I've been very interested in the discussion about drug use, in particular,
marijuana, during lactation. There was a lot of debate about this a few
years in the letters pages of Mothering magazine but I don't remember if
there were any conclusions. There seems to be a distinct lack of research on
the topic.

There are many mothers out there who use marijuana habitually, based on what
I remember from the Mothering discussions. Personally, I'd be less concerned
about a mother who smokes a joint occasionally, or even smokes every day,
than a woman who smokes cigarettes. I'm also more concerned about this kind
of drug use during pregnancy than during lactation.  As Barbara W-C
mentioned, however, someone who is smoking marijuana all day is going to be
impaired to some extent in her ability to care for her child, just as a
mother who is doing a lot of drinking or other drugs, and this becomes a
different concern--breastfeeding is only part of it at that point.

I think preserving the breastfeeding relationship is very important, both
for the health benefits to the baby and the emotional benefits to the
mother, and I can't imagine recommending weaning to a mother who smokes
marijuana any more than I would recommend weaning to a mother who smokes
cigarettes (even though it grosses me out even more and I feel very sorry
for the baby, living in the smoky environment and getting all that junk
through the milk)).  We're not looking for perfection and we know those
babies are getting tremendous benefits from the breastmilk and the
breastfeeding, despite the contaminants.

I need some evidence to convince me that drinking milk with some residue
from marijuana is more harmful to a baby than being fed formula full-time.

Leslie Ayre-Jaschke
Peace River, Alberta, Canada