Frontiers in Psychology published, Totality of the Evidence Suggests Prenatal Cannabis Exposure Does Not Lead to Cognitive Impairments: A Systematic and Critical Review, a peer-reviewed systematic review on the effects of prenatal exposure to marijuana.

On May 8, 2020, Frontiers in Psychology published, Totality of the Evidence Suggests Prenatal Cannabis Exposure Does Not Lead to Cognitive Impairments: A Systematic and Critical Review, a peer-reviewed systematic review on the effects of prenatal exposure to marijuana. This serious and careful evaluation of 1,001 statistical comparisons between groups of participants exposed to cannabis prenatally and non-exposed controls debunks unsupported assumptions about negative cognitive effects of prenatal marijuana exposure. As the authors explain, assumptions about the data  “can cause harm to pregnant women and their children by leading to punitive policies and enhancing unwarranted stigma. In some cases, intense stigma has resulted in removal of children from their families, and even in maternal incarceration. The rationale for such policies is, in part, that prenatal cannabis exposure causes persistent deleterious effects, especially on cognitive functioning. Findings from this review suggest that this assumption should be reevaluated to ensure that our assumptions do not do more harm than the drug itself.”