FORT WORTH, Texas — Cook Children's Medical Center reports that it continues to see elevated numbers of young patients arriving in its emergency department with accidental marijuana ingestion.
Data from their Fort Worth location shows 50 patients between ages 0-3 whose urine tested positive for the main psychoactive ingredient in the cannabis plant known as THC. Another eight patients in the same age group at the Cook Children’s Medical Center in Prosper also had positive screenings last year.
Here are the yearly totals for THC-positive urine screenings in patients ages 3 and younger at the Fort Worth ED in recent years:
- 2019: 8
- 2020: 13
- 2021: 29
- 2022: 33
- 2023: 58
Cook Children's says no amount of marijuana is safe for children.
“Cannabis has the potential to cause significant harm to children in this age range over any other age range. These are the kids who are going to have the most serious side effects,” said Anelle Menendez, M.D., CSPI, clinical educator for the North Texas Poison Center. “It has the potential to cause very significant toxicity in children.”
Kids are now easily getting their hands on edible gummies, cookies and chips laced with THC and decorated in colorful packaging, which could be deceptive to the eyes of a child.
Calls to the North Texas Poison Center regarding children exposed to cannabis rose more than 1,000% from 2019 to 2023, Menendez said.
Cook Children's said the best safeguard is keeping marijuana out of the home altogether. But if it’s present, keep it locked up, out of reach and out of sight.
March 17-23 is National Poison Prevention Week, which promotes the safe use of all drugs, chemicals and products that could be harmful in the wrong amounts.
