Is cannabis really as safe as many think? New research finds major red flag

The United Nations reclassified cannabis as a less dangerous drug last year and removed it from the Schedule IV category, which lists addictive opioids like heroin. And while talks of limited legalisation are underway in India, a new study has flagged an alarming danger of using cannabis on a regular basis.

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Researchers have found that teenagers who use cannabis frequently may be at a higher risk of pre-term birth in their 20s and 30s.

Basing the results on repeat assessments of 665 participants in a general population cohort for over 20 years, the study is the first to connect frequent adolescent cannabis use with the potential intergenerational risks.

As per the research, babies born to parents (aged 29 and over) who used cannabis regularly for a certain period in their teens were 20% more likely to be preterm or have a low birth weight.

Although this effect was not observed at lower levels of use, high daily use of cannabis in teen years was associated with a more than six-fold increase in the odds of premature birth.

While cannabis use is illegal in India, globally it is one of the most commonly used illicit drugs amongst teenagers. Previous studies have shown how cannabis use increases mental health problems, but the new results, published in Scientific Reports, indicate that the effects of the drug on youngsters may be much worse than we realise.

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