1. Protection Versus Progress: The Challenge of Research on Cannabis Use During Pregnancy
- Author
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Benjamin S. Wilfond, Kaeley Stout, Natalia M. Kleinhans, and Katherine E. MacDuffie
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Inclusion (disability rights) ,Research Subjects ,Nausea ,MEDLINE ,Dicyclomine ,Medical Marijuana ,Pediatrics ,Ethics, Research ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Pregnancy ,030225 pediatrics ,medicine ,Humans ,Psychiatry ,Drug Approval ,Doxylamine ,biology ,business.industry ,Morning Sickness ,Pyridoxine ,Cannabis use ,medicine.disease ,biology.organism_classification ,Ondansetron ,Thalidomide ,Drug Combinations ,Teratogens ,Harm ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Vomiting ,Antiemetics ,Female ,Pregnant Women ,Cannabis ,medicine.symptom ,business - Abstract
A central tension in pediatric research ethics arises from our desire to protect children from harm while also allowing progress toward discoveries that could improve child health. A prime example of this tension is research on a controversial yet increasingly common practice: the use of cannabis by women to treat nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Studies of cannabis use in pregnancy face a combination of ethical hurdles because of the inclusion of pregnant women and involvement of a schedule I controlled substance. Given the growing need for research on the safety and efficacy of cannabis for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, we reflect on the multiple historical contexts that have contributed to the challenge of studying cannabis use during pregnancy and make a case for the ethical rationale for such research.
- Published
- 2020
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