Citation

Grant C, Plebon-Huff S, Perwaiz S, Abramovici H, Bélanger RE. Paediatr. Child Health (1996) 2024; 29(1): 3-4.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Canadian Paediatric Society, Publisher Pulsus Group)

DOI

10.1093/pch/pxad036

PMID

38332980

PMCID

PMC10848119

Abstract

Stories of accidental poisonings in children involving cannabis have been widely shared and reported since the legalization of cannabis for non-medical purposes in Canada on October 17, 2018, from exposure involving Halloween candy (2) to accidentally eating a homemade brownie left out on the counter by a family member (1). These stories help to illustrate an increased trend in both emergency department visits and hospitalizations related to unintentional exposures to cannabis among children and youth that existed pre-legalization but that has continued to increase significantly post-legalization (3,4). While administrative health data allows for an approximate determination of incidence or prevalence of cannabis poisonings in children and youth, there remain several key knowledge gaps regarding clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of cannabis poisonings in children as well as information related to cannabis source, form, and dose.

A Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP) study addresses these knowledge gaps by reporting on children and youth (up to 18 years of age) who experience serious and life-threatening events associated with non-medical cannabis, over several years beginning in September 2018.
Serious and life-threatening events associated with non-medical use of cannabis are occurring among children and youth in Canada, with 160 cases meeting the case definition since the study initiation in September 2018 (excluding cases from Quebec). Females made up 51% of cases (82/160) and males 47% (75/160), with a median age of 5.1 years. Almost two thirds of cases (63%, 101/160) indicated ingestion of cannabis in edible form....

Language: en

Keywords

Cannabis; Paediatrics; Poisoning