Children Are At A Higher Risk Of Getting Accidentally Poisoned By Edibles

A study found that children have a higher chance of getting accidentally poisoned by edibles.

CNN Health reports children to have a higher chance of being accidentally poisoned by edibles and other products made from marijuana. This all comes after a study was done that analyzed calls from poison control centers from January 2017 through December 2019.

The news outlet reports that the calls included a wide array of poison concerns related to marijuana, including weed concentrates, extracts, beverages, vape juice, and edibles. Many of the calls involved children under 10 years old, according to the study.

CNN Health reports that physicians, pediatricians, and emergency rooms are seeing more and more cases, mostly from states with legalized marijuana, said Dr. Brian Johnston, an executive committee member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury, Violence and Poisoning Prevention, who was not part of the study. Thirty-six percent of the calls were related to edible poisoning.

“Children are especially vulnerable to poisoning by cannabis in edible products. These products look like cookies, brownies, gummies, candy, or soda. Many are even intentionally packaged to resemble popular sweets,” said Johnston, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington.

Products made from weed often have “higher levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) than unprocessed cannabis plant materials,” the study found, which could result in greater short-term effects, such as “cognitive and psychomotor impairment,” CNN Health reports.

“Despite their ordinary appearance, a single cannabis cookie or candy bar can contain several times the recommended adult dose of THC. Anyone who eats one of these products — especially a child — can experience overdose effects such as intoxication, altered perception, anxiety, panic, paranoia, dizziness, weakness, slurred speech, poor coordination, or even breathing and heart problems,” Johnston said.