BAKERSFIELD, CA- Synthetic marijuana, typically called Spice, is sold over the counter and is 500 to 600 times more potent than traditional marijuana. Doctors and nurses locally said they're seeing more women smoking spice while carrying a child.
Smoking marijuana while pregnant is controversial, but according to the Texas A&M Health Science Center, 20% of pregnant women worldwide get high while pregnant.
Medical marijuana does help with morning sickness but can create problems with neurological development according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The affect is even greater from spice use.
"Recently we saw a lady and she wasn't aware of the devastating affects of the baby," said Dr. Tony Hoang, an OB/GYN at Premier Women's Medical Group. "She believed that it was a natural marijuana when in fact she was taking a street drug thinking it was the same as marijuana."
That mom didn't know how quickly spice, also known as K2, Mad Monkey and Code Black, can impact a baby.
"The synthetic marijuana can affect the newborn or fetus or the embryo as early as one to two weeks after conception. The problem lies that most women don't find out until their pregnant until approximately 4 to 6 weeks after their last menstrual cycle and by then the devastating affects have already been are already there."
Spice can prevent the front part of a baby's brain from developing, and cause ADHD, depression and learning disabilities.
Research conducted at Kern Medical Center just last year discovered that spice can mimic symptoms similar to Preeclampsia, which causes seizures in pregnant women and can lead to death.
Drug enforcement officials said moms are buying spice online, at liquor stores and gas stations. The label says not for human consumption and is also burned as incense, but the drug is often marketed just as natural as marijuana.
"That's one of the questions that we get; is it ok for me to smoke marijuana? Do I have to quit? They seem to understand smoking tobacco but they don't understand smoking marijuana," said Teddie Scott, Nurse Manager at Bakersfield Pregnancy Center.
Nurses at the Bakersfield Pregnancy Center say they've seen an increase in pregnant women using marijuana, but because spice can't be detected on a normal drug test they don't always know if women are using that drug specifically. They are considering asking about spice during their screening process.
President Obama signed a bill into law July 2012 banning five dominant chemicals found in synthetic marijuana. But officials at the Drug Enforcement Administration say manufacturers try to get around that by changing one or two molecules in a chemical so it's not exactly the same.
Smoking marijuana while pregnant is controversial, but according to the Texas A&M Health Science Center, 20% of pregnant women worldwide get high while pregnant.
Medical marijuana does help with morning sickness but can create problems with neurological development according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The affect is even greater from spice use.
"Recently we saw a lady and she wasn't aware of the devastating affects of the baby," said Dr. Tony Hoang, an OB/GYN at Premier Women's Medical Group. "She believed that it was a natural marijuana when in fact she was taking a street drug thinking it was the same as marijuana."
That mom didn't know how quickly spice, also known as K2, Mad Monkey and Code Black, can impact a baby.
"The synthetic marijuana can affect the newborn or fetus or the embryo as early as one to two weeks after conception. The problem lies that most women don't find out until their pregnant until approximately 4 to 6 weeks after their last menstrual cycle and by then the devastating affects have already been are already there."
Spice can prevent the front part of a baby's brain from developing, and cause ADHD, depression and learning disabilities.
Research conducted at Kern Medical Center just last year discovered that spice can mimic symptoms similar to Preeclampsia, which causes seizures in pregnant women and can lead to death.
Drug enforcement officials said moms are buying spice online, at liquor stores and gas stations. The label says not for human consumption and is also burned as incense, but the drug is often marketed just as natural as marijuana.
"That's one of the questions that we get; is it ok for me to smoke marijuana? Do I have to quit? They seem to understand smoking tobacco but they don't understand smoking marijuana," said Teddie Scott, Nurse Manager at Bakersfield Pregnancy Center.
Nurses at the Bakersfield Pregnancy Center say they've seen an increase in pregnant women using marijuana, but because spice can't be detected on a normal drug test they don't always know if women are using that drug specifically. They are considering asking about spice during their screening process.
President Obama signed a bill into law July 2012 banning five dominant chemicals found in synthetic marijuana. But officials at the Drug Enforcement Administration say manufacturers try to get around that by changing one or two molecules in a chemical so it's not exactly the same.