Acute Cannabis Toxicity

Wong, Kei U. MD^∗; Baum, Carl R. MD, FAAP, FACMT^†

^∗Fellow (Wong), Department of Pediatrics

^†Professor (Baum), Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, Section of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.

The authors, faculty, and staff in a position to control the content of this CME activity and their spouses/life partners (if any) have disclosed that they have no financial relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial organizations relevant to this educational activity.

Reprints: Kei U. Wong, MD, Section of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Yale University, 100 York St (Suite 1F), New Haven, CT (e-mail:[email protected]).

Pediatric Emergency Care35(11):p 799-804, November 2019. |DOI:10.1097/PEC.0000000000001970

Abstract

The change in legal status of cannabis (the botanical speciesCannabis sativa, commonly known as marijuana) in the United States has had significant impact on pediatric drug exposures. In states with decriminalization of recreational and medicinal use of cannabis, emergency department visits and poison control center calls for unintentional pediatric cannabis intoxication are on the rise in the last few decades. Exploratory or unintentional ingestions of cannabis-containing products (as opposed to those derived from synthetic cannabinoids, which may mimic the structure and/or function of cannabis, but are not the focus of this article) can lead to significant pediatric toxicity, including encephalopathy, coma, and respiratory depression. With the increasing magnitude of the public health implications of widespread cannabis use, clinicians who care for pediatric patients routinely must be adept in the recognition, evaluation, management, and counseling of unintentional cannabis exposure.