The average number of kids hospitalized for unintentional cannabis poisonings spiked in some provinces after they legalized edibles, according to a new study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The Ontario-based researchers also found that three such provinces — Alberta, B.C. and Ontario — saw twice the increase in pediatric hospitalizations than Quebec, which prohibited edibles at the time of the study.
“Unlike adults where they would mostly get high, maybe a little bit drowsy, when young children ingest edibles, they may become very, very sick. We’ve seen kids with seizures, kids who stopped breathing,” said Dr. Yaron Finkelstein, a senior author of the study and staff physician at SickKids Hospital in Toronto.
“Their symptoms, especially in young children, can be more severe and can be life-threatening.”
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