Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey there, welcome to Paging Dr. Gupta. This is the show where I get to hear from you, where I get to tackle some of your health questions, and I get to follow your curiosity, and hopefully they lead us to some scientifically-based answers. Well, this week, we're going to talk about my latest installment of the Weed documentary series. This is Weed 8.
Hard to believe I've made eight of these documentaries over the years, and this one focuses on women, I got to tell you, in many ways, it feels overdue. Women are now the fastest growing users of cannabis in the country. Just think about that. They're outpacing men. And I learned that for many women, cannabis can be a lifeline, especially for those who felt unseen by conventional medicine.
So without further ado, let's get to your questions. My producer Kira is back with us. Who do we have first?
Hey Sanjay, loved your doc. So happy that we have a bunch of good questions coming in on this. And first up, we have Erica in Canada who's wondering, what do we actually know about the short and long-term effects on a baby if a mother uses cannabis during pregnancy and while breastfeeding?
Okay, this is an important question. It has long-term implications. Some of you may be surprised or shocked just hearing this question. But we're going to dive into it, tell you what the research says, right after this short break. Welcome back to Paging Dr. Gupta. Today we are answering questions about women and weed.
First up, the effect on a baby if the mom uses cannabis during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. First of all, I want to say that I think this was the most surprising, if not shocking, part of working on this investigation. The idea that women would use cannabis while pregnant and breastfeeding, that just wasn't something I'd even considered. But studies really do bear this out.
Some studies show anywhere between 7 to 20 percent of women... continue to use cannabis when they become pregnant, when they are breastfeeding. Many of these women were using cannabis already, and they simply didn't stop. Now, there's obviously all sorts of particular harms that can be associated with this. But I do want to point out a couple of headlines.
First of all, cannabis does cross the placenta. There have been plenty of studies now that demonstrate this. Cannabis can also become concentrated in the breast milk. Very important, right? The dose of cannabis can actually be higher in the breast milk than in the blood. So these are two really important considerations.
Cannabis use has been associated with premature birth, low birth weight, preeclampsia—that's in the short term— Long-term concerns are really more about developmental issues. And the answer there isn't black and white. There have been studies looking at cannabis use during pregnancy that did find adverse outcomes in women and babies.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of cannabis use during pregnancy and breastfeeding?
She directs the Division of Cannabinoids in Neurodevelopment. And I wanted you to hear from her because it gives you an idea of just how far the research has come as well over the last 15 years since we started making these documentaries. There is now a person who directs a division of cannabinoids in neurodevelopment.
Her point, I think, is that in utero is one of the times when the brain is going through the biggest period of development and growth. That should surprise no one.
So the latest guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is that there's not a lot of rigorous data on the topic, but the basic warning against using cannabis during pregnancy and breastfeeding, that is something they strongly recommend. Look, one thing I'll say, again, is that a lot of women are doing this, okay?
And there's obviously a lot of stigma associated with this. I admit that I was surprised by this. Talk to your doctor. Let your doctor know if this is something that is happening. They can help you weigh the risks. If you're taking this for depression or anxiety or something else, perhaps there's another option that may be better tested and even safer. It's really better than hiding it.
All right, Kira, what do we have next?
Next up, we have Jody in New Jersey, who's asking, could marijuana products, especially edibles, help with perimenopause symptoms? If so, which ones and how? Like, what's actually going on in the body?
Yeah, so the short answer to this question, Jody, is yes. More women are using cannabis to manage the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. One thing I do want to point out, again, is that women are outpacing men when it comes to the use of cannabis. But what surprised me a little bit was that the growth is primarily coming from women between the ages of 45 and 60. That's what we found.
And I think a lot of the reason for that is women are looking for alternatives to try and treat some of the symptoms that they develop during perimenopause and menopause. Again, women have had a lot of their health complaints minimized or even flat out ignored. Hormone replacement therapy is still the gold standard for treating symptoms of menopause.
But as you probably know, up until recently, even that had a black box warning on it. So how could cannabis potentially work? Well, the endocannabinoid system. We all have an endocannabinoid system. We make our own internal cannabis, essentially, which activates this endocannabinoid system. This system balances everything from sleep to appetite to pain to memory.
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Chapter 3: How does cannabis affect fetal development and long-term outcomes?
Historically, there have not, again, been a lot of options for treating those types of menopause symptoms. But we know that THC, for example, can be very beneficial for sleep. We know that it can be beneficial for anxiety. We know, interestingly, that it has an impact on the hypothalamus, which is the area of your brain that is responsible for temperature control.
So that could potentially help with hot flashes. And we know that THC can also help with inflammation, which may help with the aches and pains sometimes associated with menopause. It is challenging to get it right. It is challenging to find the right strain, the right dose. There's not a lot of studies around this, but that's part of the reason we do these investigations.
It's part of the reason we spend a year talking to scientists all over the country and all over the world to understand what is real and what is not. And what we can say is that there could be some benefit. Again, and we say this a thousand times during the documentary, there can potentially be harms, but there can be benefits as well, especially in a population of people
who haven't had a lot of other options. All right, we're going to have more questions and answers about weed and women when we come back.
I'm CNN tech reporter Claire Duffy. This week on the podcast, Terms of Service. Mercedes Kilmer, thank you so much for doing this. When director Corti Voorhees and his brother John, who is co-producing this film, first approached you about building this AI likeness of your dad for As Deep as the Grave, what was sort of your thought process as you were considering this?
Once I understood his involvement in the project differently, then I agreed to participate. My dad always saw technology as something that could augment or expand our potential as humans rather than to replace us. So he saw it very optimistically. And when Top Gun was coming out, we talked a lot about it. And I was like, what? Do you want to do what? And he was like, I would be in a video game.
Like, relax.
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