Scripted for Her: Cannabis Use Among Women

In episode 15 of the Scripted for Her podcast, Natalie DiPietro Mager, PharmD, PhD, talks with Mark Garofoli, PharmD, MBA, BCGP, CPE, CTTS, clinical assistant professor and director of experiential learning at West Virginia University School of Pharmacy, about the growing prevalence of cannabis use among women and what it means for pharmacy practice across the life course.

“It’s all about the dosage, baby,” said Garofoli. “That comes into play, quite frankly, across the whole life spectrum.”

As more states legalize recreational marijuana, now 24 states plus Washington, D.C., cannabis use among women continues to climb, with an estimated 44 million Americans using cannabis each month in 2024. Yet, cannabis remains a complex drug with significant potential health risks and drug interactions, and its impact on women shifts considerably across 3 key life stages: adolescence, the reproductive years, and older adulthood.

Mager and Garofoli walk through each stage in turn. For adolescent girls and young women, the concern centers on a still-developing brain, which on average does not fully mature until around age 25, along with today’s far more potent products and their implications for mental health. For women in their reproductive years, the conversation turns to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ fall 2025 recommendation for universal cannabis screening throughout preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum care, linking prenatal use to preterm birth, low birth weight, and neurocognitive effects. For older women, Garofoli highlights the intersection of cannabis with fall risk, osteoporosis, and polypharmacy, noting a dramatic rise in cannabis-related emergency department visits among adults 65 and older.

Throughout the episode, Garofoli returns to a common thread: Pharmacists are well positioned to ask about cannabis use, but only if they do so without judgment and within a trusted relationship. He also cautions that many CBD products still carry labeling inaccuracies and may contain undisclosed THC, underscoring the importance of pharmacists knowing what is actually on their shelves before recommending it to patients.

Explore some of the resources mentioned in today’s episode:

• ACOG Clinical Guidance on Cannabis Use During Pregnancy and Lactation
• Pain Guy Official Website
• Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Primer

Scripted for Her, a podcast from Drug Topics hosted by Natalie DiPietro Mager, PharmD, PhD, MPH, professor of pharmacy practice at Ohio Northern University, aims to help pharmacists provide comprehensive care and continuity of care within the women’s health space. All episodes of Scripted for Her are available in video format via DrugTopics.com on the third Wednesday of each month. Check out our most recent episode, Scripted for Her: Pharmacists’ Guide to Inclusive LGBTQ+ Patient Care.