A new study by researchers in the University of Colorado, Boulder, United States (US) has shown that the children of women who use marijuana while pregnant, were more likely to suffer sleep problems as much as a decade later.

The findings of the study of nearly 12,000 youths published in the journal, ‘Sleep Health’: the Journal of The National Sleep Foundation, suggested that prenatal cannabis use may impact childrens’ sleep cycles long-term.

Senior author of the study, John Hewitt, who is the director, Institute for Behavioral Genetics at the University of Colorado, said that although, smoking and drinking alcohol were not advisable during pregnancy, the findings of this study suggested that it was prudent to extend that advice to cannabis, even if its use was now legal.

Based on the study, the researchers have urged mothers-to-be to be wary of dispensaries that advocate the use of cannabis as an antidote for morning sickness. According to the University of Colorado research, about 70 per cent of Colorado dispensaries recommend cannabis for that use.

But the ‘Medical Xpress’ reported that mounting evidence points to potential harms, including low birth weight and later cognitive problems. With marijuana on the market today including far higher Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels than it did a decade ago, it’s impacts on the faetal brain were likely more profound than they once were.

THC is the principal psychoactive constituent of…