Introduction: In Massachusetts, US, medical cannabis legalisation was associated with increased paediatric cannabis exposure cases, including emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations. The impact of recreational cannabis legalisation (RCL) on paediatric exposures in Massachusetts has yet to be studied.
Methods: To compare the incidences before and after RCL in Massachusetts, US, we queried the data on paediatric cannabis exposure cases in 2016-2021 from the Centre for Healthcare and Analysis and Injury Surveillance Programme at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The pre-and post-legalisation phases comprised the periods between 2016-2018 and 2019-2021, respectively. Cannabis-related exposure cases included ED visits and hospitalizations among children and young adolescents of 0-19 years old.
Results: During the 6-year period (2016-2021), 2357 ED visits and 538 hospitalizations related to cannabis exposure among children and teenagers (0-19 years) were reported in Massachusetts. The incidence of ED visits for all age groups increased from 18.5 per 100 000 population before RCL to 31.0 per 100 000 population (incidence rate ratio (IRR), 1.6; 95% CI, 1.5 to 1.8). Children in the age groups of 0-5 and 6-12 years experienced the highest increase in cannabis-related ED visits. Additionally, the incidence of hospitalisation due to cannabis intoxication substantially increased following RCL (IRR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.8 to 2.7), a 126% increase.
Conclusions: Cannabis-related ED visits and hospitalizations among children and teenagers increased after recreational cannabis became legal in Massachusetts, US. Further efforts are warranted to prevent the unintentional impact of RCL, especially considering substantial increases in cannabis exposure cases among young children.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ip-2023-045052 | DOI Listing |
Toxins (Basel)
December 2024
Division of Toxicology, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, HR-10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
The increasing use of products for medicinal, dietary, and recreational purposes has raised concerns about mycotoxin contamination in cannabis and hemp. Mycotoxins persist in these products' post-processing, posing health risks via multiple exposure routes. This study investigated cytotoxic and genotoxic interactions between cannabidiol (CBD) and the mycotoxin citrinin (CIT) using human cell models: SH-SY5Y, HepG2, HEK293, and peripheral blood lymphocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuroSci
December 2024
Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Psychology Department, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98229, USA.
Volatile organic compounds, colloquially referred to as "terpenes", have been proposed to impact the therapeutic qualities that are traditionally ascribed to cannabis. However, the contribution of these terpenes in anxiety, at relevant levels and exposure methods common with cannabis use, is lacking empirical assessment. We tested the anxiolytic properties of two prominent cannabis terpenes, linalool and β-myrcene, in male and female mice using short duration vapor pulls to model human inhalation when combusting flower or vaping cannabis oil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Psychiatry
December 2024
Department of Psychiatry, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India; Department of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neurotoxicology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
Up to 10% of women may use cannabis during pregnancy; this is of concern because constituents of cannabis cross the placental barrier and potentially influence neurodevelopment by acting on cannabinoid receptors in the developing fetal brain. In this context, a recent meta analysis of 13 observational studies found that gestational exposure to cannabis was associated with a small increase in the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD; relative risk [RR], 1.30) and with an even smaller increase in the risk of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; RR, 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBasic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol
January 2025
Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The worldwide legalization of medicinal cannabis has led to an increased use of products made by commercial operators. These products often contain minor cannabinoids such as cannabinol (CBN) which are advertised to improve sleep. Products are also available in which CBN is combined with conventional therapies, with a common product containing both CBN and the widely used sleep-aid melatonin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmacol Res Perspect
February 2025
School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Data addressing safety concerns related to potential drug interactions between cannabis-derived products and pharmaceutical medications in the pediatric population are lacking. In this study, we retrieved case reports through a published literature search using PubMed and spontaneous reporting data using the Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) to identify potential cannabis- and cannabinoid-drug interactions in individuals younger than 18 years old. To evaluate the published case reports, we used the Drug Interaction Probability Scale (DIPS), a 10-item questionnaire designed to discern the causal relationship between a potential drug interaction and adverse drug reactions (ADRs).
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