A new study says marijuana use may make the user’s offspring more prone to drug addiction. In the words of the study’s senior author, marijuana use “affects not just those exposed, but has adverse effects on future generations.” Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that male rats whose parents were exposed to marijuana as teens and mated later in life experienced greater “vulnerability to drug addiction and compulsive behavior.”
When exposed to a small amount of marijuana (the equivalent of one joint), rats with marijuana-using parents then self-administered heroin more compulsively than rats whose parents were not cannabis users. Researchers say this study may lend some insight into cross-generational drug use and how to mediate its effects.
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Source: CBS News – Study: Marijuana Use May Predispose Offspring to Drug Addiction
