# Cannabis Vapor Exposure Impacts Reproduction

> **NIH NIH R21** · WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $223,277

## Abstract

Project Summary
Cannabis is considered the most widely used psychoactive drug in the United States and all over the world. In
2020, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) has reported that over 48 million Americans
(~16% of the population) ages 12 and older used cannabis in the past year. This number has increased due to
the expanding legalization of cannabis consumption in the US. Higher potency strains of cannabis plants have
emerged over the past two decades. Unsurprisingly, adverse health outcomes associated with cannabis
consumption have also been increasing. The proposed study will provide the first impact, which is the
transgenerational effects of in utero and nursing cannabis vapor exposure on phenotypic defects of male and
female reproductive functions. Because cannabis is a psychoactive drug, chronic or frequent use of cannabis
is associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes. However, little is known about its effects on
reproduction, especially the long-term consequences of cannabis on offspring and subsequent generations. To
date, no systematic studies examining reproductive phenotypic defects and their associated mechanisms
caused by cannabis have been performed. In addition, it is entirely unknown whether the adverse effects of
cannabis on reproduction are sustained via germline transmission to subsequent generations. Therefore, this
application proposes as a first step to examine the transgenerational effects of cannabis vapor exposure on
male and female reproductive functions. We will characterize how cannabis vapor exposure during pregnancy
and nursing affects male and female reproductive parameters in neonatal and adult testes and ovaries to
understand paternally or maternally transmitted alterations in male or female germ cells. Because at least 7%
of pregnant women use cannabis throughout pregnancy (~12% during the first trimester and 5.3% daily users),
an appreciation of the impact of cannabis use on reproductive functions in subsequent offspring is crucial.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10568537
- **Project number:** 1R21DA057305-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** KANAKO HAYASHI
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $223,277
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10568537

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10568537, Cannabis Vapor Exposure Impacts Reproduction (1R21DA057305-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10568537. Licensed CC0.

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