If there’s one thing the Massachusetts State Legislature loves to do, it’s legalize ways for people to get high.
In 2016 it greenlighted marijuana, and earlier this year lawmakers in the House and Senate filed legislation that would give the nod to certain psychedelic plants and fungi. What’s next after “magic mushrooms – LSD?
While the legal cannabis industry in Massachusetts is an economic success story in general, with dispensaries producing billions in revenue for the state, the unintended consequences are nothing short of horrifying.
Earlier this week, four students at the Henderson Inclusion School in Boston were hospitalized for eating pot-infused edibles, according to school officials.
As the Herald reported, Head of School Stephanie Sibley said in a letter to families that the middle-school students “ingested what appeared to be a cannabis-infused chocolate edible,” on Tuesday.
Boston Police spokesman Sgt. Det. John Boyle said the students, three females and a male, “ingested some potato chips of THC and a chocolate bar which contained THC.”
Several Henderson students were also found to be ingesting pot edibles in late March. Earlier that month, students from the Tobin K-8 School in Roxbury were treated for eating food containing the substance.
Edibles can be purchased in the form of peanut butter cups, gummies, chocolate bars and the like.
You know, the stuff children go for.
This is not new. Back in 2020 the Herald wrote an editorial after South Shore Health reported that its pediatric emergency department had seen a rise in cases involving kids who become ill after eating candies, chocolates, sours and “gummies” that contain THC.
A spokesperson added that South Shore Hospital has treated patients as young as 6 who have ingested THC-laced candies and treats.
“Children often can’t tell the difference between a food product laced with THC and one without. Edibles laced with THC, and intended for adult consumption and dosages,’” read a statement from Dr. Mark Waltzman, the chair of pediatrics at South Shore Hospital.
That’s the thing: kids can’t tell a THC-laced chocolate bar from a regular one, or a “special” peanut butter cup from the kind they get at Halloween. Of course the adults who purchased these items have a responsibility to keep them out of children’s hands – but clearly, that’s not happening enough.
It’s not just Massachusetts. As the New York Times reported in January, a study found that accidental consumption of marijuana edibles, such as brownies and gummies, among children under the age of 6 has surged in recent years as more states have legalized the recreational use of pot. The study published in the journal Pediatrics found that there had been a “consistent increase in pediatric edible cannabis exposures over the past five years, with the potential for significant toxicity.”
There were more than 7,000 reported cases of accidental ingestion by children 5 and under between 2017 and 2021, and cases rose 1,375% over that period, the study found.
We can’t just wait and hope that more children don’t get into their parents’ stash. Those who manufacture edibles, schools, community leaders, the medical community and children’s advocates must work together on a solution before an accidental ingestion becomes fatal.
