A new U.S. study finds that reports of young children accidentally eating marijuana-laced treats rose sharply as pot became legal in more places.
The number of young children, especially toddlers, who accidentally ate marijuana-laced treats rose sharply over five years as pot became legal in more places in the U.S., according to a study published this week.
More than 7,000 confirmed cases of kids younger than six years old eating marijuana edibles were reported to the nation’s poison control centers from 2017 to 2021, climbing from about 200 to more than 3,000 per year. Nearly a quarter of the children wound up hospitalized, some seriously ill, according to a new analysis in the journal Pediatrics. And those are just the reported cases, said Dr. Marit Tweet, a medical toxicologist with the Southern Illinois School of Medicine who led the study. Cases of kids eating pot products such as candies, chocolate and cookies have coincided with more states allowing medical and recreational cannabis use. Currently 37 U.S. states permit use of marijuana for medical purposes and 21 states regulate adult recreational use. Tweet called for greater vigilance by parents and for more laws like those adopted by several states to make pot products — often packaged to look like kids’ candies and snacks — less appealing and accessible to children. “When it’s in a candy form or cookies, people don’t think of it in the same way as household chemicals or other things a child could get into,” she said. “But people should really be thinking of it as a medication.” Tweet and her colleagues analyzed reports to the National Poison Data System, which includes the nation’s 55 regional poison control centers. More than half of the children were toddlers, ages 2 and 3, the study showed. More than 90% got the edibles at home.Of the 7,000-plus reports, researchers were able to track the outcomes of nearly 5,000 cases. They found that nearly 600 kids, or about 8%, were admitted to critical-care units, most often with depressed breathing. Nearly 15% were admitted to non-critical care units and more than a third were seen in emergency rooms. Drowsiness, breathing problems, fast heart rates and vomiting were the most common symptoms.
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As legal pot grows, more kids sickened by edibles at homeA new U.S. study finds that reports of young children accidentally eating marijuana-laced treats rose sharply as pot became legal in more places
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As legal pot grows, more kids sickened by edibles at homeThe number of young kids, especially toddlers, who accidentally ate marijuana-laced treats rose sharply over five years as pot became legal in more places in the U.S., according to a study published Tuesday.
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As legal marijuana grows, more kids sickened by edibles at homeThe number of young kids, especially toddlers, who accidentally ate marijuana-laced treats rose sharply over five years as pot became legal in more places in the U.S., according to a study published Tuesday.
Read more »
As legal pot grows, more kids sickened by edibles at homeThe number of young kids, especially toddlers, who accidentally ate marijuana-laced treats rose sharply over five years as pot became legal in more places in the U.S., according to a study published Tuesday.
Read more »
As legal pot grows, more kids sickened by edibles at homeA new U.S. study finds that reports of young children accidentally eating marijuana-laced treats rose sharply as pot became legal in more places. More than 7,000 confirmed cases of kids younger tha…
Read more »
As legal pot grows, more kids accidentally sickened by edibles at homeNearly a quarter of the children sickened wound up hospitalized, some seriously ill, according to a new analysis in the journal Pediatrics.
Read more »