Emily Bates, PhD
Associate Professor, Pediatrics-Developmental Biology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Morning sickness during pregnancy can be debilitating for a significant portion of women. Because there are not good remedies easily available and marijuana can help with nausea, women are drawn to using it, or the non-psychoactive component cannabidiol (CBD), thinking it is safe for their unborn child. CBD passes from the placenta to the fetus and crosses the blood-brain barrier. Retrospective clinical studies suggest that fetal marijuana exposure is associated with decreased birth weight, poor birth outcomes, anxiety, and attention deficit, and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, these studies do not include dosing information and there is no way to distinguish the impact of CBD from the psychoactive marijuana component, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Funding from the Institute of Cannabis Research will allow us to learn how fetal exposure to CBD affects brain development and anxiety behaviors.