Gummy sweets warning as kids at risk of 'severe' toxic effects
Eating just two gummy sweets containing weed can cause a serious toxic reaction in children, according to new research. The toxic chemical can cause kids to suffer from a serious toxic reaction, with symptoms including plummeting blood pressure, a slow heart rate, seizures, and even comas.
And weed gummies are becoming increasingly popular on the market, making it even more important for parents to take extra care around them. Scientists at the Children's Hospital Colorado Network found just one bite of a gummy containing cannabis can cause a child to become drowsy, confused, uncoordinated, and even start vomiting.
Researchers also found children under the age of six would be seriously affected by just 1.7mg of THC per 2.2lb (1kg) of bodyweight, regardless of age or gender. Children experienced plummeting blood pressure, dangerously slow heart rates, seizures, unresponsiveness and respiratory failure.
Cannabis edibles, medical marijuana, CBD infused gummies and edible pot (Getty Images/iStockphoto)A typical cannabis gummy contains around 10mg of THC, which is the psychoactive component that causes a 'high'. A toddler weighing 1st11lb (11.3kg) would end up consuming more than the threshold after eating just two gummies, according to the Sun.
The duration of the effects varied, with some symptoms lasting for more than 24 hours, while other children's symptoms cleared after two or three hours. Co-author Dr Lesley Pepin, a medical toxicology fellow at Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Safety in Denver, said: "With widespread cannabis legalisation, we've seen a rise in unintentional cannabis exposures in children.
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"In young children, these exposures are largely attributed to edible cannabis products (such as brownies, chocolate and gummies). Children sick from cannabis require hospital evaluation, medical observation and often need treatments such as supplemental oxygen or IV fluids. The effects can last hours or sometimes beyond a full day."
This information about the harmfulness of THC in children came after the scientists looked at seven years of medical records spanning January 2015 to October 2022. During that time, there were 80 accidental ingestion cases in children aged six and under that met the criteria for "harmful exposure" across four paediatric hospitals and urgent care centres.
The average age of patients was just under three, and research found that 90 per cent of the children had eaten the gummies at home. This led the scientists to discover the toxicity threshold in children to be 1.7mg of THC per 2.2lb (1kg) of body weight.
The most common symptoms included vomiting, lethargy and sedation. More than half of the children had needed immediate help after consuming the THC, and some had serious side effects.
These side effects included seizures and comas, and would last around 20.3 hours on average. Some children needed to be hooked up to ventilators and were given blood pressure medication, their symptoms were so severe.
However, the researchers noted these cases were rare, and other factors may have contributed to individual impacts. Eight children displayed no symptoms at all.
In a paper published in the journal Paediatricts, the scientists wrote: "Ingestion of edible cannabis in children under six years old can lead to clinically significant toxicity. Based on our findings, a 10mg THC ingestion would be unlikely to cause severe toxicity in most young children. [However], with each additional 1mg/kg of THC, the odds of severe or prolonged symptoms triple."
THC gummies are illegal in the UK as cannabis is a Class B drug. But because they don't smell or look like weed, they are widely sold and often appeal to children, with brightly-coloured packaging and cartoon characters.
In the US, marijuana edibles are legal for recreational and medicinal use in more than 20 states. Dr Tucker Woods, chair of the emergency department and associate medical director of Lenox Health Greenwich Village in New York City, said: "We are seeing more cases of this, and I expect to see even more now that marijuana is becoming legal in more and more states.
"These gummies are made for adults who weigh 120lbs to 160lbs on average, so for a kid who weighs 28lbs, one gummy could be enough to cause a coma or seizure. The less a child weighs, the greater the risk for ingesting a toxic dose of THC."
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Detective Sergeant Karen Osborne, from Essex Police, previously said: "We want people to be aware of the dangers of taking cannabis edibles. Their consequences to young people – and indeed wider society – cannot be underestimated.
"The products may look harmless, and indeed ‘fun’, but they are very dangerous. Their effects are much-delayed, meaning young people are very likely to eat a dangerous amount before they even feel their effects."
It's advised to store cannabis products in lockable cupboards out of the reach of children. If you think your child has ingested marijuana, you should urgently seek medical help.
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