Children’s Exposure to Marijuana Increasing

ResponsibleOhio made progress this month in getting a ballot measure on the November ballot on the issue of legalizing marijuana in Ohio.

After getting the necessary signatures, the group is waiting for verification.

Now, as Ohio becomes one of the most recent states to push for legalization, a Nationwide Children’s Hospital study looked at the number of infants and toddlers exposed to marijuana. Steve Carrel, the executive director of Muskingum Behavioral Health, explained the study’s findings.

“As marijuana becomes more readily available than it already is through legalization the accessibility for kids to get a hold of it increases proportionally,” said Carrel.

The study examined data from the National Poison Data System between 2006 and 2013. It found children under the age of six are being exposed to marijuana nearly 147 percent more often.

“You won’t stop it,” Carrel exclaimed. “It’s going to go up. The mere fact of more access for children. There will be more access, their parents or adults are going to have it in their homes.”

As some edible marijuana packages make it look more like a treat than a drug, a co-author of the study said edibles could be related to the increase.

“The high percentage of ingestions may be related to the popularity of marijuana brownies, cookies and other foods,” said Henry Spiller, D.ABAT, toxicologist, and director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s. “Very young children explore their environments by putting items in their mouths, and foods such as brownies and cookies are attractive.”