Medicinal marijuana is increasingly available in Northern New England, meaning the drug can be found in more and more homes. Like any other substance, if marijuana is available in the home, young children may be able to get into it.
Marijuana can have serious effects in kids. An amount that might cause very small effects in an adult can create a much stronger reaction in a young child.
Edible marijuana—like brownies, cookies and candy—can be an especially big problem. Kids don’t know the difference between a marijuana brownie and a regular brownie, and they may eat more than one, giving them an even bigger dose.
Fortunately, most children who get into marijuana do not have serious effects—typically they become very drowsy and their pupils get large.
But in other cases, children can become so drowsy that you cannot wake them up. In very rare situations, children have briefly gone into a coma—they could not be woken up and had trouble breathing.
All children who swallow marijuana need to be watched at a hospital.
For more information on marijuana, call the Northern New England Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 or chat online.
