The number of children accidentally ingesting cannabis products has skyrocketed in recent years in the United States, as recreational cannabis use has been legalized in an increasing number of states.
In 2017, more than 200 cases of children under the age of five who consumed a cannabis product were reported, while this number reached 3050 cases in 2021, which represents an increase of more than 1300 percent, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, reports a local Arabic daily.
Cannabis products often come in the form of candy, chocolate or sweets that children love.
The study, whose authors relied on a national database, called for more vigilance on the part of parents, and stricter rules related to the packaging of these products.
Although no cannabis-related deaths were recorded during the five years of the study (7,000 in total), cannabis use can be very dangerous for young children, since the high doses of cannabis in the product are disproportionate to their small weight.
The average age of the children involved was 3 years. About a quarter of the children needed to be taken to hospital, while 8 percent of them needed intensive care.
Among the children’s symptoms were central nervous system depression (including coma), tachycardia (unusually fast heartbeat), and vomiting. The children were treated by giving them fluids intravenously.
The study noted that the increase in the number of such intoxication cases is considered to be related to the increasing number of states allowing adults to use cannabis for recreational purposes. While only eight states legalized cannabis in 2017, that number rose to 18 states at the end of May 2022.
The “Covid-19 pandemic” played a role in recording an increase in the number of children who mistakenly consumed cannabis products, as these increased their stay indoors and, accordingly, the possibility of their exposure to these products increased.
The study indicated that more than 90 percent of cannabis use cases took place in the homes of the children concerned.
The authors of the study recommended keeping these products in a place that children do not know, in closed cabinets, and outside the kitchen, away from other foods.
They called for the sale of these products in opaque packages that are difficult for children to open, and contain a warning message and the number of the National Center for Poison Control.
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