Increase in the Number of Kids Exposed to Medical Marijuana: Study

Ever since the modification of law for medical marijuana was introduced, declaring it lawful, there has been a significant increase in the number of young kids treated for accidentally consuming marijuana-laced cookies, candies, beverages and brownies, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

According to George Wang, MD, lead author of the study and clinical instructor in pediatrics at Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, with the onset of modification of drug laws in Colorado, doctors have witnessed a significant rise in the children unintentionally consuming marijuana.  It is highly necessary to educate marijuana users, community and other medical professionals regarding the potential dangers tied to the use of the drug.

To proceed with the study, researchers compared the number of young kids that were treated at the Children's Hospital Colorado emergency department for accidentally consuming marijuana before and after the medication of Colorado's drug laws, that was initiated in 2009.

A total of 1,378 patients below the age of 12 were examined for unintentional ingestion of marijuana. Before Sept. 30, 2009, researchers examined 790 kids and after Oct. 1, 2009, they examined 588 kids. Before Sept. 30, the number of kids treated for marijuana exposure was nil.  Whereas in the cases examined after Oct. 1, there were 14 cases, out of which eight of those came directly from consuming marijuana food products.

According to Wang, a fellow at the Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Center, marijuana available these days can be very strong and it is very likely that these products contain higher concentrations of THC, which is an active ingredient in the drug. For example, a candy bar that is infused with marijuana may contain 300 milligrams of THC.

Those kids who had ingested the drug showed symptoms such as extreme sleepiness, difficulty in walking, extreme lethargy and respiratory problems. Most of these kids underwent a series of expensive tests in order to diagnose their problems because they were not aware of being exposed to marijuana, nor were the medical professionals familiar with the symptoms caused by marijuana intake.

"We know that children will act quickly to ingest even unpalatable items like household cleaners, pills and capsules. The allure of these marijuana edibles which taste and look like simple sweets makes them especially risky. So far, no other state has developed similar packaging laws, including Washington which legalized recreational marijuana last year. I believe the experience here in Colorado and the appropriate response by the Colorado Legislature will serve as an example to the rest of the country," Michael Kosnett, MD, MPH, a medical toxicologist and associate clinical professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said in a press statement.