The legalization of marijuana is contributing to accidental poisoning of small children, according to the Department of Health. Blacklock's Reporter says data shows "significant associations" between Parliament’s repeal of a criminal ban on cannabis and emergency room visits by children, the department reported.“Various sources of evidence indicate significant associations between cannabis legalization and increases in cannabis-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions, and poison center calls,” said a department briefing note.“These increases have been attributed to accidental ingestion of edible cannabis in those under 12 years old and primarily by children younger than 5 ingesting cannabis whose source is unknown or illegal,” the note, dated June 19, continued. Colourful packaging of some edibles was “appealing to children,” it said.This briefing note follows a 2022 lawsuit in which Mars Canada Inc. won a $144,600 Trademarks Act judgment against marijuana dealers who sold edible cannabis under a copycat Skittles candy label. Federal Court Justice Patrick Gleeson condemned the practice as indecent.“Advertising and offering for sale a potentially dangerous product using appropriated trademarks that are evidently and obviously attractive to children represents a marked departure from ordinary standards of decent behaviour,” wrote Justice Gleeson.Earlier research by the Public Health Agency suggested that accidental marijuana poisonings accounted for more non-fatal hospitalizations than opioids. “Among cases with an identified location, the majority of cannabis-related poisonings occurred in a residential setting such as at the person’s home or a friend’s house,” wrote staff.“Of 23,589 hospitalizations for harm caused by substance abuse among youth aged 10 to 24 years in 2017 to 2018, those related to cannabis were more common than those caused by any other substance including alcohol, opioids, and cocaine,” stated the 2020 report "Sentinel Surveillance Of Injuries And Poisonings Associated With Cannabis."A statutory review of legalization last October 10 questioned whether the program achieved what it promised. “One of the key goals of legalization was to protect the health and safety of Canadians, to keep cannabis out of the hands of children and youth,” said an Expert Panel report. “However, many of the people we engaged with expressed concern that rates of cannabis use among youth in Canada remain high compared to other jurisdictions and that legalization has not led to a discernible decrease in youth cannabis use.”
