Cannabis poisonings in the US rising, mostly among kids

WASHINGTON – As the legalisation and commercialisation of cannabis spread across the US, making marijuana edibles more readily available, the number of cannabis-related incidents has sharply increased: from about 930 cases in 2009 to more than 22,000 in 2024, data from America’s Poison Centres shows.

Of those, more than 13,000 caused documented negative effects and were classified by the organisation as non-lethal poisonings.

The numbers are almost certainly an undercount, public health officials say, because hospitals are not required to report such cases. More than 75 per cent of the poisonings in 2024 involved children or teenagers.

The New York Times examined data from the national poison centres, surveyed regional centres and more than 200 doctors, reviewed court records, and interviewed physicians and public health experts.

The Times identified dozens of children across the country who had consumed cannabis products from stashes belonging to relatives or friends and were hospitalised with paranoia, vomiting or other symptoms of poisoning.

In most instances of cannabis exposure, the physical effects were not severe, according to the poison control data. But a growing number of poisonings have led to breathing problems or other life-threatening consequences.

In 2009, just 10 such cases were reported to poison centres; in 2024, there were more than 620 – a vast majority of them children or teens. More than 100 required ventilators.

Four deaths since 2009 have been judged by America’s Poison Centres as likely caused by cannabis poisoning. Data from 2024 has yet to be finalised.

Each year, tens of millions of Americans use cannabis. But in interviews, emergency physicians, paediatricians, toxicologists and other doctors expressed concern about the growing public perception that tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the intoxicating component in cannabis, is completely safe.

As cannabis products proliferate,

adults can unwittingly expose children to risk. Most of the reported cannabis exposures in 2024 were deemed unintentional.

At least 38 cannabis-related poisoning cases have led to charges filed against parents and other caregivers, the Times found.

A high enough dose of THC can be so sedating that a person’s tongue blocks his windpipe, or it can trigger a seizure that requires intubation. But it might take hundreds or even thousands of milligrams of THC to cause severe side effects in a 68kg adult – but far less for a child.

Most states have potency limits for THC edibles, but many physicians said the caps were too high – often 100 milligrams per package. NYTIMES