SEATTLE -- A striking number of children -- many of them younger than 5 -- are being poisoned by edible marijuana products, officials say.
King County Public Health officials reported Wednesday that the number of marijuana edible intoxications reported in King County in 2014 was 73 percent higher than in 2013, at 38 total reported cases. Officials are already seeing an upward trend for 2015, with 39 cases reported unwanted marijuana intoxications through May.
Children under the age of 5 account for roughly 30 percent of all medical and recreational marijuana intoxications with 11 total incidents reported in 2014, and 6 so far in 2015. Seventy-three percent of children require hospital evaluations from the poisoning, officials said.
Intoxication data is provided voluntarily, so officials believe they likely underestimate the true number of unwanted marijuana intoxications in the state.
Officials believe children are finding candy, chocolate or baked goods containing pot left unattended at a home. The children ingest heavy doses thinking it's simply normal candy or chocolate. The intoxication in young kids can lead to anxiety attacks, psychotic-like symptoms, seizures and respiratory depression, officials said.
"The majority of pediatric poisonings occur unintentionally," Dr. Alexander Garrard, the Clinical Managing Director of the Washington Poison Center, said. "Marijuana edibles left lying around on the coffee table or next to snacks can easily fall into the hands of young kids."
The King County Public Health Department said there are many steps marijuana users can take in order to protect young kids from getting the drugs. They include storing edible products away from children, avoid buying products that look good to kids and contacting a physician for more information on how to protect kids.