Abstract
Marijuana and opioid addictions have increased alarmingly in recent decades, especially in the United States, posing threats to society. When the drug user is a pregnant mother, there is a serious risk to the developing baby. Congenital anomalies are associated with prenatal exposure to marijuana and opioids. Here, we summarize the current data on the prevalence of marijuana and opioid use among the people of the United States, particularly pregnant mothers. We also summarize the current zebrafish studies used to model and understand the effects of these drug exposures during development and to understand the behavioral changes after exposure. Zebrafish experiments recapitulate the drug effects seen in human addicts and the birth defects seen in human babies prenatally exposed to marijuana and opioids. Zebrafish show great potential as an easy and inexpensive model for screening compounds for their ability to mitigate the drug effects, which could lead to new therapeutics.
Highlights
The status of marijuana legislation for medical and recreational purposes has changed in many states of the United States in recent years
This study showed that prenatal marijuana uses among unmarried women increased by 85% from 5.4% to 10% from 2005 to 2014, while the prevalence among married pregnant women remained mostly stable (1.5%) [13]
This study indicates a connection between congenital defects and marijuana use among Coloradans
Summary
The status of marijuana legislation for medical and recreational purposes has changed in many states of the United States in recent years. Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimated 30.5 million people aged 12 or older used an illicit drug in the past 30 days (i.e., current use) [2] Among these 30.5 million illicit drug users, 26.0 million were marijuana users, and 3.2 million misuse prescription pain relievers [2]. ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC: a psychoactive component from 3.4% in 1993 to 8.8% in 2008) relative to cannabidiol (a non-psychoactive component) [3,4] These changes in use and potency of marijuana pose a high risk to the cannabis user [3]. The report from the 2017 NSDUH estimated that 11.4 million people aged 12 or older misused opioids in the past year, including 11.1 million pain reliever misusers and 886,000 heroin users. The majority of those people (62.6 percent) misused them to relieve physical pain [2]
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