The number of young people consuming toxic levels of marijuana edibles or smoking pot to the point that they require emergency help shot up dramatically during the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
The new data are "concerning" to pediatric emergency care doctors like Dr. Caleb Ward at Children's National hospital in Washington, D.C., but they're no surprise.
"It would be an unusual week if we're not seeing a child presenting to our emergency room with side effects from cannabis ingestion," said Ward, who was not involved with the new report.
While older teenagers accounted for the vast majority of cannabis-related ER visits, the most stunning increase was found among children under age 11: a 214% increase, on average, from 2019 to 2022.
As many as 23 states currently have legalized recreational marijuana and 38 allow its medical use.
Read more at NBCNews.com.
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