High-concentration cannabis products are sending more young children to the hospital | Research

The takeaway

A review found that pediatric cannabis hospitalizations are increasingly caused by high-concentration products like edibles and vaping fluid, causing sedation and respiratory depression in toddlers, while chronic use in adolescents leads to cognitive changes and hyperemesis.

Pediatricians, emergency medicine providers, parents in legal cannabis states, and policymakers regulating cannabis products.

High-potency products = child risk

What the researchers found

Young children hospitalized for cannabis toxicity are increasingly exposed to high-concentration products (edibles, resins, vaping fluid) containing extremely high cannabinoid levels, leading to sedation, respiratory depression, and other adverse effects. Chronic adolescent use is associated with neurocognitive changes and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

Why it matters

Legalization has made high-potency cannabis products more accessible in households with children. The mismatch between these products (designed for adult tolerance) and pediatric vulnerability creates a growing emergency medicine challenge.

The numbers in context

Products involved include edibles, resins, and vaping fluid with extremely high cannabinoid concentrations. Acute toxicity in young children: sedation, respiratory depression. Chronic adolescent toxicity: neurocognitive changes, cannabinoid hyperemesis.

How the study worked

Review of recent literature on THC pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, developmental impacts, and presentations of acute and chronic cannabinoid toxicity in pediatric patients.

What this study cannot tell us

Review-level evidence without pooled quantitative data. The specific incidence of pediatric exposures varies by state and over time. Not all product types are equally well-studied for pediatric effects.

How to read the evidence

Rated moderate because this is a clinical review synthesizing recent literature from a relevant pediatric perspective.

When this study was published

Published in 2019. Cannabis product diversity and potency have continued to increase since.

The bigger picture

The pediatric cannabis toxicity problem is a direct consequence of product design and packaging decisions in the legal cannabis market. Unlike with alcohol, many cannabis edibles resemble candy or food products attractive to children.

Questions still open

Are child-resistant packaging regulations sufficient? What are the long-term outcomes for toddlers with acute high-dose THC exposure? Should product design regulations specifically address appeal to children?

Common questions

What happens when a young child eats cannabis edibles?

High-concentration cannabis products can cause sedation, respiratory depression, and other serious adverse effects in young children, who are much more sensitive than adults due to their smaller body size.

Are edibles the main concern?

Edibles, resins, and vaping fluids are the products most commonly involved in pediatric hospitalizations because they contain extremely high cannabinoid concentrations and may resemble regular food or candy.

Read the original research

Cannabinoid toxicity in pediatrics.

Current opinion in pediatrics, 31(2), 256-261

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Blohm, Eike; Sell, Peter; Neavyn, Mark. (2019). Cannabinoid toxicity in pediatrics.. Current opinion in pediatrics, 31(2), 256-261. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOP.0000000000000739