The younger generation who frequently uses cannabis, run a higher risk of having premature babies, than the non-users, reported a study conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol in collaboration with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia.
The research was based on repeated observations of 665 participants, ranging from 14 to 29 years of age, who have regularly used tobacco and cannabis before pregnancy.
The research further revealed issues like low birth weight, and other health related complications in the babies born to parents who have used cannabis during pregnancy.
In the words of Dr Lindsey Hines, a Research Fellow in Bristol Medical School of Population Health Sciences (PHS) at the University of Bristol, "Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug amongst teenagers. There is already evidence that frequent adolescent cannabis use increases the risks for poor mental health, but our results indicate there may be further effects that individuals may not anticipate."
Along the same line of thought, George Patton, Professorial Fellow in Adolescent Health Research with the University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, added: "The more we study heavy cannabis use in the teens, the more problematic it looks. Given growing political and industry drivers for legalization of use, there is a pressing need for bigger and better research into understanding harms arising from heavy adolescent use."
As the world is seeing a great many number of nations which have legalized cannabis as a recreational drug, including Canada, Uruguay and Netherlands, it is high time that we educate ourselves about the risks involved in early and prolonged exposure to these drugs.
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