Ask a Stoner: I Accidentally Ate an Edible. When Can I Breastfeed?

Research on the impacts of cannabis on consumers who breastfeed are extremely limited.

May 24, 2018

Westword

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Dear Stoner: I just had a baby and accidentally ate part of an edible. I currently breastfeed; when would it be out of my system so I can feed my baby?
Brittany
Dear Brittany: As I tell anyone with medical questions, I’m a stoner, not a doctor — so I can’t tell you when it’s safe to breastfeed your baby. Unfortunately, research on the impacts of cannabis on consumers who breastfeed is extremely limited, according to Cannabis Clinicians Colorado, an organization of health-care professionals advocating for more studies focusing on medical marijuana. As CCC founder Martha Montemayor is quick to point out, only one clinical trial has been done on the matter, and it studied just one woman in Jamaica in the early ’90s.

The study showed that marijuana, which bonds to fat cells, can be stored in a mother’s breast milk — but whether it does so in a concentrated enough dose to affect a child is still up for debate.

Bottom line: Be safe, and don’t make any decisions without consulting your doctor.

Send questions to [email protected].

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