The Wire

A team of researchers from the Robinson Research Institute at the University of Adelaide have published a study which looks into the health outcomes for women who consume cannabis during the first 15 weeks of pregnancy and why it leads to significantly lower birth weight and length, head circumference, gestational age and neonatal morbidity for newborn babies.

While it is unclear how continuous high frequency of cannabis use might impair neonatal outcomes, there are concerns that components in the drug might cross into the placenta raising a number of potentially long term effects on childhood health and development that warrant further investigation.