The majority of respondents were cognizant of the risks of maternal marijuana use for fetuses and infants, yet sizeable proportions disagreed with or were neutral about the validity of these risks. For beliefs about marijuana use during pregnancy, the evidenced based risks of preterm birth and low birth weight received the lowest levels of agreement and thus warrant high prioritization in health communications, educational materials, and guidelines. For beliefs about marijuana use while breastfeeding, attention and learning problems along with detrimental effects on intellectual capabilities received the lowest endorsement. Given the growing evidence for these cognitive consequences and their adverse impacts throughout the lifespan, public health communications should aim to increase awareness of their potential while reporting the current status of empirical support. The findings suggest that ever users, and not just recent users, are important targets for health information about maternal marijuana use. Specifically, prior cannabis users reported more supportive beliefs about its benefits and more lenient beliefs about its risks. These patterns were found not only for recent marijuana users but also for those who had ever used marijuana. These findings suggest that prenatal and postnatal providers could ask about the history of any prior marijuana use to become more informed about one maternal feature that could increase the propensity to be open to using marijuana. Similarly, the findings suggest that males are particularly likely to benefit from education about the risks of maternal marijuana use. Important targets include the risks of preterm birth and low birth weight,vertical grow rack the lack of evidence about its benefits in reducing pain, the potential harms for breastfeeding babies despite marijuana being plant-based, its lack of impact on milk supply, and the potential for infant THC addiction.
Latino and non-Latino respondents differed on only four beliefs about maternal marijuana use, although these differences were in the predicted direction and consistent with evidence that Latinos tend to hold more cautious beliefs about marijuana harms and benefits relative to other ethnic groups . Latino respondents held more cautious beliefs about its benefits in reducing pain and nausea during pregnancy and calming the baby when breastfeeding, and the risks of child attention and learning deficits with use while breastfeeding. The findings provide no support that, in rural, Latinomajority, disadvantaged communities, Latino residents are less well-informed than non-Latino residents on these health issues. Having Spanish-fluent research assistants and promotores, who are highly trusted in these communities, recruit residents and offer Spanish versions of the survey materials likely protected against ethnic group differences arising from poor comprehension or survey engagement. Few differences between parents and non-parents emerged although they were consistent with predictions that parents would have relatively more cautious beliefs about the benefits and risks of maternal marijuana use. This pattern is consistent with findings from a prior study that parents perceived marijuana use by pregnant women as more risky and less beneficial . Importantly, however, this prior study included a generic measure of risk and thus lacked the specificity afforded by the items in the present study. The present findings thus provide a more nuanced and detailed framework of specific risk and benefits beliefs, highlighting the few that are likely to be strong contributors to parental status differences in general risk perceptions of maternal marijuana use.
Key strengths and limitations of the study warrant attention in contextualizing the findings and highlighting future research directions. The study successfully recruited a large community sample with strong representation of Latino, female, and Spanish-preference residents of disadvantaged, rural communities and thus contributes to efforts to build the scientific evidence base with data from these and other under-represented communities . However, the sample included a limited number of male, pregnant, and breastfeeding residents. Further, the relatively high rates of missing values for reports of education, pregnancy status, and breastfeeding status contribute modest uncertainty about these sample characteristics. Social desirability concerns could inhibit motivations to report these characteristics. In addition, information about social ties with pregnant and breastfeeding women other than partner status was not collected. Future studies can extend the current research by using a sample with a larger number of male residents as well as measures that minimize social desirability and that clearly identify pregnant and breastfeeding women and those who are partners, family members, health workers, and influencers in their social networks. In addition, research utilizing a nationally representative sample is needed to provide a common benchmark for interpreting and contextualizing regional and social group patterns of beliefs. There is also a need for more research on how partners, family members, friends, and members of the broader community influence decisions to use marijuana while pregnant and breastfeeding. This research can inform the development of health communications and tools that enable influential people in social networks and communities to engage with women to promote and support their informed decisions on marijuana use. Future research could include measures of health care advice and education about marijuana use during pregnancy and breastfeeding to discern how it is associated with beliefs about its harms and benefits.
