Cannabis-related poison control calls for kids increase in Mass. after medical marijuana legalization

Cannabis-related calls for kids in Massachusetts to the poison control center increased in the years after marijuana was legalized in the state, according to new research. The rate of calls before the first dispensaries opened in 2015 was 1.3 per 100,000 people, but after that rate went up to 2.2 per 100,000 people. The number of calls in the four years leading up to legalization and the four years after was still low, at 218. Teens ages 15-19 had the most such calls, and they were more likely to be male. Inhalation was the most common form of marijuana exposure and some two-thirds of all exposures were intentional. States with medical marijuana laws should also ensure that their poison control centers are equipped to deal with any increases in calls, the authors suggest.