New Study Shows That Thousands Of Children Are Unintentionally Eating Weed
Due to the increasingly widespread legalization of marijuana, one study found that thousands of children are accidentally eating weed in the form of edibles due to them having the appearance of candy.
In most states, you can’t turn a corner without running into a dispensary these days. But that is not always good news. A new study showed the shocking news that an increasing number of children are eating weed, with many ending up in critical care.
The legalization of marijuana is ramping up across the United States. Thirty-seven states have legalized medical marijuana. And residents of 21 states, and Washington D.C., enjoy legalized recreational privileges.
This movement began in Colorado, the first state to legalize recreational marijuana. That law passed in 2012, and other states rapidly followed suit. As a result, dispensaries have popped up rapidly to capitalize on the market.
One of the most popular products is something called edibles. Often edibles look like candy, including very attractive packaging and marketing. Unfortunately, the result is that children are eating weed without realizing it.
A new study examining this new and unfortunate trend got published in the Pediatrics journal on Tuesday. The lead author is an emergency room doctor in Illinois, Marit Tweet. She began researching the fact that children are eating weed in 2019 during a fellowship program at the Illinois Poison Control Center.
Tweet was curious how things were going in states that had legalized marijuana since the conversation was occurring in Illinois at the time. One Colorado study showed an increase in accidental consumption in children under 10. So, she dove into a nationwide study with some colleagues.
They examined data from the National Poison Data System. It is a central database that collects call information from all 55 regional call centers. And their findings are shocking.
According to NPR, “in 2017, there were just over 200 reported cases of accidental consumption of cannabis edibles by children under six.” But the study’s authors found that even more children are eating weed these days. In 2021, 3,054 children accidentally consumed marijuana, which is jawdropping news.
That is a 1,375% increase in just four years. However, unlike the Colorado study, this does not include children up to 10 years old. Tweet was primarily concerned with the data for children five and under.
She said, “This age group accounts for about 40% of all calls to poison centers nationally. They can get into things, and you can’t really rationalize with them” about dangers.” And for young children who are eating weed, it is poison.
The medical impact that pot has on young bodies is terrible. Of all the kids who accidentally ingested pot, 22.7% required hospitalization. And 8% of those children (573) had to get critical care.
According to an ER doctor, Andrew Monte, at a University of Colorado hospital, these instances are unfortunately not rare. Monte said they see multiple cases a month. He stressed, “There are some patients that actually have airway obstruction and need to be in the ICU or put on a ventilator.”
The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s director, Dr. Nora Volkow, is also concerned that children are eating weed. She said, “It’s not just the issue that there are more poisonings of children consuming cannabis, but those consumptions appear to be more serious.” And that is terrible news for little ones who think they’re just snagging a piece of candy.
