DAYTON — Health officials are seeing a dramatic rise in unintentional marijuana ingestions by children in Ohio.
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A new report from Dayton Children’s Hospital shows that the number of visits to the hospital’s emergency department involving kids who accidentally consumed or were exposed to cannabis products went up by 571 percent from 2019 to 2023 compared to the previous period.
Licensed sales of medical marijuana were legalized in Ohio in 2019. Ohioans voted to legalize adult-use recreational marijuana in November 2023 and that took effect on August 6.
So far this year, Dayton Children’s Emergency Department has seen 66 cases of unintentional cannabis-related ingestions, 13 of which have happened since Aug. 6. In 2023, they had a total of 47 unintentional ingestions.
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“Edible marijuana products can look just like regular candies and snacks, making them incredibly dangerous for children,” said Abbey Pettiford, Injury Prevention Outreach Supervisor at Dayton Children’s. “Just one marijuana cookie or candy bar can contain several times the recommended adult dose of THC, leading to serious overdose effects in children.”
As shown on News Center 7 at 6:00, our team went to a dispensary to compare the visual difference between a regular chocolate bar and an edible chocolate bar. We even asked people if they could tell the difference.
“Which ones which?” Chad Jones, of Dayton, asked.
Dr. Thomas Krzmarzick, ER Director at Dayton Children’s, told News Center 7 that he’s been at the hospital for 34 years and this is something he’s rarely seen before.
“Marijuana intoxication in young children was almost non-existent prior to it starting to become legalized and that’s one of the reasons we’ve seen such a rapid rise,” Krzmarzick said.
Krzmarzick said most of the unintentional ingestions are with kids between 3 and 5 years old.
Health professionals recommend parents and guardians lock their edibles and other cannabis products away and keep them out of sight of children.
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