![]() “I can say that with fairly good confidence.” “From what I have seen there have been no demonstrated cognitive impacts,” said Hart. While studies have shown that delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can enter the fetal bloodstream, what happens from there - in terms of long-term effects on the actual baby - are still largely up for debate. So while data shows maternity cannabis use is on the rise, there’s a lot unknown about the safety of the practice because there’s an extremely limited pool of research on it. Many women who consume cannabis continue the habit into pregnancy some say it helps ease nausea or combat anxiety, and according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), use is only likely to continue to increase alongside legalization. According to that survey, Marijuana is now the “most commonly used illicit drug during pregnancy,” and from 2009 to 2016, prenatal use increased from 4.2 percent to 7.1 percent. Cannabis use among pregnant women has increased, based on a survey of more than 300,000 women published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December 2017. With medical and adult-use cannabis now legal in more than half of the country, situations like Kennedy’s will become increasingly common. Photo: Courtesy of Shakira Kennedy Courtesy of Shakira Kennedy Yet for many pregnant women or new moms, they’re finding themselves caught up in the child services system on much less. “The law is clear that just one positive test for drugs is not enough,” Marcus says. While ACS declined to comment on Kennedy’s specific case, a spokesperson for the department says it investigates about 60,000 reports of abuse or neglect in New York City every year, including 11,000 cases that involve allegations of substance abuse. In fact, this misuse must be accompanied by, “proof that a person repeatedly misuses a drug … to the extent that it has or would ordinarily have the effect of producing in the user thereof a substantial state of stupor, unconsciousness, intoxication, hallucination, disorientation, or incompetence, or a substantial impairment of judgment, or a substantial manifestation of irrationality.” ![]() She’s also been subjected to home inspections by ACS, and asked to attend a drug treatment program as well as a parenting class.Īccording to the legal definition of neglect in New York State, there must be evidence of not just occasional drug use, but drug misuse. Kennedy was ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and ongoing random drug screens, says Jessica Marcus, an attorney at Brooklyn Defender Services, the firm that represented Kennedy in her case. In March of this year, though, the New York Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) filed a neglect petition against Kennedy in Brooklyn Family Court, alleging that she used marijuana while pregnant with her twins and caring for her daughter. With New York medical marijuana licenses typically reserved for those with cancer or chronic illnesses, Kennedy sourced her weed through the illegal market. ![]() She had used it recreationally when she was younger and found it helped with various ailments - from lack of appetite to constipation - and hoped it could now be helpful in treating the barrage of symptoms associated with pregnancy. Desperate for relief that would still allow her to function as a parent, Kennedy turned to cannabis. She cycled through numerous prescription medications and dabbled in all kinds of over-the-counter fixes, but nothing worked. Her body was completely depleted, so much so that she even passed out once on the train while taking her six-year-old daughter to school. “I must have lost over 30 to 40 pounds in my first trimester,” says Kennedy. She was treated for a slew of health issues, including dehydration and an inability to keep food down. ![]() While many women experience morning sickness in their first trimester, Kennedy’s unrelenting cycle of nausea and vomiting was so severe that she ended up in the emergency room multiple times throughout her pregnancy. Shakira Kennedy was 27 years old and living in Brooklyn when she found out she was going to have twins. ![]()
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