As the U.S. and other nations transition to legalizing recreational marijuana, there is a growing need for science based guidelines for counseling and public education efforts to increase awareness about the health effects of marijuana use. Pregnant and breastfeeding women, along with their partners, families, and friends,cannabis grow racks highly desire healthy infants and want to learn about potential risks and ways to reduce them . These findings provide insights into beliefs about maternal marijuana use held by members of the diverse, rural regions in California. These belief frameworks can inform the development of health communications and guidelines about risks of use during pregnancy and breastfeeding so that they target common misperceptions and are tailored to demographic and social groups.Approximately eighteen percent of the population has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. There are also many people who suffer from anxiety but are not qualified for a diagnosis. This greatly increases the percentage of people suffering from anxiety throughout the United States. There are a few different types of treatment for anxiety such as psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and medication. Most patients are recommended a combination of therapy sessions and medication. There are various medications that can be prescribed to a patient with an anxiety disorder but one of the most controversial forms of medication across the United States is cannabis. Although there is research that identifies the medical benefits of cannabis use among patients suffering from anxiety, some research suggests that long-term use can lead to potential mental health risks and it can also result in memory loss thus questioning the medical benefits. The legalization of cannabis is a highly debated topic in the United States. As of June 2014, twenty-three states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. While almost half of the United States has legalized cannabis for medical purposes, it still remains completely illegal throughout the other half and under federal law. Cannabis contains two imperative cannabinoids that makes it a legal source of medication in certain states. One is cannabidiol also known as CBD and the other is delta- 9-tetrahydrocannabinol also known as THC. Even though the properties of marijuana were carefully examined before it was legalized as a form of medication, there is still some data that suggests there are negative effects from regular use of cannabis. For instance, the CBD cannabinoid content in marijuana is the primary source that activates the anxiety relieving symptoms in the hypothalamus of the brain. The study “Effects of Cannabidiol on Regional Blood Flow” conducted by de Souza Crippa, Zuardi, Garrido, Wichert-Ana, Guarnieri, Ferrari, Azevedo-Marques, Hallak, McGuire, and Busatto experimented on subjects to see if CBD had any correlations with anxiety. This study involved two groups of healthy people who were given both CBD and placebo. One group was given the CBD first while the other received the placebo first.
The results show that “the administration of CBD was associated with significantly decreased subjective anxiety and increased mental sedation, while placebo was not” . When the people were given both CBD and placebo, the CBD was the chemical that reduced anxiety symptoms. From the SPECT scans done on the subjects, it was clear that this activity was occurring in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a significant brain structure that facilitates the effects of anxiety. When one experiences high levels of anxiety, it increases activity in the hypothalamic area. In the study they concluded, “Thereduced hypothalamic activity that we observed is thus consistent with the anxiolytic effect of CBD” . Since the levels of anxiety correlate with hypothalamic activity, this study proves that consuming CBD will decrease hypothalamic activity and reduce anxiety. This is a major reason why medical marijuana is prescribed to patients with anxiety. However, while CBD drives to reduce anxiety, THC on the other hand contributes to increasing anxiety. Although THC plays a role in treating many serious medical conditions such as insomnia and anorexia, it is also involved in increasing paranoia and anxiety. The article “Can Marijuana Treat Anxiety Disorders” discusses the different effects of the THC and CBD cannabinoids. It mentions, “THC seems to have opposite effects on anxiety levels depending on the dosage, with THC acting to decrease anxiety at lower doses yet increasing anxiety at higher doses” . When marijuana has a higher dosage of THC than CBD, it is identified as a sativa strand and it raises anxiety symptoms. Patients who suffer from anxiety are referred medical marijuana with a higher quantity of CBD and a less THC in order to relieve anxiety; this is recognized as an indica strand. Since THC is the main active chemical in marijuana, patients can often feel an increase in anxiety with regular use. This is where the controversy lies. Another significant issue with medical marijuana is that it can lead to substance dependence. Although marijuana does not contain any addictive elements, in regular users “abstinence leads to a withdrawal syndrome characterized by negative mood , muscle pain, chills, sleep disturbance and decreased appetite” . This means that eventually when a regular cannabis user stops using cannabis, they will experience a withdrawal syndrome that includes many negative moods. The study “Neural Effects of Positive and Negative Incentives during Marijuana Withdrawal” by Filbey, Dunlop, and Myers confirmed, “growing evidence support a marijuana withdrawal syndrome that may drive the high rate of relapse in marijuana dependent individuals” . When this marijuana withdrawal occurs, most patients decide to resume using cannabis to refrain from dealing with the negative effects. This then makes the patient dependent on cannabis leading to long-term usage, which can result in mental health risks such as depression, cognitive impairments, and memory loss. Many patients who suffer from anxiety begin to feel depressed and an increase in anxiety after long-term use of medical marijuana. In Marijuana and Madness by Degenhardt, Hall, Lynsskey, Coffey, and Patton, conducted studies to investigate if there were any connections between long-term marijuana use and depression. One of the studies established that “regular cannabis use increases the risk of depression” . Although the risk of developing depression depends on the amount of time one has been consuming marijuana, the percentage of people who develop depression is still incredibly high. One important study that was mentioned in this text was the Bovasso study. This study gathered important information on cannabis users and depression. “Approximately 67% of those with cannabis abuse but no depressive symptoms at baseline developed depression after 14-16 years” . This means that a majority of people who use cannabis for fourteen to sixteen years will develop depression even if they never had depressive symptoms to begin with. It is harmful to ones mental health to regularly use medical marijuana for more than fourteen years because it can result in depression. Another negative effect for longterm users of cannabis is that they can experience memory loss and cognitive impairments. The excerpt “How marijuana relievesanxiety” by Lecia Bushak reports some important findings by Dr. Sachin Patel. He asserts, “Though the short-term effects may be relaxing, the long-term effects may not have an influence in affecting anxiety. Instead, long-term use of the drug can lead to memory loss and cognitive impairment” .