Children Who OD on Cannabis Edibles Jumps 1,375%

A new analysis of records from the National Poison Data System published in Pediatrics this week published by Tweet, Nemanich, and Wahl found that the number of accidental edible cannabis exposures among children under the age of 6 reported to poison centers in the U.S. increased from 207 in 2017 to 3,054 in 2021 (1,375%) with a consistent increase over time. In 2020, these accidental exposures accounted for 41.6% of all exposure calls to the poison centers. A total of 7,043 exposures occurring 2017-2021 were assessed.

Nearly all exposures occurred in a residential setting (97.1%). Two- and three-year-olds accounted for approximately half of the cases. Half were male. The authors report a decrease in the number of patients treated and released. Approximately one quarter (22.7%) were admitted, and there significant increases in both ICU and non-ICU admissions from the pre-COVID years (2017-2019) to the COVID years (2020-2021).

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