The overwhelming advice of researchers in this field is that the safest course of
action is to avoid cannabis exposure in utero, and to the developing infant, yet women
and cannabis dispensers are likely to believe it is safe. There is a very real risk
that legalization may be equated with safe in the minds of the public. In legalizing
cannabis, which comes from a plant containing hundreds of active chemicals, the government
needs to
- 1Take immediate steps to ensure that the message regarding safety in pregnancy is clear and unambiguous.
- 2Recognize that we are in the unique position to address the enormous gap in research in the neurodevelopmental safety of these substances and should commit to supporting this research.
- 3Provide mechanisms to support clinical and population heath research, including long-term follow-up.
- 4Provide guidance on regulation to ensure that false health claims are not made regarding cannabis in pregnancy.
- 5Support the development of clinical practice guidelines and evidence-based educational initiatives for cannabis dispensaries, health providers, and pharmacists, as well as knowledge dissemination.
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Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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© 2018 Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- Letter: Cannabis: Implications for Pregnancy, Fetal Development, and Longer-Term Health OutcomesJournal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada Vol. 41Issue 2
- PreviewI am writing in response to an article published in the Journal in September, titled “Cannabis: Implications for Pregnancy, Fetal Development, and Longer-Term Health Outcomes,” by Cook and Blake.1 Given the relevance of cannabis research in our current era of legalization and the trend toward increasing usage and public acceptance, studies on cannabis use are extremely important and thus must be held to high standards, especially when pregnant women and children are the population of interest.
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- Author Response: Cannabis: Implications for Pregnancy, Fetal Development and Longer Term Health OutcomesJournal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada Vol. 41Issue 2
- PreviewWe are writing to reply to the response to our article published in the Journal in September, titled “Cannabis: Implications for Pregnancy, Fetal Development, and Longer-Term Health Outcomes,” in which the writer suggests that we misrepresented findings, selectively reported findings, and omitted relevant articles.
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