kids accidentally overdosing tripled in 2022 in VaPosted by On


Edible marijuana samples are set aside for evaluation at a cannabis testing laboratory in Santa Ana, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. The number of young kids, especially toddlers, who accidentally ate marijuana-laced treats rose sharply over five years as pot became legal in more places in the U.S., according to an analysis published Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2022, in the journal Pediatrics.
  • These pediatric cases have occurred throughout Virginia, with 10 children requiring advanced care at UVA Health

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Calls to UVA Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center for children unintentionally consuming edible marijuana products nearly tripled from 26 in 2021 to 77 in 2022, according to a press release.

About 68% of those calls in 2022 — a total of 52 — involved children ages 5 or younger, with most of those kids requiring hospitalization. Calls among this age group more than tripled from 2021, when the poison center received 16 calls for kids 5 or younger, the release said. 

UVA Health medical toxicologist Chris Holstege, the poison center’s medical director, said most of these cases are caused by toddlers mistaking edible marijuana products for candy.  

“As an adult, I cannot tell the difference between some of the edible cannabis products now emerging on the market because the products closely mimic available candies such as caramels and gum drops,” said Holstege.

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