Even pregnant Americans are jumping on the legal marijuana bandwagon. Marijuana use among pregnant women increased 62 percent from 2002 to 2014, becoming the most commonly used drug among this demographic. If you vote no to legal marijuana, you can prevent further harm to pregnant women and their children at the hands of Big Marijuana.
Many pregnant marijuana users say it helps with nausea and morning sickness, paying no mind to the irreversible harm they are causing their unborn baby. The mothers in this article smoke so much marijuana, their kids tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, marijuana’ effect-inducing ingredient.)
It’s too early to tell what biological catastrophes will result from heavy marijuana use among pregnant women, but existing evidence proves it’s not safe. According to a study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, marijuana use during pregnancy increases the risk of stillbirth by 10 percent. If the fetus survives the exposure to THC, it is 5 percent more likely to be born underweight, which will increase its risk for health problems.
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, children exposed to marijuana in utero are more likely to have poor visual-motor coordination which will hinder their problem solving and athletic abilities.
Children exposed to marijuana in utero are also more likely to use the drug themselves. These children may also have disposition for behavioral problems and addictive personality traits. This allows for the cycle of substance use and addiction to continue another generation.
If the health ramifications aren’t enough to keep expecting moms from smoking pot, maybe the legal consequences are. ALL states, even ones that legalized recreational marijuana, consider smoking pot while pregnant child abuse/endangerment and if a mother tests positive while pregnant she stands the risk of serving jail time or having her child taken away.
Instead of waiting to see the disastrous long-term of this dangerous new trend, stop Big Marijuana in its tracks and vote no to recreational marijuana legalization.
Jessie Schirrick 