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Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Preclinical Model of Prenatal Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Exposure to Assess Its Impact on Neurodevelopmental Outcomes
Published on: February 28, 2025
Recent trends in treatment admissions for marijuana use during pregnancy
Caitlin E Martin1, Nyaradzo Longinaker, Katrina Mark
1From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (CEM), University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC; Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (NL, MT), University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD; Department Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (KM), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (MSC), Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD; and Behavioral Health System Baltimore (MT), Baltimore, MD.
Objectives:
The objective of this study was to investigate recent trends in substance abuse treatment admissions for marijuana use during pregnancy in the United States.
Methods:
Data were obtained from the Treatment Episodes Data Set from 1992 to 2012 and analyzed for trends over time using χ, Cochran-Armitage, and Moran's I tests.
Results:
The proportion of treatment admissions for women who were pregnant remained stable at 4%; however, admissions of pregnant women reporting any marijuana use increased substantially from 29% to 43% (P < 0.01). The West North Central census division (20%) experienced the greatest increase followed by the Middle Atlantic (18%) and Pacific (14%) divisions. The demographic characteristics of pregnant marijuana admissions changed over time, with white non-Hispanic women, criminal justice referrals, and those with a psychiatric comorbidity becoming more common whereas polysubstance users decreased (P < 0.01).
Conclusions:
Even though more women using marijuana are seeking and receiving substance abuse treatment during pregnancy, targeting certain risk groups while improving screening and treatment referral systems by health care providers, such as prenatal caregivers, should be emphasized.
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