A literature review of the consequences of prenatal marihuana exposure - An emerging theme of a deficiency in aspects of executive function

In spite of marihuana being the most widely used illegal drug among women o f reproductive age, there is a relative paucity of literature dealing with the neurobehavioral consequences in offspring - particularly the longer-ter m effects. However, there is a degree of consistency in the limited data, b oth across cross-sectional reports and longitudinally where offspring have been followed for a number of years. Two cohort studies fall into the latte r category; one involving a low-risk sample and, the other, a high-risk sam ple. Global IQ is not impacted by prenatal marihuana exposure but aspects o f executive function (EF) - in particular, attentional behavior and visual analysis/hypothesis testing - appear to be negatively associated with in ut ero cannabis exposure in children beyond the toddler stage. This hypothesiz ed influence of prenatal marihuana on EF is examined and discussed relative to effects (or lack of effects) across different ages in the offspring, ca nnabinoid receptors, and the extant general marihuana and prefrontal litera ture. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.