DENVER (AP) – Marijuana use by pregnant or nursing women might seem like a no-brainer of a bad idea, but a proposal in Colorado to step up such warnings is raising concern because of limited or inconclusive research on the dangers.
Pot users in Colorado and Washington already receive warnings that the drug shouldn’t be used by pregnant and nursing women. But a Colorado bill facing its first hearing Tuesday proposes going further by requiring pot shops to post signs saying that maternal marijuana use poses risks to unborn children.
“It’s important to have notification that there is risk,” said Republican Rep. Jack Tate, sponsor of the bill.
The proposal is controversial. Some pregnant women use marijuana to ease nausea, and a marijuana industry group fears the warnings don’t acknowledge limited research on pot use by mothers-to-be.
Tyler Henson, president of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, called the proposal “another attempt to discredit and ignore the popular public opinion of marijuana’s medicinal use.”