An Alarm at the Gate: Is Anyone Listening? Marijuana Use during Pregnancy from the Lens of a Therapist

The phenomenon of substance abuse during pregnancy has sparked debates and the topic has plagued society for many years. I have been practicing in the area of prenatal and postnatal drug counseling in the state of Louisiana for the past 20 years. There has been a growing concern about the spike in infants born exposed to drugs or alcohol in the past decade. Based on my practice observation, the complexity of this issue has become more detrimental in the last eight years. The accurate identification of prenatal drug exposure is important not only to understand the nature and magnitude of the problem, but also to determine appropriate medical and psychosocial intervention. The prevalence of prenatal drug exposure is very difficult to estimate because of flaws in all methods of identification [1]. According to the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services report, the number of infants exposed to drugs or alcohol before birth has tripled in Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. It was reported that 569 newborns were delivered in 2008 with drugs or alcohol in their systems at birth and that number jumped to 1,659 in the year of 2016 [2]. The public is aware of the opioid crisis that exists but in my practice most of the cases has been marijuana exposed newborns.