Marijuana made its way into legalization, as it brings millions of revenues to each state. As the sales on marijuana products continually increase, child poisoning involving marijuana consumption, however, are skyrocketing as well.
Hundreds of children are being sent to the hospital each month for accidental marijuana edible consumption. Parent Herald previously reports that in Colorado alone, children are being sent to the emergency room for accidental marijuana edible consumption.
"You have little kids that accidentally get into this stuff; they don't know any better," Sgt. Jim Gerhard of the Colorado Drug Investigators Association. "Or a babysitter might give a child something out of the pantry, not realize what it is. Those accidental issues are on the rise, and it's a big problem."
Packaging is one of the biggest factors that draw the child's attention. The University of Washington noted a few factors that can be looked upon as some of the root causes of the poisoning.
The color is one of the key factors that attract the child. Marijuana edibles are usually made with catchy colors such as red, blue, green, orange and yellow. The packaging and the looks catch the children's attention too. Some edibles are shaped like gummies, and it even smells like their favorite candy, thus they long to take a bit.
Sam Mendez, Cannabis Law and Policy Protect executive director noted that the University of Washington's research did not only tackle children's food preference, but it also paved the way into understanding as to what attracts children into accidentally consuming the hidden stash of marijuana edibles in their own homes.
"There is scant research on testing children with cannabis-infused edibles, and for good ethical reasons," Sam Melendez state. "So we looked at research on regular food products, but the same factors that make particular foods appealing to children, such as taste, color, and packaging, would likely also apply to edibles," he said.
