(JACKSON, Miss.) — Reports of children in Mississippi who found and ate marijuana-laced candies and chocolates at home resulting in emergency room visits increased sharply last year, the state’s poison control center said in a statement.
In 2019, the medical center received two calls concerning the ingestion of edible marijuana products. By 2022, the total number of calls had spiked to 36. Fourteen of those calls were in children ages 0 to 12 and three were in teenagers ages 13 to 19, according to Jenna Davis, the managing director of the Mississippi Poison Control Center which is part of the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
“In the past 10 days, we’ve already had four calls for kids ages 0-6,” Davis said in a statement Tuesday. “And statewide, these cases are underreported.”
The medical center warned the calls will continue to rise with marijuana dispensaries slated to open across the state this year.
Davis also warned that products laced with THC such as candy, gummies and chocolates appeal to children and adults should store them like they would medication, in a secure place out of the sight and reach of children.
“It’s hard to overdose on marijuana, but some of these gummies contain very large doses and some kids are eating a whole lot of them,” Davis said.
In addition to central nervous system depression, overdoses can cause rapid heartbeat, vomiting, confusion, difficulty walking and…
