Plasma concentrations of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in dams and fetuses following acute or multiple prenatal dosing in rats

Perinatal Exposure to Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Triggers Profound Defects in T Cell Differentiation and Function in Fetal and Postnatal Stages of Life, Including Decreased Responsiveness to HIV Antigens

“…Cannabinoids have been shown to cross the placenta. Samples from the newborns such as hair, meconium, and plasma are often used to determine whether the child was exposed to marijuana in utero (Hutchings et al, 1989;Vinner et al, 2003). Moreover, studies performed with pregnant dogs injected with radioactive THC intravenously showed that THC could be detected in the brains of both mother and offspring 30 min after the injection, suggesting that once it reaches the mother's bloodstream THC can quickly reach the fetus (Martin et al, 1977).…”

Effects of perinatal exposure to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on the emotional reactivity of the offspring: a longitudinal behavioral study in Wistar rats

“…Cannabinoids can be transferred from the mother to the offspring through the placental blood during gestation and through the maternal milk during lactation (Fernandez-Ruiz et al 2004;Hutchings et al 1989;Jakubovic et al 1977). In this way, as CB 1 receptors are already present during development (Buckley et al 1998), marijuana exposure during pregnancy and/or lactation could interfere with the sequence of events occurring during the ontogeny of the central nervous system (CNS), thus, possibly, leading to the onset of neurodevelopmental alterations.…”

Developmental Consequences of Fetal Exposure to Drugs: What We Know and What We Still Must Learn

“…Transcript for the CB-1 receptor is present in the second embryonic week in rodents (Buckley et al, 1998) and in the second trimester in humans (Wang et al, 2003), indicating that exposure to marijuana in the womb might have developmental consequences. Furthermore, THC can cross the placenta with reasonable efficiency (Hutchings et al, 1989), although unlike many other drugs of abuse, the placenta appears to limit fetal exposure to marijuana, as fetal THC concentrations have been documented to be lower than maternal concentrations in studies of various animal species (Behnke and Smith, 2013). Endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) are crucial for proper development in utero, and exogenous cannabinoids such as marijuana alter fetal growth trajectories (El Marroun et al, 2009), an effect that can have long-term consequences (for review, see Keimpema et al (2011)).…”