Researchers are recruiting 70 pregnant women who use cannabis to examine the effects of the drug on infants' brains.
The 'Moms + Marijuana' project at the University of Washington School of Medicine is the latest in a string of studies racing to deliver some concrete information as cannabis use increases in every group, including expectant mothers.
They are offering $300 to women aged 21 to 34 years old, who are less than 13 weeks pregnant, to be monitored through their pregnancy.
Signing up, they agree that their newborn will undergo MRI brain scans at six months old to be compared with brains of babies whose moms did not use cannabis, alcohol or cigarettes.
The news of the study sparked some inflammatory responses, with staunch anti-marijuana journalist Alex Berenson comparing the study to Tuskegee, when African American men with syphilis were duped by scientists, who gave them a placebo, knowing it would harm them.
But most in the medical community agree that, though there may be risks, it's important to conduct a study to work out what those risks are, since many cannabis dispensaries already promote their products to treat morning sickness.
The 'Moms + Marijuana' project at the University of Washington School of Medicine is the latest in a string of studies racing to deliver some concrete information as cannabis use increases all over
The Tuskegee comparison from Berenson - who wrote a book about his view that cannabis creates murderers - falls short in a few ways.
Primarily, the team seeks women who are already cannabis users, rather than asking them to start using it.
And
