Marijuana continues to be a trendy topic here in Canada due to its pending legalization this summer.
With it comes the possibility of health effects ranging from testicular cancer, second-hand consumption for dogs and negative impacts to reproductive health.
Now the most recent issue to come up is pot use during pregnancy and if the issues exists in BC.
A recent study in California states 22% of expecting mothers between the ages of 12 and 24 are using pot during pregnancy but the number of cases in the province remains inconclusive.
The study also went on to say prenatal exposure to marijuana has been associated with low birth weight and impaired brain development.
Director of Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health Nancy Poole believes it all comes down to simple awareness and education.
“I think basically what we are trying to do is inform women about the health impacts during pregnancy and the impacts of using cannabis and other substances.”
Approximately 10% of women in Canada do use cannabis in a recreational setting.
Poole believes a good chunk of women is afraid to admit their use due to a fear of being judged.
“Women are not necessarily feeling safe to report their use, up until now it is an illegal drug.”
She adds their biggest concern is for those who are using the substance in excess.
“The real thing we have to be concerned about is those women who may be having problems with cannabis and really making them welcome to the healthcare system and get support from their providers.”
Poole believes the eventual legalization across the country could lead to a watershed moment.
“The fact that cannabis is being made legal gives us a really good opportunity to talk about all the health effects, I think it’s a good moment to look at all the health impacts and because it has been illegal up until now, we haven’t had as many studies, so I think we’ll find out a lot more as we go along,”
“It’s really important for us to be really proactive in education but also I think our main work right now is really helping healthcare providers get the best possible information and to use the best possible approaches when discussing substances with women and their partners,” added Poole.
However, several groups have various concerns about pot becoming legal.
A study by the Northern Medical Program finds the use of marijuana can make it 2.5 times more likely to develop testicular cancer.
The study followed men conscripted for military service in Sweden in 1969 and 1970 and tracked their health conditions over 42 years.
On the other hand, LandlordBC is leery about the consumption and growing of recreational marijuana in rental units.
The group would like to see smoking marijuana be banned wherever tobacco is and the landlords should have the right to ban it.
The BC Association of Municipal Police Chiefs is also asking for more money to fund drug-recognition projects and field sobriety testing for cannabis-enforcement teams.
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