Children are at increased risk of accidental poisoning from edibles and other products made from marijuana, according to a new study analyzing calls to poison control centers from January 2017 through December 2019.
Calls about poisoning as a result of consuming products such as weed concentrates, extracts, beverages, vape juice and edibles more often involved children under 10 years old, the study found, compared to calls about dried or pre-rolled cannabis plant poisonings.
The largest proportion of those calls involved edibles (36.6%), the study found.
It’s a trend that pediatricians and emergency room doctors have seen over the years as more and more states legalize marijuana, said Dr. Brian Johnston, an executive committee member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Injury, Violence and Poisoning Prevention, who was not part of the study.
“Children are especially vulnerable to poisoning by cannabis in edible products. These products look like cookies, brownies, gummies, candy or soda. Many are even intentionally packaged to resemble popular sweets,” said Johnston, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington.
