The Ontario-based researchers also found that three such provinces – Alberta, B.C. and Ontario—had twice the increase in hospitalizations in children than Quebec, which banned edibles at the time of the study. “Unlike adults, where they would usually get high, maybe even a little drowsy, when young children ingest edibles, they can get very, very sick. We’ve seen children with seizures, children who stopped breathing,” said Dr. Yaron Finkelstein . senior study author and staff physician at SickKids Hospital in Toronto. “Their symptoms, especially in young children, can be more severe and can be life-threatening.” Federal law requires cannabis-infused edibles — including candy, chocolate or baked goods — to be sold in plain packaging so they’re not appealing to children and with no more than 10 milligrams of the psychoactive compound THC. But even those precautions “are not enough,” Finkelstein said. “These children are still at risk.” That’s why Finkelstein and other pediatricians say parents and guardians should store edibles away from children. Children are affected differently by such products and can get very sick, pediatricians say. How much was eaten, the type of food, the age and size of the child are all factors. “They’re made to be tasty, and it can be very tempting for a youngster to try one of these things thinking it’s a delicious cookie or brownie or gum or other edibles,” said Dr. Dina Kulick, a Toronto pediatrician. who did not participate in the study.
What the study shows
As part of the research, Finkelstein and his colleagues wanted to see how having more cannabis products on the market after legalization affected the number of children hospitalized for poisoning. They compared data from provincial hospitals over three time periods:
Before the legalization of cannabis in Canada (January 2015 to September 2018). After cannabis first became legal (October 2018 to December 2019). After the legalization of edible products (January 2020 to September 2021).
In the first period, they found that 581 children between the ages of one and nine had been hospitalized for cannabis poisoning.
There were an average of two such hospitalizations per month in Alberta, BC and Ontario, according to data provided to CBC News.
Federal law requires that cannabis-infused edibles be sold in plain packaging so that they are not appealing to children. (David Bajer/CBC)
According to the data, the number rose to an average of 5.2 per month after cannabis was legalized.
After edibles were legalized in those provinces, it rose again to 14.9.
In Quebec, the increase was smaller. This province averaged about 0.7 monthly hospital visits due to cannabis poisoning before legalization. But that tripled after edibles were legalized, to about 2.1.
The researchers did not say whether any children died during the study period.
“It’s concerning that legalization has led to more children having accidental ingestions and toxicity from marijuana products,” Kulik said, adding that she has seen an increase in cases in her practice.
Deborah Friedman, director of trauma at Montreal Children’s and McGill University Health Center and associate professor of pediatrics at McGill, said the study reflects what she and her colleagues see in their emergency departments.
“Certainly the cases we’ve seen have been a result of gum, chocolate and cookies, but certainly the numbers haven’t gone up like apparently in Alberta, Ontario and B.C.,” he said, adding that it’s still early in legalization and more monitoring is needed trend.
Finkelstein says some parents and guardians don’t know their child has swallowed an edible, which makes diagnosis difficult at times. Other times, parents choose not to disclose it to doctors.
“When that happens … we have an unconscious child that we don’t know the reason for and we start doing a lot of investigation,” he said.
“Some of these kids are going through much more painful testing … until we determine the reason, especially if they’re not telling us about the cannabis exposure.”
Friedman says guardians should watch for common symptoms such as vomiting, drowsiness, increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, anxiety and agitation. He says parents should take their children to the nearest hospital if cannabis poisoning is suspected.
Finkelstein says more needs to be done to stop kids from consuming edibles.
He, Kulik and Friedman agree that if parents bring edibles home, they should be kept safely away from children.
“We want to make sure that these products are far, far away from prying eyes and prying hands and locked away like other drugs should be,” Kulik said.
