BALTIMORE – Experts from Colorado and Washington – two states which have legalized recreational use of the drug – came together at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies to discuss the challenges of treating and preventing short-term and long-term illness brought on by marijuana use.
“In Colorado, a lot of [mothers] use [marijuana] for depression, anxiety, as well as for nausea, and they’re not disclosing that” to their primary care doctors, explained Dr. Maya Bunik of the University of Colorado in Aurora. “Then they’re sort of surprised at birth when we tell them that we don’t know what [marijuana] does in terms of affecting [their] baby.”
In a series of interviews, presenters at the roundtable discussed the importance of talking to parents – particularly pregnant mothers – about the dangers of marijuana use around kids, keeping marijuana and related products away from children, what’s being done on the legislative side to keep marijuana away from children and adolescents, and the long-term ramifications of marijuana use by children and their parents.
Joining Dr. Bunik for this discussion are Dr. George Sam Wang, Ayelet Talmi, Ph.D., Dr. Karen M. Wilson, Dr. Kathryn M. Wells, and Dr. Erica M. Wymore of the University of Colorado at Aurora, and Dr. Leslie R. Walker of the University of Washington in Seattle.
Dr. Wang disclosed receiving a grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environments, and royalties from author contributions. The other presenters had no relevant financial disclosures.