URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n506/a07.html
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Votes: 0
Pubdate: Wed, 27 Jul 2016
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2016 The Boston Herald, Inc
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Website: http://www.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Note: Prints only very short LTEs.
Author: Lindsay Kalter
STUDY: EDIBLE POT SICKENS MORE KIDS
A new study shows marijuana poisoning in young children has risen 150 percent in Colorado since the substance was legalized in 2014 – a frightening statistic that has opponents of the Bay State legal marijuana ballot initiative warning that the same could happen in Massachusetts.
“The edible products for the marijuana industry are a huge part of the profit and growth model,” said Rep. Hannah Kane, of the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts’ steering committee. “Children are highly susceptible to these products.”
According to the study published by the JAMA Pediatrics Journal Monday, the mean rate of marijuana poisoning increased at Children’s Hospital in Denver from 1.2 per 100,000 two years before legalization to 2.3 per 100,000 after legalization.
The majority of those cases involved children who had ingested marijuana edibles.
The Bay State ballot initiative would also authorize edibles, with no cap on potency.
Dr. Sharon Levy, director of the adolescent substance abuse program at Boston Children’s Hospital, said excessive marijuana exposure can cause psychotic episodes for both children and adults.
The long-term effects for young kids are unknown.
“They could have acute psychotic reactions, which is why they would need to be admitted to intensive care units in some cases,” she said. “They have a change of mental status and become very lethargic.”
And after eating large amounts of pot candy such as gummy bears and cookies, the effects will be more severe in children because they are small, said Steven Little, chairman of chemical and petroleum engineering at University of Pittsburgh.
“What you have to realize is, you’re talking about children,” said Little, who researches drug release. “When drugs absorb into the body, it matters how big you are.”
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom