The legalization of marijuana in Canada has been linked to increases in the accidental poisoning of small children, according to a Health Canada briefing.
“Various sources of evidence indicate significant associations between cannabis legalization and increases in cannabis-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions and poison center calls,” said a department briefing note first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.
The briefing said the increases in medical episodes had been attributed to “accidental ingestion” of edible cannabis primarily by children under 5 years old, where the source of the cannabis is “unknown or illegal.”
While Health Canada regulations stipulate that packaging for cannabis products must have restrictions on logos and colours and be packaged in child-resistant containers, many illegal edible products resemble popular candies such as Starbursts and Skittles that are “appealing to children,” the briefing said.
The report said that since the Cannabis Act came into force in October 2018, rates of cannabis use among youth have not changed significantly, and more Canadians who consume the product are purchasing it from legal retailers.
In earlier research, the public health agency suggested that accidental marijuana poisonings accounted for more non-fatal hospitalizations than opioids in Canada. Staff wrote that the majority of cannabis-related poisonings occurred in residential settings such as a home or friend’s home.
“One of the key goals of legalization was to protect the health and safety of Canadians, to keep cannabis out of the hands of children and youth,” said an expert panel report.
“However, many of the people we engaged with expressed concern that rates of cannabis use among youth in Canada remain high compared to other jurisdictions and that legalization has not led to a discernible decrease in youth cannabis use.”
