Children and Cannabis Edibles: What Happens When a Child Eats a Cannabis Product?
Many hemp edibles are sold in the form of sweet or salty treats that look like regular candies, chips, or cookies. Such products are naturally attractive to children. However, if a child accidentally consumes a hemp edible, serious and sometimes life-threatening side effects can occur. Therefore, it is important to know what to do if a child accidentally eats a hemp edible.
What are hemp edibles?
Hemp edibles are food products made from hemp that contain one or more active substances found in hemp. Hemp products often look like regular sweets. The most common hemp edibles are:
- gummy candies,
- chocolate bars,
- cookies,
- chips,
- juices,
- lollipops.
With cannabis legalization, interest in these treats is growing. It has even been found that hemp edibles containing only CBD help in treating conditions such as anxiety and chronic pain.
How frequent are cases of children accidentally consuming THC products?
With the increasing number of cannabis users for recreational and medicinal purposes, the number of parents storing hemp foods at home that resemble appealing sweets is also increasing. As a result, the number of children who unintentionally consume hemp products is rising.
In 2020, the American Association of Poison Control Centers recorded more than 3,000 cases of children's exposure to hemp products. Most of these cases involved children aged 5 and under.
One study examined phone calls to poison control centers between 2017 and 2021 regarding children's hemp consumption. It was found that between 2017 and 2021, 7,043 cases of hemp product consumption by children under 6 were reported to the National Poison Data System.
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