Hospitals around the state are seeing a rise in the number of people being treated for cannabis related poisonings, making the largest jump in cannabis related emergency room visits.

Children, according to a new report from the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center.

There was a 43% rise in cannabis related poisonings among Kentucky, ins under the age of 18 between 2023 and 2024.

Other findings women are catching up to men in cannabis related emergencies, particularly when it comes to synthetic cannabis use, and cannabis was a contributing cause but not the sole cause in 60 deaths last year.

You can hear more from the two researchers behind that report in today's medical news.

Our goal as surveillance epidemiologist is not to label cannabis as like, good or bad, but to track and understand patterns that may signal harm, especially among more vulnerable populations.

So, like with any substance that we study, context matters, how it's used, who's using it, and how accessible it is to children.

What we're seeing is that, some of the sharpest rises in, emergency department numbers, across the different demographic groups we're seeing among those who used under 18, where cannabis poisoning rose 43% from 2023 to 2024.

I'm not overly surprised, just because of how these products are packaged and manufactured.

They're easily accessible to kids.

They're enticing.

I could see it very easily that, children would get access to them in home if they're not secured.

We're also seeing an increase in cases of cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, which is a condition where people experience repeated vomiting linked to, long term cannabis use.

We're also seeing a rise in emergency department visits for synthetic cannabis poisonings.

In 2024, we saw 212 cases, for cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, we saw 141, for synthetic, cannabis poisonings.

Yeah.

I think, the major problem is there's a lot more availability of very high concentration products and very high THC concentration.

So, edibles, distillates in liquid form, and that also include vapes.

These things really haven't been available at this scale for very many years.

You know, for decades and decades, you would not be able to find a product with the THC concentration of, you know, higher than 15 or 20%.

But that's changed rapidly over the last decade.

They're not tested for consistent dose.

So it's very easy to take a higher dose and intended even in some cases where there is a dose label on the packaging, it might not be consistent, but between the different pieces of candy on one occasion.

For example, you did take one gummy and the have the desired effects, and then the very next day could take the exact same amount and feel different effects.

So it's just highly unpredictable because, you know, it's an illicit product and it's not being tested.

There's no consistent lab testing like it would be for.

I actually like regulated drug.

And people are only now gaining access to these very high concentration products and, you know, a very palatable format of the gummies and candies that are in these describe packaging very like useful, beautiful packaging.

So I definitely think that there is a perception that it is very safe.

And I would just like people to have to be better informed of the potential dangers and just use an abundance of caution if people do decide to use these products.

Overall, I think that all this just points to the need for more public awareness around cannabis use, especially around safe storage, clear labeling, and understanding how these products can affect different people in different ways.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, cannabis is the third most commonly abused drug, just behind nicotine and alcohol.