Cannabis administered during pregnancy: First- and second-generation effects in rats

Abstract

Female rats were administered cannabis smoke or placebo smoke throughout gestation, and the offspring were injected with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) 2 months prior to mating. The male and female offspring of the experimental animals were significantly less fertile and had smaller reproductive organs. The experimental F2 generation weighed less and were slower in some aspects of physiological development compared to F2 control animals. Exposure to cannabis smoke as a fetus and THC as a young adult had a much greater effect on fertility than just injections of THC 2 months prior to mating. © 1979, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.