Journal of Toxicology
Volume 2009 (2009), Article ID 596149, 5 pages
doi:10.1155/2009/596149
Review Article

Cannabis and Breastfeeding

Aurélia Garry,1 Virginie Rigourd,2 Ammar Amirouche,3 Valérie Fauroux,3 Sylvie Aubry,2 and Raphaël Serreau4

1Départment d'Ingénierie Biologique, École Polytechnique de l'Université de Nice - Sophia Antipolis, 1645 Route des Lucioles, 06410 Biot, France
2Lactarium d'Ile de France, Institut de Puériculture et de Périnatalogie, 26 Boulevard Brune, 75014 Paris, France
3Centre de Recherche Clinique Paris Centre, 89 rue d'Assas, 75006 Paris, France
4Centre de Recherche Clinique Paris Centre EA 3620, 89 rue d'Assas 75006 Paris, France

Received 5 November 2008; Accepted 18 February 2009

Academic Editor: Syed F. Ali

Copyright © 2009 Aurélia Garry et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Cannabis is a drug derived from hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, used both as a recreational drug or as medicine. It is a widespread illegal substance, generally smoked for its hallucinogenic properties. Little is known about the adverse effects of postnatal cannabis exposure throw breastfeeding because of a lack of studies in lactating women. The active substance of cannabis is the delta 9 TetraHydroCannabinol (THC). Some studies conclude that it could decrease motor development of the child at one year of age. Therefore, cannabis use and abuse of other drugs like alcohol, tobacco, or cocaine must be contraindicated during breastfeeding. Mothers who use cannabis must stop breastfeeding, or ask for medical assistance to stop cannabis use in order to provide her baby with all the benefits of human milk.