Opinion: Dr. Marc Siegel Says Parents' Daily Marijuana Use Is Putting 6 Million Children at Risk
The Fox News medical analyst cites a UC San Diego study and argues the lessons from decades of fighting alcohol addiction can be applied to cannabis. It is a column. The figures are his and his sources'.
A physician and Fox News analyst argues that cannabis is becoming the new alcohol, and that children are bearing the cost. This is opinion, and the judgments are his.
The writer. Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at NYU Langone and Fox News Channel's senior medical analyst.
The numbers he cites. A new University of California San Diego study, he writes, finds about 6 million U.S. children live with a parent who uses cannabis most days. Citing the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, he says children are twice as likely to use cannabis themselves if a parent is a regular user. He says close to 70 million Americans use cannabis each year and that adult use has more than doubled in two decades, to over 8%, per the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
The potency argument. Siegel says the THC in today's products is far higher than it used to be: buds and flowers at 15% to 25% against 1% to 2% a few decades ago, edibles up to 10 mg per serving, and concentrates and vape cartridges at 50% to 95%.
The risk to children. He writes that the harm starts in the womb. He cites nearly twice the risk of premature birth and about two and a half times the risk of low birth weight or neonatal intensive care after fetal exposure, and says over 5% of pregnant women used marijuana in the past month. He says exposure in the womb is tied to a 2.5 times greater risk of THC use in early teen years, and cites a Harvard study linking a mother's use during a child's first 12 years to the child's use by age 16. He adds that regular use can bring mood swings, impaired judgment and outbursts, which hurt parenting.
The proposed answer. Siegel points to the long experience with alcohol and to the Alcoholics Anonymous model of shared experience, a theme in his forthcoming book, "The Angels Among Us." He notes that 130 million Americans drink, twice the number who use cannabis, but more now use cannabis daily than drink daily.
The other side. The column offers no response from cannabis industry or legalization advocates, and we have not checked the studies he cites.
Note for readers: Siegel is promoting a book in the column. This is an argument, not a news report.