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The effects of maternal marijuana use on the newborn cry were studied in Jamaica, where it was possible to rule out confounding factors such as the use of other substances and demographic variables that have clouded previous studies and where higher dosages may make the effects more visible. The acoustic characteristics of the cries of 20 infants of marijuana users and 20 controls were analyzed. The cries of the infants of marijuana users were shorter, had a higher percentage of dysphonation, a higher and more variable fundamental frequency, and a lower first formant than controls. There was also a dose response relation between the first formant and marijuana use. We suggest that heavy marijuana use affects the neurophysiological integrity of the infant.

Using field-based observations and standardized measures of the home environment and child development, the authors followed 59 rural Jamaican women and their offspring from birth to age 5. The findings suggest that conjugal multiplicity, a female reproductive pattern characterized by multiple unions, maternal unmarried status, and absent father, does not necessarily result in poorer developmental outcomes for preschool-aged children. Rather, it is a strategic adaptation to the conditions of poverty that may, in fact, provide developmental advantages for poor children in rural Jamaica. Households in which there are six or more maternal siblings, however, appear to compromise child development regardless of multiple unions, conjugal status, or father's presence.When the Moynihan (1965) report was published, it set in motion a debate over the impact of family structure on child development that has lasted more than four decades. Moynihan argued that African American family structure-specifically absent fathers, single parenthood, and female-headed households-deprives children of the skills College

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SUMMARY. An ethnographic study of women and drug use in inner city neighborhoods in Kingston, Jamaica, revealed that cannabis is commonly used in conjunction with crack cocaine to minimize the undesirable effects of crack pipe smoking, specifically paranoia and weight loss. According to 33 current or former crack using women, who were followed for a period of nine months, cannabis cigarettes ("spliffs") constitute the cheapest, most effective and readily available therapy for discontinuing crack consumption. The findings of this research suggest the need to reframe "multiple drug use" within the cultural meanings that attend cannabis in Jamaica as a medicine and a sacrament.