With cannabis poisoning soaring among U.S. children, an expert from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles offers tips for keeping kids safe from so-called “edibles.”
“The best way to keep your kids safe from marijuana edibles is not to have them in your home,” Dr. Colleen Kraft, an attending physician in the Department of Pediatrics, said in a hospital news release.
However, if you do have them at home, store them where your children can’t get them.
Between 2017 and 2021, more than 7,000 children younger than 6 were exposed to edible cannabis, according to the National Poison Data System.
The number of incidents rose during that span by 1,375%—from 207 incidents a year to 3,054. About 1 in 4 of those kids was hospitalized, many with severe complications such as breathing difficulties and critical care stays.
In more than 90% of cases, children found the toxic edibles at home.
Treat edible marijuana like you would any medication, Kraft said. Remove the edibles from their packaging and…