Officials in Connecticut want to protect our youngest children from unintentionally eating edible marijuana products like candies now that it is legal to use marijuana recreationally. On January 17, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, and the Connecticut Poison Control Center, all of UConn Health, made a point of stressing how crucial it is for parents to strictly adhere to child safety precautions when using marijuana recreationally.
The threats to our pediatric population of young children under six, especially toddlers, are of particular concern to health specialists. One in five kids who mistakenly ingest edibles is hospitalized, according to recent research conducted nationwide. This astounding figure illustrates the potential seriousness of this child safety concern. an entirely avoidable problem.
At the Tuesday press conference, Dr. Bruce T. Liang, interim CEO of UConn Health, said, “We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to protect our children. “The Connecticut Poison Control Center has located at UConn Health and services the whole state around the clock. It is a component of the public service purpose that UConn Health carries out.
We anticipate a significant increase in calls to our Connecticut Poison Control Center as a result of recreational marijuana legalization. To stop calls and make sure our youngest family members are safe, we must take all necessary measures. The Connecticut Poison Control Center might receive more than 1,300 percent more calls—or ten times as many—about accidentally ingesting marijuana edibles if Connecticut follows the data trends of other states after legalizing recreational marijuana.
Sen. Blumenthal admonished all parents, “Beware.” He stated of the personnel at the UConn Health Connecticut Poison Control Center, “They receive calls a day in and day out.” Put these marijuana-related things out of the way, Blumenthal said. Parental watchfulness cannot be replaced. Cannabis is potentially dangerous if it is within reach. “Avoid sharing your recreational cannabis with children.
The Attorney General of Connecticut, Tong, added, “These hazards are genuine. “We are appreciative that UConn Health hosts and runs our state’s poison control center around the clock. You excel at it. At UConn Health’s Connecticut Poison Control Center, Dr. Suzanne Doyon practices emergency medicine and serves as the center’s medical director. “My main point is that marijuana overdoses are avoidable.
Keep it away from small hands to prevent them, advises Doyon. Longtime pediatrician at the UConn School of Medicine, Dr. Jody Terranova, wholeheartedly concurs. “On behalf of the state’s pediatricians, we are pleased that the Connecticut Poison Control Center is located right here at UConn. It takes all of us working together to keep kids safe, says Terranova, who will shortly leave UConn Health to take a position as deputy commissioner for the Department of Public Health for the State of Connecticut.
She is also in charge of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Connecticut Chapter. With legalization, Terranova says, “we are calling on everyone to ensure that children are not affected by these goods.” Keep them away from prying eyes and hands.
Doyon and Terranova urge parents to call the Connecticut Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1212 as soon as they suspect their child has ingested something poisonous so that their child can obtain the necessary medical care. Doyon advises parents to be mindful of the following potential warning flags if their young children consume marijuana edibles:
- Sleepiness and lethargy
- Progressive decline in responsiveness
- Unresponsiveness
- Nausea and vomiting
Call the Connecticut Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1212 as soon as you notice that your child has consumed a marijuana edible. Doyon advises, “Let the professionals at the Connecticut Poison Control Center lead you.” It should be noted that parents may not immediately notice that their young child has consumed edibles.
In Emergency Rooms, tests and parental inquiries frequently reveal that youngsters in need of medical attention have taken marijuana. Prior to recreational marijuana becoming legal, the Connecticut Poison Control Center at UConn Health received reports of around 5 children a month (or 60 a year) consuming edible marijuana gummies and about 1 child per month (or 60 a year) ingesting marijuana in baked goods.
For instance, the Connecticut Poison Control Center has recorded approximately 200 incidents of edible marijuana ingestion in minors under the age of 19 since the year 2020. Most of them were taken to the emergency room, and only around one-third of them were eventually admitted.
The specialists at the Connecticut Poison Control Center advise that edibles supplied in Connecticut should be properly and legally individually wrapped, offered in containers that are child-resistant, similar to those used for other drugs, and kept out of the reach of children. They emphasize the need for these fundamental protections for our kids’ safety.
