By: Babak Rahimi, cardiologist, Children’s Heart Institute, MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach
With the legalization of marijuana, it’s important for parents to be mindful how accessible marijuana can be for kids. While it’s important to watch our pre-teens and teens with marijuana use – an alarming new trend is occurring in children much younger.
There has been an uptick in younger school-age children who are suffering from THC overdose, from accidentally eating THC-infused edibles and gummies that look like candy. THC edibles such as – candy, brownies, lollipops, ice cream, and even lemonade and soda – are growing in popularity. The packaging makes it appealing to younger kids, who may not even know what THC is.
A little over a year ago, THC-infused candy that looked very similar to Nerds Rope® caused several kids to be hospitalized from a THC overdose. Despite an edible’s ordinary appearance, a single THC-infused candy bar can contain several times the recommended adult dose of THC. This creates a significant issue for toddlers and school-aged children. In addition, since the THC is digested the “side effects” could take hours to develop, once the THC has truly broken down in the blood stream – causing kids to eat more.
Anyone can overdose effects from edibles – but especially children can experience intoxication, altered perception, anxiety, panic, paranoia, dizziness, weakness, slurred speech, poor coordination, apnea and heart problems. It’s not well known yet, the long-term consequences of edibles have on your child’s heart, but some children complain of tightened chest and pain like a heart attack.
If you see your child experience any of these signs call 9-1-1 immediately.