The Washington Poison and Drug Information Center is reporting a record number of marijuana exposures in Washington State since before recreational marijuana was legalized in 2012. The majority of calls occurred within the 13 – 19 year age range followed quickly by the 20 – 29 years of age group. The majority of exposures were a result of intentional abuse (n= 108) in ages 13 years and older followed by unintentional, unsupervised ingestion (n=36), predominantly in children less than 12 years of age. Marijuana products implicated in these exposures included but were not limited to marijuana chocolate bars, brownies, butane hash oil, marijuana-infused drinks, and marijuana gummy bears.
*Disclaimer: Reporting of exposures to the poison center is voluntary and not mandated by law. As such, WAPC data describes the number of calls called into the poison center and most likely is an under-representation of the true occurrence of any one substance.
For further information, contact Dr. Garrard at AGarrard@wapc.org or 206-517-2356.
Call the Washington Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 immediately for medical advice if you are worried about the health and safety of yourself, others or if your child has accidentally been exposed to liquid nicotine or an e-cigarette. All calls are free and confidential.