According to a scientific study released Tuesday, the number of American children who accidentally ingest cannabis edibles has risen nearly 15-fold in recent years as more states legalized recreational marijuana use.
In 2017, just over 200 children five years old and younger consumed a cannabis-infused food product, according to a tally kept by health officials, compared to over 3,050 cases in 2021, according to the study in the medical journal paediatrics.
Edibles, often sold in the form of candy, chocolate, or cookies, look appealing to children but can cause serious harm due to the patients’ light weight.
While no deaths were reported in about 7,000 cases of such ingestion by children during the study’s five-year period, about 8 percent of the children required intensive care units, while almost 15 percent were hospitalized.
The average age of the affected children was three years.
Children’s symptoms included depression of the central nervous system, including coma, tachycardia and vomiting. The patients were treated with intravenous fluids.
When the study began in 2017, recreational marijuana was legal in only 8 states plus Washington, compared to 18 states at the end of May 2022.
“These increases are believed to be related to more states allowing adult recreational use of cannabis,” wrote the authors of the study.
With over 90 percent of ingestion occurring at home, the researchers called for educating caregivers on the need to store cannabis products in sealed containers in a location unfamiliar to children.
“Cannabis products should not only be packaged in child-resistant packaging, but also in opaque packaging with plain labels,” the authors wrote. “In addition, the product should have clear warning labels on the product warning against excessive use.”
Some US states, including California, have already implemented such measures, but there are no statewide laws on cannabis product packaging.
