As marijuana use rises, more kids accidentally exposed

Children’s rates of exposure to marijuana have spiked in the last few years, especially in states with legal medical marijuana, according to a study of the National Poison Data System.

The study, published this week in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, tracked self-reported exposure in children 6 and younger from 2000 to 2013. From 2006 to 2013, the study found, the rate of marijuana exposure rose 147.5 percent across the United States. The rate rose by over 600 percent in the same timeframe in states that legalized medical marijuana prior to the year 2000

The instances, 1,969 total, were predominantly accidental. The majority of the exposure was through ingestion, and the average child was 1.81 years old.

“The high percentage of ingestions may be related to the popularity of marijuana brownies, cookies, and other foods,” said Henry Spiller, a co-author of the study, toxicologist, and director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Very young children explore their environments by putting items in their mouths, and foods such as brownies and cookies are attractive.”

Rates of marijuana users in the United States rose and fell parallel to the rates of exposure in children, according to the study, leading the authors to conclude the two are associated. More people using marijuana means more accidental child exposure.

“There’s a bit of a relaxed attitude that this is safe because it’s a natural plant, or derived from a natural plant,” said Alex Garrard, clinical managing director of the Washington Poison Center. “But this is still a drug. You wouldn’t leave Oxycontin lying around on a countertop with kids around, or at least you shouldn’t.”

The study noted that while most exposure resulted in mild clinical effects—drowsiness, lethargy, intoxication, ataxia—some patients with pediatric marijuana exposure experienced seizure, coma, and decreased breathing.

Since 1996, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana. Recreational use for adults 21 and older is now legal in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

“Any state considering marijuana legalization needs to include child protections in its laws from the very beginning,” said Gary Smith, senior author of the study and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. While the total number of cases is still low, Smith said lawmakers should be concerned at the high rate of increase for states that legalize marijuana.

Skeptics wonder if states with legal marijuana are seeing more self-reporting of accidental exposure because parents are more likely to report when the substance is legal.

“Those things have been occurring this whole time,” said Ben Reagan, a medical marijuana advocate with The Center for Palliative Care in Seattle. “What you have now have is an atmosphere where people are much more comfortable going to the emergency room.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.