The information, published in the journal Nature Communications, involves unfertilized eggs in a female's ovaries. That warning comes at the same time much of the public shrugs off marijuana use as much safer than hard drugs and more like an after-work beer.
Researchers worry marijuana use during pregnancy leads to infertility, miscarriage, and even genetic defects in babies.
Kevin Sabet is president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, or SAM, which opposes recreational use of marijuana. He tells AFN there is now a stack of evidence, all of it scientific research literature, warning THC is highly addictive and very damaging not only to the unborn child but also the mother.
"Today's marijuana is not Woodstock weed," says Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor. "It's much stronger than it ever has been. It's 10 to 30 times stronger. It can be up to 99% THC."
Because of that strength, even secondhand consumption is a valid concern, he says. Even third-hand exposure, when it’s not in the air anymore but on a bathroom sink, a table, or a countertop, is not safe.
“In fact, we have more studies showing it has more hydrocarbons and carcinogens than tobacco smoke does,” he warns. “So it's much more damaging than people thought it would be and it's something that we need to be watching."
