TOLEDO, Ohio — A one-year-old is recovering in the hospital after possibly eating marijuana edibles during a family gathering last Saturday, police say.
Officers found the child unresponsive in the family's west Toledo home and immediately rushed them to the hospital. A Toledo Police Department incident report describes the child's condition as "stable."
WTOL 11 spoke with Natalie Rine, the director of the Central Ohio Poison Center, about how much of a risk children consuming marijuana edibles is for families and what can be done to prevent it.
She said the Saturday incident should serve as a warning to all parents who have edibles at their home that they need to do everything they can to keep them out of kids' hands.
Despite their appealing packaging and candy-like flavors, marijuana edibles can have dangerous effects on kids. Rine said children often think they're eating regular candy, so they'll eat beyond the recommended dosage, which can result in dizziness, difficulty breathing and can even put them in a coma.
Rine said since medical marijuana was legalized in Ohio in 2016, COPC has seen accidental marijuana overdoses in kids increase.
So, if you're a parent with marijuana edibles at home, you need to treat them like any other prescription or over-the-counter medication, she said.
"If you are able to get a lockbox and keep the product stored ... that's much harder to get into, somewhere out of sight, especially away from foods, you don't want to keep them near any other snacks they might get into," Rine said. "I would treat them like any other medications or dangerous substances you wouldn't want them to get into."
If your child does end up consuming marijuana edibles, Rine said you should call 911 immediately. If your child ever ingests any foreign substance and you don't know what to do, you can call the COPC at (800) 222-1222. The COPC has 24-hour call availability and can walk you through the signs and symptoms and help you take the appropriate next steps.