LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Calls to poison control centers are rising across the nation, as children are accidentally ingesting marijuana edibles.
This is a trend that area dispatch centers and even the state of Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency don’t have data for. Fortunately, local health expert Sarah Surna weighed in with tips to keep your family safe.
Sarah Surna is the Community Health Promotion Specialist for Barry-Eaton District Health Department,
“Our main suggestion would be to use something like a lock box that we are already offering at the health department, putting it in an area that might be less accessible to children and pets and also knowing the information for poison control if something is accidentally ingested.”
The colorful gummies allow users a quick and convenient way to take marijuana for recreational and medical purposes, yet unsecured edibles are behind a startling national trend. The number of children under 12 who have ingested THC edibles at home has sharply increased from 132 in 2016 to almost 2,500 last year. Cases that require medical care are trailing closely behind, however, simple locks like those offered by Barry-Eaton county can keep your family safe.
“We encourage anyone to come into our charlotte offices, we have lockboxes available in our environmental health offices and our vaccine clinic office. And it’s one per family. And you can take one with no questions asked and they have a combination lock that you can program yourself and put anything you like in there,” said Surna.
If a similar case happens in your home or if you or someone you know may have ingested a dangerous substance, please contact Poison Control immediately at 1-800-222-1222 or go to poison.org for help.
