Even so, exposure calls surged in the first half of 2024, and they are starting to climb once again.
“We see one of these every day,” said Hannah Hays, medical director of the Central Ohio Poison Center and chief of toxicology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Most of the cannabis poisonings in young children under 6 are edibles.”
Kids can get very sick from consuming cannabis, but Ohioans can help prevent this from happening by taking a few simple steps to safely store their stashes.
Edible sales
Many marijuana users get high from smoking the plant form of the substance or taking hits from vapes loaded with cartridges containing THC, which is the main psychoactive component of pot.
But THC edibles also are quite popular in Ohio, according to sales data from the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control.
Since recreational marijuana sales began a year ago, on Aug. 6, 2024, consumers across Ohio have purchased 4.2 million THC edibles, or $91 million worth of product.
Ohio now has 158 marijuana dispensaries, including seven in Montgomery County, five in Butler County, four in Warren County, two in Miami and Clark counties, and one in Greene County, according to data from the Division of Cannabis Control. Ohio’s dispensaries have sold more than $344 million worth of recreational marijuana plant products (104 million pounds) and $225 million worth of vape cartridges and oils.
There are all kinds of THC edibles, including cookies, brownies, chocolates, candies and gummies that come in lots of flavors. THC-infused sodas and drinks also are fairly popular and sold at quite a few local businesses.
Kids problems
Back in 2015, Ohio’s two Poison Centers (the Central Ohio Poison Center and the Cincinnati Drug and Poison Information Center) received only 11 calls about kids 5 and younger being exposed to THC edibles.
Five years later, in 2020, the centers handled 181 cannabis exposure calls. Calls increased 34% in 2021; 37% in 2022; and 24% in 2023.
Last year, the Poison Centers fielded 582 edible exposure calls involving young kids (up 41% from 2023).
In a podcast last year, Dr. Shan Yin, medical director of the Cincinnati Drug and Poison Information Center, said Ohio saw an increase in children ingesting cannabis edibles after medical marijuana was legalized in Ohio in 2016. He said he believed childhood exposures would increase because of the legalization of recreational pot.
Many THC edibles look virtually indistinguishable from products that do not contain the drug, especially when they are out of their packaging. And many kids have a sweet tooth and love to munch on candy, chocolates, cookies, brownies and other treats. Young kids also are naturally curious and often like to put things in their mouths.
THC edibles with adult dosages can be overpowering and dangerous for small kids, said Hays, with the Central Ohio Poison Center. Kids sometimes eat multiple edibles, she said, far more than an adult would knowingly choose to consume.
Hays said the effects of edibles can take 30 to 60 minutes to kick in, which means that children may consume large doses of THC before they or anyone realize they are displaying symptoms of a marijuana overdose.
Kids who consume cannabis often experience anxiety, dizziness, sleepiness and have slurred speech, Hays said. On rarer occasions, kids will have hallucinations, seizures or respiratory failure, and they can end up in a coma.
Accidental marijuana poisonings involving young kids are scary and upsetting to parents, family members and loved ones, who also may feel guilty and worry they might get into trouble, Hays said.
The experience can be very disturbing and distressing for kids and families, but children tend to recover very well after receiving supportive care, Hays said.
Poison center nurses and pharmacists typically instruct callers to take children who have ingested marijuana to the hospital for evaluation and treatment. But sometimes children can be monitored at home and don’t need to visit the emergency department.
Precautions
Adult Ohioans who purchase cannabis are responsible for storing it in a safe way that prevents young people from getting access, says the Division of Cannabis Control.
State officials recommend marijuana users keep their stashes in a safe or lockbox. Ohioans who provide cannabis to minors can face fines and possible jail time.
Marijuana edibles should be stored on high shelves or in hard-to-reach places that are separate from where normal food products are kept, Hays said. It’s generally a bad idea to keep THC products in a purse or handbag when there are children around or in the household.
Officials recommend labeling all marijuana edible products in the home, and they advise adult Ohioans not to eat edibles in front of children, who often mimic their behaviors.
Even though edible cannabis exposures involving young kids increased last year, the number of calls to the Ohio Poison Centers about these incidents declined for three consecutive quarters — in Q3 and Q4 of 2024, and in Q1 of 2025. The number of incidents rose again in Q2 of this year.
Hays said she does not know what explains the trend. But she said it’s possible there were fewer incidents because users switched from using unregulated and homemade edible cannabis products to products from dispensaries, which tend to have safer packaging.
Ohio law requires regulated edible marijuana products to have child-resistant packaging. Homemade edibles obviously are a different story.
Still, Hays said kids sometimes can get into packaging that is considered child resistant. She said it would be wise to use more secure storage containers.
The poison help line (1-800-222-1222) provides free and confidential advice to callers. Calls are answered by nurses and pharmacists with specialized training in poisonings. Officials recommend parents and adult family members save this number in their cell phones in case of emergencies.
About the Author
