If a fetal cannabis syndrome exists, cases are so rare
that it cannot be demonstrated. Many mothers use marijuana
during pregnancy -- it controls the nausea called `morning
sickness' and many say it actually increases the appetite
and reduces stress. This is especially important in less
developed countries, where modern medical care is not as
easily available, but even so, the benefits of responsible
marijuana use may outweigh the risks even under modern
medicine.

Studies conducted in Jamiaca have shown that mothers who
smoke marijuana have healthier children, but this may be due
to the extra income generated by marijuana dealing and other
factors. It has been a common ploy in the War on Drugs to
claim that marijuana, and especially cocaine, causes birth
defects or behavior problems like alcohol does. This scares
caring mothers into thinking drugs are `evil.' The claims
are not based on valid scientific research -- many of them
do not even consider the life-style or living conditions of
the mothers before pointing at drugs with the blame.

Obviously, pregnant mothers should not smoke as much pot as
they possibly can. If marijuana is abused, it may hurt the
health of both mother and child. Delta-9-THC does cross the
placenta and enter the fetus. Oddly, though, the marijuana
metabolite, 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-THC does not, and the
fetus does not break delta-9-THC down into 11-nor like the
mother's body does, so unborn children are not exposed to
11-nor. The third trimester is the time when the child is
most vulnerable. Parents should bear these facts in mind
when they make decisions about using cannabis.





14) Doesn't marijuana cause a lot of automobile accidents?

Not really. The marijuana using public has the same or
lower rate of automobile accidents as the general public.
Studies of marijuana smoking while driving showed that it
does affect reaction time, but not nearly as much as
alcohol. Also, those who drive `stoned' have been shown to
be less foolish on the road (they demonstrate `increased
risk aversion'.) Recent studies have emphasized that
alcohol is the major problem on our highways, and that
illicit drugs do not even come close to being as dangerous.

As funny as it may seem, you may be safer driving `stoned',
as long as you aren't `totally blasted' and seeing things --
but few users are irresponsible enough to drive in this
state of mind, anyway. Still, many people have reported
making mistakes while driving because they were stoned.

There are those who think that marijuana is a major problem
on the streets, because of a newspaper article or news story
which they have seen which said a large number of people who
were killed in driving accidents tested postive for
marijuana use. For various reasons, these studies are not
reliable:

o Some studies use drug tests which can only tell
whether a person has used marijuana in the last
month.

o Some studies were done near colleges or other areas
where drinking, marijuana use, and accidents are all
very high, and they did not correct for age or
alcohol use.

o In many of the studies there were more stoned drivers
killed -- but it was not their fault, and when the
police ``culpability scores'' were factored in
marijuana was not to blame for the accidents.