Cannabis use among pregnant women under different legalization frameworks in the United States.

Background

Cannabis use in pregnancy is associated with adverse neonatal outcomes, yet its use among pregnant women in the United States has increased significantly.

Objectives

This cross-sectional study explored how cannabis use in pregnant women varied between different cannabis legalization frameworks, that is, permitted use of cannabidiol (CBD)-only, medical cannabis, and adult-use cannabis.

Methods

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 2017 to 2020 was utilized with respondents classified by their state's policies into CBD-only, medical, and adult-use groups. Outcome measures included prevalence of use and usage characteristics (frequency, method of intake, and reason for use) among pregnant women. Logistic regression models were estimated to evaluate the association between legal status and prevalence of use.

Results

The unweighted dataset included 1,992 pregnant women. Recent cannabis use was reported by (weighted proportions): 2.4% (95%CI: 0-4.4) of respondents in the CBD-only group, 7.1% (95%CI: 4.0-10.1) in the medical group and 6.9% (95%CI: 3.0-10.9) in the adult-use group. Compared to the CBD-only group, respondents in the medical and adult-use groups were 4.5-fold (adjusted; 95%CI: 1.4-14.7; p = .01) and 4.7-fold (adjusted; 95%CI: 1.3-16.2; p = .02) more likely to use cannabis. Across all groups, smoking was the most common method of intake and over 49% of users reported using partially or entirely for adult-use purposes.

Conclusions

The increased use with legalization motivates further research on the impacts of cannabis as a therapeutic agent during pregnancy and supports the need for increased screening and patient counseling regarding the potential effects of cannabis use on fetal development.