COLUMBUS, Ohio – As supporters of legalized marijuana in Ohio prepare a variety of measures to place before lawmakers or on the ballot, a new from researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital indicates the higher risks of young kids being exposed to marijuana in states where pot is legal.
According to the research, published online Monday in Clinical Pediatrics, the rate at which children 5 years of age and younger ate, breathed in or were otherwise exposed to marijuana rose 147.5 percent nationwide between 2006 and 2013 and almost 610 percent in states that had legalized marijuana for medical use before 2000.
“The high percentage of ingestions may be related to the popularity of marijuana brownies, cookies and other foods,” said Dr. Henry Spiller, a co-author of the study, toxicologist, and director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Although minor health effects were noted in most of the cases recorded, but some children experienced coma, decreased breathing, or seizures because the main psychoactive ingredient of marijuana, THC, can be especially high in marijuana food products, Spiller said.
Spiller recommends child-resistant packaging and packaging that is not see-through should be used for commercially-available marijuana products. Homemade marijuana products need to be kept out of sight and out of reach of children, preferably in a locked cabinet, he said.