Doctors worry about an increase in kids consuming cannabis

Children’s Hospital of Colorado says they’re on pace to double last year’s number of children admitted for accidentally ingesting marijuana edibles.  / FOX21 – File Photo

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Governor Hickenlooper signing two new marijuana bills into law recently that attempt to protect children from marijuana edibles.

The first law now requires state regulators to come up with rules that make edible marijuana products identifiable, even when they’re out of their packaging.

The state is also likely to adopt a rule mandating that marijuana edibles are manufactured in single-serving portions, so that every individually-wrapped cookie or brownie contains the same amount of concentrated THC.

But the ease of access to recreational marijuana is concerning to emergency room doctors, who say more children are often getting a hold of the wrong kind of brownie.

In 2013, Children’s Hospital in Denver saw eight children in the ER who accidentally ate marijuana.

That number equals the amount of kids admitted in the previous 8 years combined.

Doctors fear the number of children needing care after accidental ingestion is rising at an alarming rate.

“People just don’t think it is as dangerous so a little ingestion here and there they’re not really worried about, but it can be serious,” Dr. Ian Tullberg, M.D. of Memorial Hospital, UCH said.

Children’s Hospital, the only site monitoring the number of accidental ingestion patients in the UCH system, says that’s why they’ve had nine kids admitted for accidental ingestion so far in 2014.

That number puts them on pace to double last year’s total of just eight.

“There are long-term effects, but the biggest thing is respiratory depression. Their vitals need to be constantly monitored, and that’s the biggest one because if you can’t breathe you can’t live. It’s a scary thing sometimes,” Dr. Tullberg said.

In most cases reported, children ate edible products.

“the lollipops, the brownies, the candies, everything is just way too enticing to kids. And who’s gonna stop at one brownie?”

Most place blame on the marketing of the products. The label may say “marijuana,” “cannabis-infused” or list a THC level, but out of their packaging it’s nearly impossible to distinguish the original product from a THC-filled one.

“I have two little girls myself, and if there’s a brownie on the counter, a five and seven-year-old aren’t usually going to come ask permission, they’re going to ask forgiveness after they’ve eaten it,” Dr. Tullberg said.

He told us it’s important to realize that certain elements in marijuana could affect your child just as much as an accidental ingestion of any other drug, prescription or not.

Doctors stress the importance of monitoring your children in homes of those who may purchase edibles, or use marijuana where you may not be aware of their storage habits.

“Storage is very important. When you look at things like, vicodin, percocet, they do have the child safey containers on them. They’re up in the medicine cabinet. How many people put their marijuana up somewhere high where kids can’t get to it? It can be just as, if not more dangerous than the others,” Dr. Tullberg said.

Governor Hickenlooper, who originally opposed Amendment 64, said these new laws “are critical to our ongoing goal of making Colorado the healthiest state in the nation and our constant goal of protecting our children.”

Another bill signed into law requires the state licensing authority to establish a standard amount of retail marijuana product and retail marijuana concentrate that is equivalent to one ounce of retail marijuana. Currently, each retail marijuana store is required to determine equivalency on its own.

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Doctors worry about an increase in kids consuming cannabis