Prenatal marijuana exposure may pose health risks
By Nathan Seppa
Rats that were exposed to a marijuana-related chemical while in the womb show more memory lapses and hyperactivity than unexposed rats do, a study finds. Marijuana-exposure studies in people have been clouded by factors such as a mother’s tendency to also smoke tobacco cigarettes or pursue other risky behaviors during pregnancy.
Vincenzo Cuomo of the University La Sapienza in Rome and his colleagues injected several pregnant rats with a drug called WIN55,212-2. In the brain, the drug behaves like tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana. Another group of animals received inert injections.