana use is risky during pregnancy.
- Over 7% of pregnant women use marijuana.
“We applaud the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for its clinical statement on this issue, which is exactly right: there is ‘no medical indication for cannabis use during pregnancy and the postpartum period.’ Today, as powerful normalization signals come from the White House, the media, and everywhere else, it’s doubly important to focus on the science and the dangers to women it so clearly outlines.”