Marijuana Use Affects Future Generations

The Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai released a recent study
about the effects of marijuana use
by parents, on their children, as they
grow into adults.
Professor of psychiatry and
neuroscience, and the study’s senior
author, Yasmin Hurd, PhD, said
“Our study emphasizes that cannabis
[marijuana] affects not just those
exposed, but has adverse affects on
future generations.”
Cross-generation vulnerability to
addictions and compulsive
behaviors increase when parents
previously used the drug,
researchers found. Further research
to observe if grandchildren and
great-grandchildren are affected is
ongoing.
Experimental animal studies have
demonstrated a link between casual
adolescent usage and later
behavioral and neurological
abnormalities. The findings showed
parental history of THC exposure can
affect molecular characteristics,
impact offspring, and possibly
enhance the risk of psychiatric
disorders in subsequent
generations.
This important observation about
the dangers of pre-parental use
should be an active part of the
discussion at this time regarding the
legalization of medical and
recreational use of marijuana. This
type of information is crucial for
society to form correct guidelines
and laws, and in helping develop
successful programs for addiction
prevention.
Researchers said,
“The findings open up potential new
treatment interventions to try to
reverse cross-generational drug
use.”
However as yet, no reliable
interventions have been offered.
According to Dr. Dan Siegel of UCLA,
young people do not have the brain
development to adequately
consider the consequences of their
actions. And if this epigenetic
information is accurate, and young
people may be pre-disposed to
addiction by a parent’s use of
marijuana, we have some real
reasons for concern. It is
incomprehensible to a teen or
young adult that their actions today
can change the lives of potential
future children or grandchildren. A
healthy lifestyle, which includes
physical and mental healthful
activities, is encouraged for
everyone.