Cannabis-related ER visits by Ontario youth increased nearly fivefold from 2003 to 2017
Emergency department visits related to cannabis among Ontario youth aged 10-24 increased 4.8-fold over 14 years, with most visits triaged as severe and hospital admission rates three times higher than non-cannabis visits.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Cannabis-related ER visits rose from 3.8 per 10,000 youth in 2003 to 17.9 per 10,000 in 2017 (4.8-fold increase). In 2017, 88.2% of cannabis-related visits were triaged as "more severe" compared to 58.1% of non-cannabis visits, and 19.0% resulted in hospital admission vs. 5.8% for non-cannabis visits.
Key Numbers
14.7 million total ER visits analyzed; 4.8-fold increase in cannabis visits; rates by age in 2017: 25.0/10,000 (ages 19-24), 21.9/10,000 (ages 14-18), 0.8/10,000 (ages 10-13). Males had ≥1.5x higher rates than females.
How They Did This
Population-based retrospective analysis of all emergency department visits in Ontario, Canada from 2003-2017 for youth aged 10-24 years, using ICD-10 codes for cannabis poisoning and mental disorders due to cannabinoids. 14,697,778 total visits examined.
Why This Research Matters
The steep upward trend in cannabis-related ER visits among young people, combined with high severity ratings and admission rates, signals a growing public health concern that preceded cannabis legalization in Canada.
The Bigger Picture
This trend occurred entirely before Canada legalized recreational cannabis in 2018, suggesting factors beyond legal access were driving increases. The data provides a crucial pre-legalization baseline for evaluating policy impacts.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Administrative data may undercount cannabis involvement. ICD coding practices may have changed over time. Ontario data may not generalize to other provinces. The study ended before legalization, so post-legalization trends are unknown.
Questions This Raises
- ?Did the trend accelerate or slow after 2018 legalization?
- ?What is driving the increase: higher potency products, more use, or more willingness to disclose?
- ?Why are cannabis-related visits so much more likely to be triaged as severe?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 4.8-fold increase in youth cannabis ER visits over 14 years
- Evidence Grade:
- Large population-based dataset spanning 14 years with nearly 15 million visits analyzed.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2022 with data from 2003-2017, entirely before Canadian legalization.
- Original Title:
- Cannabis-related emergency department visits by youths and their outcomes in Ontario: a trend analysis.
- Published In:
- CMAJ open, 10(1), E100-E108 (2022)
- Authors:
- Bechard, Melanie, Cloutier, Paula, Lima, Isac, Salamatmanesh, Mina, Zemek, Roger, Bhatt, Maala, Suntharalingam, Sinthuja, Kurdyak, Paul, Baker, Melissa, Gardner, William
- Database ID:
- RTHC-03701
Evidence Hierarchy
Looks back at existing records to find patterns.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Which age group had the highest rate of cannabis-related ER visits?
Youth aged 19-24 had the highest rate at 25.0 per 10,000 in 2017, followed closely by 14-18-year-olds at 21.9 per 10,000. The 10-13 age group had very low rates at 0.8 per 10,000.
Were cannabis ER visits more serious than other ER visits?
Yes. In 2017, 88.2% of cannabis-related visits were triaged as "more severe" vs. 58.1% of non-cannabis visits, and cannabis visits were 3.3 times more likely to result in hospital admission.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-03701APA
Bechard, Melanie; Cloutier, Paula; Lima, Isac; Salamatmanesh, Mina; Zemek, Roger; Bhatt, Maala; Suntharalingam, Sinthuja; Kurdyak, Paul; Baker, Melissa; Gardner, William. (2022). Cannabis-related emergency department visits by youths and their outcomes in Ontario: a trend analysis.. CMAJ open, 10(1), E100-E108. https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20210142
MLA
Bechard, Melanie, et al. "Cannabis-related emergency department visits by youths and their outcomes in Ontario: a trend analysis.." CMAJ open, 2022. https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20210142
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Cannabis-related emergency department visits by youths and t..." RTHC-03701. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/bechard-2022-cannabisrelated-emergency-department-visits
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.