This means that the drug, at least in its smoked form, has no commonly accepted medical use. THC that is manufactured into a pill can be used for treating the nausea and vomiting that occur with certain cancer treatments. The oral THC can be used to help AIDS patients eat more to keep up their weight, as well. Doctors advise pregnant women not to use any drugs because they could harm the growing fetus. Some scientific studies have found that babies born to marijuana users were shorter, weighed less, and had smaller head sizes than those born to mothers who did not use the drug.
Smaller babies are more likely to develop health problems.
There are also research data showing nervous system problems in children of mothers who smoked marijuana. Researchers are not certain whether a newborn baby's health problems, if they are caused by marijuana, will continue as the child grows. THC disrupts the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed. This makes it hard for the user to recall recent events, and so it is hard to learn while high. A working short-term memory is required for learning and performing tasks that call for more than one or two steps.