Marijuana Harms Children
First Do No Harm – "Why Take a Chance?"
"Aww, there isn't any harm to marijuana." Are you sure? If there's a chance that marijuana consumption by a pregnant mother or exposing young children to it might be harmful, should we take the chance? Or should we protect them in case the belief that "it's harmless" might be wrong?
Uncle Teaching 2 & 5-Year-Old Nephews to Smoke Pot
Why are people shocked about this?
Are they just hypocrites, or do you also find this inappropriate?
Father Smokes Weed with Baby Daughter
Does the cameraman bear any responsibility?
Should he have reported this behavior before the parents were arrested?
Is second hand marijuana smoke harmful to children?
Answer: Yes. Marijuana has … up to 5 times as much tar as tobacco.
Kids can go around talking incessantly when exposed to a parent's smoke.
Marijuana has recently (June, 2009) been added to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to the state of Calfornia to cause cancer. Second-hand marijuana smoke contains 50% to 70% more harmful chemicals than tobacco smoke. See http://oehha.ca.gov/Prop65/docs_state/mjcrnr061909.html
Children can be affected differently than adults. While large doses of THC [tetrahydrocannabinol] act as a CNS [central-nervous system] depressant, lower levels of THC can act as a stimulant, so kids can go around talking incessantly when exposed to a parent's smoke. Teenagers' mood swings can get worse, and some kids become forgetful, angry, or violent after having been in a smoke-filled party room.
If a woman is pregnant and smokes marijuana, will it hurt the baby?
In school, these children are more likely to have problems with decision-making, memory, and the ability to remain attentive. … Since some parts of the brain continue to develop throughout adolescence, it is also possible that certain kinds of problems may appear as the child matures.
Doctors advise pregnant women not to use any drugs because they could harm the growing fetus. … Studies in children born to mothers who used marijuana have shown increased behavioral problems during infancy and preschool years. In school, these children are more likely to have problems with decision-making, memory, and the ability to remain attentive(2). Researchers are not certain whether health problems that may be caused by early exposure to marijuana will remain as the child grows into adulthood. However, since some parts of the brain continue to develop throughout adolescence, it is also possible that certain kinds of problems may appear as the child matures.
Differential Cognitive Functioning in 9-12 Years Olds Relative to Prenatal Cigarette and Marijuana Exposure
Prenatal marijuana exposure … was negatively related to executive function tasks that require impulse control and visual analysis/hypothesis testing, and with a number of the intelligence subtests requiring these same abilities. … In utero exposure to marijuana may have a negative impact on aspects of neurocognitive competence that fall under the domain of executive function.
In an examination of cognitive performance of 131 (one-hundred-thirty-one), 9-12 year-old children participating in a Carleton University longitudinal study since birth, discriminant function analysis indicated a dose-dependent association between higher prenatal cigarette exposure in utero and lower performance on global intelligence test scores, with the verbal subtests of the intelligence test discriminating maximally among levels of in utero exposure. In contrast, prenatal marijuana exposure was not associated with global intelligence or the verbal subtests, but rather was negatively related to executive function tasks that require impulse control and visual analysis/hypothesis testing, and with a number of the intelligence subtests requiring these same abilities. The cigarette results extend observations made in this sample and others at earlier ages. The marijuana findings, combined with results observed at earlier ages, lead the authors to suggest that in utero exposure to marijuana may have a negative impact on aspects of neurocognitive competence that fall under the domain of executive function. Fried, P.A., Watkinson, B.M. and Gray, R. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 20 (3), pp. 293-306, 1998.
Neurocognitive function in clinically stable men with bipolar I disorder or schizophrenia and normal control subjects
Within the bipolar group there was … a subset with significant [executive functioning] impairment.
Patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have been shown to have neurocognitive deficits when compared with control subjects. The degree and pattern of impairment between psychiatric groups have rarely been compared, especially when subjects are psychiatrically stable. … Subjects with bipolar disorder were impaired in two specific domains (verbal memory and executive function). Furthermore, within the bipolar group there was a subset with relatively normal executive functioning and a subset with significant impairment. Possible reasons for the persistence of these neurocognitive deficits in some subjects with bipolar disorder during periods of euthymia are reviewed. – Biological Psychiatry, Volume 56, Issue 8, Pages 560-569 (15 October 2004).
Marijuana and Mental Health
A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and schizophrenia. Some of these studies have shown age at first use to be a factor, where early use is a marker of vulnerability to later problems. However, at this time, it is not clear whether marijuana use causes mental problems, exacerbates them, or is used in attempt to self-medicate symptoms already in existence. Chronic marijuana use, especially in a very young person, may also be a marker of risk for mental illnesses, including addiction, stemming from genetic or environmental vulnerabilities, such as early exposure to stress or violence. At the present time, the strongest evidence links marijuana use and schizophrenia and/or related disorders.6 High doses of marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction; in addition, use of the drug may trigger the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals. … Marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. … Marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person’s existing problems worse. In one study, heavy marijuana abusers reported that the drug impaired several important measures of life achievement including physical and mental health, cognitive abilities, social life, and career status.11