More Children Getting Sick From Accidental Consumption Of Cannabis Edibles, 1,375% Increase In Five Years

A growing number of children are accidentally consuming marijuana-infused foods, a new study showed.

Between 2017 and 2021, the number of incidents in which children under the age of six accidentally ate edible cannabis products rose 1,375%, according to an analysis of records from the National Poison Data System, reported CNN.

In 2021 there were 3,054 reported cases, compared to 207 in 2017. The results showed that of over 7000 confirmed cases, nearly a quarter of the children ended up in the hospital.

Published in the journal Pediatrics on Tuesday, the study showed that children’s accidental exposures to marijuana accounted for over 40% of all poison exposure calls to poison control centers throughout the U.S. The results build on recent findings published in the journal Clinical Toxicology, which revealed a 245% rise in pediatric abuse and misuse of cannabis from 2000 to 2020.

Dr. Antonia Nemanich, a study co-author who works in emergency medicine and medical toxicology at Rush Emergency Medicine in Chicago, said they were aware of the rising trend. Still, the study’s results surprised her.

"I work in the [emergency department] as well as taking calls for the poison center, and so even though I was seeing more cases coming through the ER, when we looked at the data nationwide, we were definitely surprised,” said Nemanich.

She attributed the increase to several factors, including the coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide legalization wave, which resulted in more available marijuana products, to name a few.

“I think all of that plays into this, and the regulations haven’t kept pace with the increased prevalence of the product,” Nemanich continued.

Meanwhile, the culprits are often edibles like gummy bears, brownies, cookies, and other sweets that look like candy or regular food.

Dr. Marit Tweet, a medical toxicologist with the Southern Illinois School of Medicine who led the study called for more caution, saying that parents need to think about edibles as a medication, reported Associated Press.

“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,” Tweet said. “But people should really be thinking of it as a medication.”

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Elsa Olofsson and Piron Guillaume on Unsplash