Pediatric visits to the ED from cannabis exposure nine times higher after legalization

The number of emergency department (ED) visits in children due to cannabis exposure is nine times higher than before products were legalized and brought to market. A study by researchers from Ontario’s ICES analyzed data from all ED visits and related hospitalizations due to cannabis exposures among 2.35 million children up to nine-years-old in the province between Jan. 1, 2016, and March 31, 2021. Results were published in JAMA Network Open. Canada took a two-phased approach to legalizing cannabis products for recreational use. At first, cannabis flower, seeds and oils were allowed, with a wider variety of products including edibles coming to market a year later. The study aimed to determine whether there were any changes in pediatric ED visits during these phases. Read: 3 years after legalization, we have shockingly little information about how it changed cannabis use and health harms The data used were divided into three parts: pre-legalization of recreational cannabis in Ontario (January 2016 to September 2018); the period after the legalization of flower products, (October 2018 to January 2020); and the period after commercial edibles became available (February 2020 to March 2021) During the overall study period, there were 522 ED visits due to cannabis exposures among children, with a mean age of 3.8 years, with 281 (53.8%) being among boys. A total of 81 ED visits occurred before legalization, 124 during the first phase of legalization and 317 after edibles and other products were legalized. “The proportion of cannabis-related ED visits with hospitalization increased significantly after the introduction of edibles,” the study said. Before legalization, there were 20 visits with hospitalization, 29 during the first phase of legalization and 122 visits (38.5%) after edibles were legalized. Also, there was a total of 19 (3.6%) cases who were admitted to an intensive care unit. There were no deaths. The rates of pediatric visits to the ED were seven-fold higher than those reported in a Colorado study after recreational cannabis legalization there. And yet, the “Increases in (Ontario) ED visit frequency and severity occurred despite strict regulations that largely exceed US regulations,” the study said. The number of legal cannabis stores is expected to increase three-fold in Ontario. Read: Can I travel with my medical cannabis anywhere? The data did not show the source and type of cannabis ingested, and some exposures may have come from illicit sources. “Further regulatory measures, such as limiting formulations and appearance of commercial edibles, combined with education for parents and caregivers, may be required to decrease pediatric cannabis exposures,” they study concluded.

Pediatric visits to the ED from cannabis exposure nine times higher after legalization

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