An increasing number of parents are calling Arizona poison control centers in a panic because their children are mistaking edible marijuana for candy. According to specialists, hospitalization was necessary for 394 out of 394 pediatric cannabis instances last year. According to Bryan Kuhn, a toxicologist, and pharmacist at Banner Health Poison Center in Phoenix.
Children who consume cannabis may have moderate symptoms including drowsiness, difficulty walking, or acting “inappropriately.” It may, however, be worse. Occasionally, “they’re so sleepy that they can’t be awakened or… their breathing rhythm is slower than normal or in the rarest and catastrophic case.
They can experience convulsions,” Kuhn said. According to Maureen Roland, R.N. managing director at Banner Health, about 400 pediatric cannabis-related illnesses have been reported to poison control centers in Phoenix and Tucson. According to Roland, “a substantial percentage do wind up in the emergency room, and a minor amount does end up” in critical care.
There have been occasions where we’ve really had to intubate kids, insert the breathing tube down their throats, and keep them in the ICU overnight. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that, like other states, since recreational marijuana use became legal in Arizona in 2020, the number of accidental poisonings has increased.
According to a CDC analysis, accidental marijuana poisoning in kids has increased since some states have legalized marijuana usage. These incidents occasionally necessitate hospitalization or trips to the ER. It is against the law to sell delicacies in Arizona that can tempt children, and the packaging is made to be challenging for them to open.
Yet, much as with other widely available, potentially hazardous home items, parental education is a crucial component of prevention. This includes keeping cannabis out of children’s reach and being aware of problematic marketing that ends up focusing on them. “If you do have these goods in your home, you need to handle them as a drug and a medication,” Roland said.
Illegal To Appeal to Children Across The U.S
According to Ann Torrez, executive director of the Arizona Dispensaries Association, it is against the law for edibles to resemble things like kid-friendly candy or snacks. The compound that gives marijuana its “high,” THC, is present in cannabis. Gummy bears and gummy worms are completely absent from the adult-use market in Arizona, according to Torrez.
“If you see that kind of stuff, you know it comes from a product that is unlawful or unregulated.” Arizona law also mandates that edible marijuana be packaged in a way that is child-resistant by manufacturers and dispensaries. According to The Network for Public Health Law, Arizona and 17 other states with legalized recreational marijuana have established legislation requiring child-resistant packaging.
State standards differ, and there are no federal requirements. Only three states require simple packaging, but three additional states demand packaging that can be used to detect tampering. For the purpose of reducing the attractiveness to youngsters, thirteen states prohibit images or text on the packaging. Arizona, however, does not mandate tamper-evident packaging, clear or opaque packaging, or package designs that forbid words or imagery that might appeal to minors.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement in June that it is collaborating with federal and state officials to address concerns about dangerous items that appeal to youngsters. According to the statement, “The FDA is aware of allegations of imitation products packaged to look like… Froot Loops, Fruity Pebbles, Nerds Ropes, Starbursts, Sour Patch Kids, and Trix, among others.”
In a press release from June, the then-Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich said, “This should be concerning for all of us because what this packaging is plainly designed to accomplish is to fool people.” “Our children see this and say, ‘This looks like the breakfast cereal I eat,’ and they eat something that might be very detrimental to them.”
Educating Parents on Safe Habits
According to Roland, toddlers are most prone to succumb to temptation in cases of food poisoning. “Typically, it’s children under 2 since they are really inquisitive. Almost everything they eat goes into their mouths, said Roland. Hence, we want to make sure that you’re keeping them out of the child’s reach, in a lock box, and not anyplace else since if they’re left around, they’ll undoubtedly get into them.
Working with the Arizona Dispensaries Association on a campaign to inform parents about responsible cannabis usage and what to do if their child ingests cannabis, Arizona’s two poison control centers are in Phoenix and Tucson. Customers of the dispensary are required to scan a QR code that is put on windows as part of the campaign in order to access a list of accredited dispensaries and other information on the association’s website.
Three of Arizona’s four legally operating dispensaries are represented by the association, according to Torrez. It is urged that parents keep foodstuffs out of the reach of their children, much like they would with cleaning supplies or guns. “Kids are going to either copy conduct that they see a parent or family member do, but they’re also going to put objects in the mouth that they have access to,” Kuhn said.
The poison control center, according to Kuhn, is intended to assist people in a tense situation rather than to condemn or shame parents. Every phone call, whether it’s from a parent, a caller phoning on their own behalf, or someone else, is an opportunity for education and information, but ultimately, Kuhn said, it’s about the prevention strategies we advise.
A National Study Marks the Increase
Between 2017 and 2021, the National Poison Data System was used by the journal Pediatrics to examine edible marijuana exposures in children under the age of six. According to the study, which was directed by Dr. Marit Tweet, a medical toxicologist at the Southern Illinois School of Medicine.
More than 7,000 children were exposed over the course of five years, with more than 3,000 of those cases in 2021. According to the report, it offers a crucial chance for education and prevention. Seldom have parents been charged.
Following the May death of her 4-year-old son, a Virginia grand jury indicted Dorothy Annette Clements on charges of murder and felony child neglect in October. In a statement, authorities claimed that she did not seek assistance quickly enough after “the toddler swallowed a substantial number of THC gummies.”
