As cannabis legalization spreads nationwide, more and more kids are eating edibles — in some cases with disastrous consequences.
In 2017, there were 207 cases of cannabis edibles ingestion by kids under 6 years old, reported to the National Poison Data System. By 2021, that number had surged 1,375 percent to 3,054 cases in, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics.
“When it’s in a candy form or cookies, people don’t think of it in the same way as household chemicals or other things a child could get into,” Dr. Marit Tweet, a toxicologist with the Southern Illinois School of Medicine, told the Associated Press. “But people should really be thinking of it as a medication.”
Of the more than 7,000 exposures reported in that five-year span, researchers traced the outcomes of about 70 percent of cases. Clinical side effects include central nervous system depression, which occurred in about 70 percent of cases; tachycardia, or a heart rate above 100 beats per minute, which occurred in more than 11 percent of cases; and vomiting in about 9.5 percent of cases. There were 90 cases in which patients experienced severe nervous system depression or coma. About 23 percent of all reported cases resulted in a hospital admission, but no deaths were reported.
At the start of 2017, eight U.S. states and Washington, DC, had legalized adult-use cannabis. By the close of 2021, about 18 states and DC have permitted adult-use cannabis, according to MJBizDaily. Concerns about edibles and kids have prompted U.S. states and countries like Canada to enact strict regulations governing the packaging, potency, and shapes of edibles.
Melissa Whitely, personal trainer for Life Time Fitness, spoke with Cheddar News about the importance of recovery following a tense workout session. "If we're not going through the proper recovery methods, we can have undue pain, discomfort, tightness in our muscles and all those other things we can avoid," she said.
Dr. Payel Gupta, medical director of allergy, asthma, immunology & ENT for LifeMD.com, joined Cheddar News to discuss some tips on how to cope with allergy season. "With the warmer temperatures, we're seeing that the seasons arrive sooner and actually last longer, and also the elevated CO2 levels actually cause the plants to release more pollen," she said.
A new survey from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing shows that four in five behavioral health workers were concerned that labor shortages in their field “negatively impact society as a whole.”
Food and Drug Administration regulators on Tuesday approved a first-of-a-kind drug for a rare form of Lou Gehrig’s disease, though they are requiring further research to confirm it truly helps patients.
How Accelerated Glacier Melting Is Impacting Rising Sea Levels
A Japanese company's attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon has apparently failed. Flight controllers lost contact Wednesday with the lander after it descended from lunar orbit, aiming for the dusty surface.
A bird strike sparked an engine fire on a plane shortly after takeoff from an Ohio airport on Sunday.
The Supreme Court on Friday preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues.
Buick's Global Vice President Talks Development of 'Envista,' Gas-Powered Cars
Peter Krull, a partner and director of sustainable investing at Prime Capital Investment Advisors company Earth Equity Advisors, joined Cheddar News to give some tips on green investments.
