Marijuana has been legalized and people are lighting up everywhere.
A weekend stroll to the local town center on a Saturday night revealed
an overhead cloud shared by teens, senior couples and bemused Gen-Xers. Grandparents hosting their visiting grandchildren seemed confused.

That’s nice that a cause of life limiting incarceration of people of color
can no longer be used to create criminal records that block them from
accessing college finances and any hope of a good job. On the other
hand, even if you’ve smoked for years, there may be alot you don’t
know about marijuana. Questions like these:

• What’s in it?
• Isn’t it harmless?
• Will it affect fertility?
• This couldn’t effect my moods, right?
• If I’m high, that’s not the same as driving drunk, is it?
• Will marijuana affect my brain, long term?
• It’s not as dangerous as cigarette smoke, right?
• What if I smoke when I’m pregnant?

So many questions. Let’s start with the last one. What if you
smoke while you are pregnant?

Turns out researchers have been investigating this now for
40 years. A new study shows that the children born to mothers
who smoke during or soon after pregnancy are twice as likely to
become anxious, hyperactive or aggressive as other kids.

There is a growing body of evidence that indicates connections
between cannabis use during pregnancy and psychiatric
problems in children. Mothers who smoke to ease morning
sickness and anxiety can end up with longer term anxiety in
response to ongoing problems with their children.

2016 research is showing that in California nearly twice as
many women reported smoking pot while pregnant.