No pot in front of tots: Kids like to imitate the actions of adults, Saskatchewan Prevention Institute says

Emma Spears - thegrowthop.com Posted 5 years ago
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The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute (SPI) is shining the spotlight on cannabis for the currently-in-progress National Poison Prevention Week.

From Mar. 17 to 23, the SPI is reminding people who care for children to use caution and consistency when storing cannabis, be it for medical or adult-use.

 

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The SPI says that the Saskatchewan Poison Control Centre received 28 calls last year related to children and youth under 19 ingesting cannabis. Although it also notes that these calls did not necessarily require intervention from a medical professional. There is no data related to how many incidents led to individuals seeking medical attention.

The SPI also advises that “to prevent cannabis poisoning,” parents and caregivers should “never consume cannabis in any form in front of children, either for medical or recreational purposes. Children like to imitate the actions of adults.”

They also suggest that parents ask “anyone whose home your children spend time in to store any cannabis products safely and to not use them in front of your children,” and provide guidelines for storing and labelling cannabis products.

The Institute writes that “the effects of cannabis poisoning are also more severe in younger children and can include respiratory distress, organ failure, and even death.”

The final part of the statement is not quite accurate. Although there have been numerous media reports of children hospitalized after consuming cannabis, there has only been one reported child death potentially attributable to the drug–and that report is highly controversial.

The SPI is not the only health-related institute to miss the mark on cannabis safety this week. The IWK Health Centre in Halifax also made some media blunders in the form of statements regarding labelling and child-safe packaging.

12924534 1356050917754099 8055234715557371120 n e1553180062362 No pot in front of tots: Kids like to imitate the actions of adults, Saskatchewan Prevention Institute says

From Mar. 17 to 23, the SPI is reminding people who care for children to use caution and consistency when storing cannabis, be it for medical or adult-use.

Accidental drug-related poisonings accounted for 78 percent of poisoning incidents from 2004 to 2013 in Saskatchewan youth aged 20 and under.

Federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas-Taylor encouraged Canadians “to take precautions against accidental cannabis ingestion” in honour of the occasion, noting that  “Symptoms of cannabis poisoning may include a rapid heartbeat, vomiting, severe anxiety or panic attacks, and respiratory depression.”

 

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