What happens if you use cannabis while pregnant? Scientists turn to mice to find out
CBC
Scientists say they know why pregnant women may reach for a THC gummy or joint.
It can help alleviate symptoms such as body pain, anxiety and morning sickness during pregnancy.
“There are medications that you can be prescribed, obviously, for morning sickness,” John Howland, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Saskatchewan, told CBC. “But some people might choose to use cannabis as an alternative.”
Howland said that he hasn't conducted an official survey, but that he did have conversations with women about their choices in cannabis usage.
With cannabis legalized less than a decade ago, there’s a lack of research on how it affects people. That includes use during pregnancy, and how it can affect the child.
That’s what Howland is trying to find out, by exposing pregnant mice to THC smoke. THC is the compound of cannabis that creates the high.
The prenatal cannabis exposure project is run out of the University of Saskatchewan’s THC lab, using grants from the federal government. The five-year project is currently in its second year.
It involves pregnant mice inhaling THC smoke every day during their month-long pregnancy cycle.
“It’s like a hotbox system,” Howland said. “The animals inhale the air that contains that smoke for 15 minutes and we take them out.”
Once the pregnant mice exposed to THC give birth, Howland and his students study the effects on the offspring. They also compare their behaviours to baby mice whose mothers were not exposed to the smoke.
“Sometimes we test offspring as early as a couple of days after birth and sometimes it’s a couple months,” Howland said. “So a cycle of that would take four to six months to complete the experiment.”
The experiment has revealed that baby mice whose mothers have been exposed to THC smoke have problems.
“I mean, it affects the whole body,” Howland said.
He found the main differences in the offspring were increased anxiety levels, altered decision-making skills and a below-average birth weight.
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