Accidental Cannabis Consumption by Children Surges: Study

A variety of soft chews cannabis edibles are displayed at the Ontario Cannabis Store in Toronto on Jan. 3, 2020. The Canadian Press/ Tijana Martin

Record numbers of young children in the United States are experiencing or running the risk of severe health emergencies through the unwitting ingestion of products containing cannabis, a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics has found.

The report, published in the journal Pediatrics, found a 1,375 percent increase in reported cases of children younger than the age of 6 accidentally eating cannabis-infused products over the five years from 2017 to 2021.

Drawing on figures from the National Poison Data System, the report states that the number of reported cases of cannabis exposure within this age group shot up to 3,054 in 2021 from 207 in 2017. Given that these are only cases that were reported, the real numbers may be significantly higher.

What separates this crisis from others involving potentially dangerous drugs is the attractive nature of the substances containing cannabis—including candies, chocolates, cookies, or other baked goods commonly kept in kitchens and elsewhere in homes—which makes for a very high number of ingestions.

“Seventy percent of cases followed to a known outcome were reported to have central nervous system depression. Of all reported cases, 22.7% of patients were admitted to the hospital,” the report reads, noting a sharp increase in both intensive care and non-ICU cases.

All Too Available

The report places these trends within a context of growing permissiveness toward and legalization of the use of marijuana for so-called recreational purposes. Acceptance and promotion of the drug have grown increasingly mainstream, with 18 states allowing recreational use and 39 permitting medical use as of 2021; in 2017, only eight states and Washington, D.C., condoned recreational use, while 30 allowed medical use.

Because the number of people in the United States with access to legal “recreational” cannabis now stands at 134.4 million, up from 68.9 million in 2017, the authors conclude that it’s hardly surprising that there’s been a growing number of cases.

While adults may have some notion of their tolerance level for cannabis and what they may ingest without endangering themselves, such awareness is virtually nonexistent among children, the authors argue.

“Edible preparations are particularly appealing to toddlers because they resemble common treats such as candies, chocolates, cookies, or other baked goods. These products often contain multiple doses in 1 package or treat,” the authors wrote.

Officials at the Drug Enforcement Agency didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.