“Edible marijuana products can look just like regular candies and snacks, making them incredibly dangerous for children,” said Abbey Pettiford, injury prevention outreach supervisor at Dayton Children’s. “Just one marijuana cookie or candy bar can contain several times the recommended adult dose of THC, leading to serious overdose effects in children.”
In 2019, Ohio legalized licensed sales of medical marijuana, and in November 2023, voters approved recreational marijuana, which took effect on Aug. 6.
Dayton Children’s Hospital is already seeing the effects from recreational marijuana, including:
- Between Aug. 6 and Oct. 21, there were 13 unintentional cannabis-related ingestions seen in the emergency department.
- To date, in 2024, the hospital has seen 66 unintentional ingestions of cannabis products. In 2023, Dayton Children’s had a total of 47 unintentional ingestions.
Prior to the legalization of recreational marijuana use, Dayton Children’s and the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association advocated against it. Dayton Children’s was “deeply concerned about the risk to young children ingesting, breathing or being exposed to marijuana, should it become legal and more widely available,” the hospital said.
There has been an increase in overall unintentional ingestions coming into Dayton Children’s emergency departments, the hospital said. Unintentional ingestions can include anything from magnets, button batteries, prescription drugs and so on.
In 2019, Dayton Children’s had 279 unintentional ingestions, and in 2023, it had 402 unintentional ingestions, which represented a 44% increase.
In 2020, Dayton Children’s had 253 unintentional ingestions, and so far in 2024, it has had 570, which is a 125% increase
These figures include the cannabis numbers. If the incidences with cannabis are removed from those figures, then it becomes an overall increase of 104% from 2020-2024 and a 30% increase from 2019-2023, according to Dayton Children’s.
Other children’s hospitals in Ohio are seeing similar increases. The majority of calls to poison centers regarding children ingesting marijuana products have come from edible forms, Cincinnati Children’s said.
The total number of incidents reported Ohio Poison Centers where children under 18 years old were exposed to some form of marijuana was 196 in 2018, which increased to 769 so far in 2024.
The majority of those cases were with edible kinds of marijuana, which included 146 incidents in 2018 up to 698 so far in 2024, according to data from Ohio Poison Centers.
| Age range | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 through Sept. 30 | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child (0-5 yrs) | 47 | 79 | 181 | 243 | 332 | 410 | 445 | 1737 |
| Child (6-12 yrs) | 12 | 20 | 53 | 73 | 104 | 117 | 144 | 523 |
| Teen (13-19 yrs) | 137 | 118 | 146 | 172 | 203 | 246 | 180 | 1202 |
| Total | 196 | 217 | 380 | 488 | 639 | 773 | 769 | 3462 |
All regional poison centers in the U.S. are accessed by calling 1 (800) 222-1222. When you call the number, you will reach one of the two Ohio Poison centers, located in Columbus or Cincinnati, according to Nationwide Children’s.
| Age range | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 through Sept. 30 | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child (0-5 yrs) | 40 | 65 | 174 | 230 | 306 | 373 | 406 | 1594 |
| Child (6-12 yrs) | 9 | 18 | 48 | 64 | 95 | 114 | 137 | 485 |
| Teen (13-19 yrs) | 97 | 61 | 110 | 133 | 157 | 198 | 155 | 911 |
| Total | 146 | 144 | 332 | 427 | 558 | 685 | 698 | 2990 |
Impact on health, brain development
Secondhand marijuana smoke and vapor can cause lung irritation, trigger asthma flare-ups and expose children to measurable levels of THC in their blood, according to Dayton Children’s.
Risks to youth when it comes to cannabis include permanent effects on the developing brain when use begins in adolescence, especially with regular or heavy use, the Centers for Disease Control says.
The cannabis plant contains more than 100 compounds, or cannabinoids, like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is “impairing or mind-altering,” the CDC says.
Negative effects from cannabis on youth can include difficulty thinking and problem-solving, problems with memory and learning, reduced coordination, difficulty maintaining attention, and problems with school and social life, the CDC says.
Tips for keeping cannabis away from kids
Dayton Children’s is sharing tips for parents, caregivers and adults in the community to keep children safe from accidental marijuana ingestion.
This is timely as Halloween is just around the corner and many products look just like the candy that children consume to celebrate the holiday, Dayton Children’s said.
To protect children from accidental ingestion, parents are advised to:
- Store cannabis products up, away, and out of sight.
- Use a locking bag or box for safe storage.
- Avoid consuming cannabis in front of children to avoid making them tempted or curious to try.
- Dispose of unfinished products and ash promptly.
- Ask guests to keep purses, bags and coats out of reach.
If a child is accidentally exposed to marijuana, call Poison Control immediately at 1-800-222-1222 for guidance on the next steps.
By the numbers
In 2022, 30.7% of U.S. high school 12th graders reported using cannabis in the past year, and 6.3% reported using cannabis daily in the past 30 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Past-year vaping of cannabis declined from 2020 to 2021 and remained steady in 2022 following large increases in 2018 and 2019.
Many middle and high school students still reported past-year cannabis vaping in 2022—6% of eighth graders, 15% of 10th graders and 21% of 12th graders.
About the Author
