Pubdate: Mon, 22 Dec 2008
Source: Pacific Daily News (US GU)
Copyright: 2008 Pacific Daily News
Contact: http://www.guampdn.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.guampdn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1122
Author: Thomas Shieh
Note: Dr. Thomas Shieh is a board-certified diplomate of the American 
Board of Obstetrics & Gynecologists.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

DEAR DR. SHIEH

"Dear Dr. Shieh" is the result of a partnership between the Pacific 
Daily News and Dr. Thomas Shieh, an obstetrician and a longtime 
proponent of health and education programs for Guam's youths. If you 
have a question you would like answered, e-mail: Dear Dr. Shieh,

I am pregnant and throwing up all the time. My girl friend told me to 
smoke marijuana because it can get rid of my nausea. Is marijuana 
safe during pregnancy? - Anita

Dear Anita,

No. Your girl friend may be correct in that marijuana can decrease 
nausea and prevent you from throwing up, but I would not recommend it.

Marijuana contains hundreds of different chemicals. We don't 
specifically know the effects in pregnancy because it is not a 
well-studied area to recommend its use as a "safe" substance.

We do know that one of the chemicals in marijuana, 
Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), crosses the placenta to the baby, 
and we can associate chronic users to low birth weight and premature 
delivery just like cigarette smoking would do.

Additionally, there are some reports of developmental effects on 
children from parents who smoked marijuana during their pregnancy; 
however, it is really difficult to concretely pinpoint that the use 
of marijuana was a direct cause.

The pharmaceutical extract of marijuana is legal in some States as 
"medical marijuana," for certain illnesses, but its dosage is not 
established for severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

The controversy always comes up in medical discussions on the 
benefits of marijuana in some patients, and perhaps in the future we 
may be able to have more data to support the extract in a pill form 
so that physicians can better prescribe the efficacious dose.

Finally, the Food and Drug Administration has always been against the 
"smoked medical marijuana," and I am sure this will disappoint many 
people who still seek marijuana in that particular form. We know 
there are medical benefits from marijuana, but we'll just have to 
wait for more evidenced-based studies and to see if all 50 states and 
Guam will follow and allow for its use in specified medical conditions. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake