Study favours pot smoking in pregnancy

[Brash]

Author: Mark BROWNE

Date: 12/10/2005

Source: Saanich News (.com) (British Columbia - Canada)

Copyright: © 2005 Saanich News

Link: article link

 

Study favours pot smoking in pregnancy

By Mark BROWNE

 

Victoria News

Oct 12 2005

 

Some people might be shocked at the idea of pregnant women smoking marijuana to deal with the nausea that comes with pregnancy.

 

But a UK-based medical publication, Journal of Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, has taken the idea seriously and published a study conducted by the Vancouver Island Compassion Society on the topic.

 

The Victoria-based society, which provides medicinal marijuana to people suffering from various illnesses, recently completed the study that examines the therapeutic potential of medicinal cannabis for nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy. The study argues that marijuana is an effective method to deal with nausea and vomiting with pregnant women.

 

"It's an area that without a doubt is going to be a bit more controversial as an area of research," said Phillipe Lucas, director of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society.

 

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall said that marijuana likely is an effective treatment for dealing with nausea and vomiting with pregnant women.

 

"But I don't think I'd recommend smoking marijuana in pregnancy," he said.

 

There are concerns among some in the medical profession that marijuana could cause difficulty in terms of the development of the baby's brain, Kendall said. As well, it's possible that a low birth weight could result from a pregnant woman smoking the substances found in marijuana leaves, he said.

 

"So I wouldn't recommend smoking anything during pregnancy," Kendall said. Lucas conducted the research with B.C. Compassion Club Society researcher Rielle Capler, University of B.C. professor Patricia A. Janssen and University of Victoria sociologist Rachel Westfall.

 

The study was prompted by a request from Westfall who approached the Vancouver Island Compassion Society to find out how she could gain access to cannabis to conduct a study on how it might address nausea with pregnant women, Lucas said.

 

"I knew right away that, that was simply going to be an impossibility," he said.

 

There's no way, Lucas said, that the federal government would allow a clinical trial on determining if marijuana could effectively treat nausea and vomiting with pregnant women.

 

That said, Lucas decided to move forward with a survey/study to determine if women who smoked marijuana while they were pregnant found that it dealt with the nausea and vomiting.

 

The survey shows that 92 per cent of respondents considered marijuana to be either "extremely effective" or "effective" as a therapy for nausea and vomiting (or morning sickness).

 

The study also focused on a particularly severe form of nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy called hyperenesisgragidarum.

 

"It's characterized as extremely severe nausea that affects two per cent of women who go through pregnancy," Lucas said.

 

As it currently stands, there aren't any effective pharmaceutical treatments available to treat that condition, he said.

 

The study also focused on how effective marijuana is in treating nausea in general. The vast majority of respondents indicated that marijuana is an effective therapy for nausea (93 per cent), vomiting (75 per cent) and as an appetite stimulant (95 per cent).

 

At the same time, the suggestion that marijuana is an effective treatment for nausea is apparent from talking to clients at the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, Lucas said.

 

"It's something that we see - everyday."

[Doob]

Very intrestring brash.

[Zaknefain]

Smoke bud, not leaves.

 

 

 

 

fuck the system

Edited February 22, 2007 by Zaknefain

[Jess Stone]

There is a drugs and pregnancy debate being looked at by a Federal Committee so readers responses were asked for and I said this not really expecting them to publish but they did and it stimulated sensible debate and in fact others came in supporting the hypocrisy of alcohol,nicotine and caffiene using mothers to be and that its only looking at illegal drugs when clearly legal ones like niccy and alkly are the major threat to unborn bubs

I wonder if they will investigate the 3 main addictions babies are born with due to irresponsible and selfish mothers ,NICOTINE addicted babies and ALCOHOL addicted babies and caffeine addicted babies? Babies of even social drinkers are at extreme risk of brain damage. Don't you just love societies hypocrisy.

its here