As recreational marijuana has become legal in more places over the years, the idea of toddlers getting into stashes of marijuana edibles has become a greater concern for families and medical experts.
“Specifically with children, what we’ve seen is a significant increase in the number of exposures every year over the last five years or so,” said James Leonard, director of clinical services at the Maryland Poison Center.
The center is located at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and is an emergency hotline for people with questions about poisoning treatment advice. It is staffed by pharmacists and nurses who are certified as specialists in poison information.
“Two-year-olds who are exploring see something that looks like candy, so they open it up and eat it,” Leonard said.
According to a new study published this week in the journal “Pediatrics,” a tiny amount of one single edible can be enough to send a young child to the hospital.
For example, a 3-year-old who weighs roughly 30 pounds would only need to eat 2.5 milligrams of an edible to exceed the toxicity threshold. Many edibles come in the form of 10 or more milligrams.
“We have been referring children, especially toddlers, to the hospital for essentially all of these cases,” Leonard said.
In 2020, the Maryland Poison Center started tracking emergency calls regarding children eating marijuana edibles.
According to Leonard, the center recorded 50 calls in 2020, 80 calls in 2021 and 150 calls in 2022. The center has had 130 calls this year so far.
“We have our poison specialists who are either pharmacists or nurses who will talk somebody through what needs to be done and whether their child needs to be seen in a healthcare facility,” Leonard said. “The poison specialists will go ahead and assess every situation individually.”
Adults are encouraged to put edibles in a child-resistant package in a place that cannot be reached by young kids.
Leonard said the biggest concern with kids and toddlers eating edibles is that they may get so tired and lethargic that they stop “breathing adequately.”
“A lot of those things can be monitored and evaluated once you get to the emergency department,” said Leonard. “If a child is brought in, it’s really important to tell the truth as to what happened and just be very upfront with it.”
