Americans View Using Marijuana As Less Risky During Pregnancy Than Alcohol Or Cigarettes, Poll Finds

On the list of activities that Americans say is dangerous for pregnant
women to engage in, using marijuana falls below drinking alcohol or smoking
cigarettes, according to a new poll.

The YouGov survey comes amid heightened attention to pregnancy-related
risks after the Trump administration made a controversial assessment that
linked acetaminophen, commonly known by the brand name Tylenol, to
increased chances of autism for children.

With respect to other substances, however, 66 percent of respondents said
that using marijuana while pregnant poses a “high” health risk. Another 20
percent said there’s a “moderate risk” and 8 percent there’s either a “low”
risk or no risk at all.

By contrast, a total of 94 percent of Americans agree that smoking
cigarettes is dangerous during pregnancy, including 84 percent who said
there was a high risk.

For alcohol, 96 percent said there’s either a high or moderate risk of
drinking while pregnant.

New polling on pregnancy risks
% of U.S. adult citizens who think the following generally pose a high risk
during pregnancy
Cigarettes 84%
Alcohol 81%
Smoking marijuana 66%
Exposure to pesticides 62%
High stress 56%
Eating raw fish 39%
Taking acetaminophen 18%
(Link in reply) pic.twitter.com/8T9soY4sz2

— YouGov America (@YouGovAmerica) September 26, 2025

The YouGov survey involved interviews with 2,267 U.S. adults, based on two
separate 2025 polls from September 22-26 and September 23-25. The margin of
error was +/-3 percentage points.

The issue of cannabis use and pregnancy has been routinely debated and
studied. Many experts say that marijuana shouldn’t be consumed by pregnant
women, though some advocates argue that its relative harms could be
outweighed in some cases by benefits in the treatment of major health
conditions.

In any case, advocates have pushed back against narratives that
legalization adds to the risk of marijuana use during pregnancy, contending
that creating regulatory models for cannabis is also a way to promote
education that could inform vulnerable populations about potential risks of
use.

This past October, two federally funded reports published by the American
Medical Association examined issues of cannabis and pregnancy. One study
found that cannabis use during early pregnancy was not associated with
child autism, while the other found no association with increased risk for
early childhood developmental delays.

Late last year, meanwhile, a report from a reproductive rights organization
found that pregnancy-related prosecutions were at an all-time high in the
wake of the 2022 Supreme Court decision that ended the nationwide right to
abortion. By far the most common criminal allegation facing pregnant people
was that they used marijuana or other drugs during their pregnancies.

In Oklahoma, local news in 2022 began reporting that prosecutors there were targeting
pregnant women for using medical marijuana, resulting in felony child
neglect charges being filed against 26 mothers. The crime can carry up to a
life prison in Oklahoma.

In 2023, NIDA Director Nora Volkow blasted the criminalization of drug use
by pregnant people and new parents, arguing that the resulting
stigmatization is harming families and contributing to the overdose crisis.

She said that families need “support, not criminalization.”

Then in July of last year, a state court ruled that people cannot be prosecuted
for child neglect for legally using medical marijuana while pregnant.

The post Americans View Using Marijuana As Less Risky During Pregnancy Than
Alcohol Or Cigarettes, Poll Finds appeared first on Marijuana Moment.