new study shows the relaxation of marijuana laws in Colorado has caused
a significant spike in the number of young children treated for
accidentally eating marijuana-laced cookies, candies, brownies and
beverages.
"We have seen an increase in unintentional ingestions of
marijuana by children since the modification of drugs laws in Colorado,"
said 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. "We need to educate marijuana users, the
community and medical professionals about the potential dangers."
The study, published Monday in the JAMA Pediatrics, compared
the number of young children treated at the Children's Hospital
Colorado emergency department for ingesting marijuana before and after
the modification of Colorado's drug laws beginning in 2009.
A total of 1,378 patients under age 12 were evaluated for
unintentional ingestions -- 790 before Sept. 30, 2009 and 588 after Oct.
1, 2009. The number of children treated for exposure to marijuana
before Sept. 30 was zero. The number from Oct. 1 on was 14 with eight of
those coming directly from consuming marijuana food products.
Wang, a fellow at the Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Center, said
today's marijuana can be much stronger, and these products can contain
higher concentrations of THC, the active ingredient in the drug. Some
marijuana infused candy bars, for example, contain 300 milligrams of
THC. Children who ingested the drug exhibited symptoms that included
respiratory problems, extreme sleepiness, difficulty in walking and
lethargy. Many underwent a battery of expensive tests to diagnose their
problem because the history of exposure was not given, or medical
professionals were not familiar with marijuana causing these symptoms.
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