Pubdate: Sun, 25 Jan 2015
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

The Associated Press

POT-RELATED CALLS TO COLO., WASH. POISON CENTERS UP

The spike in numbers since marijuana was legalized includes a 
troubling jump in cases involving young kids.

Marijuana-related calls to poison control centers in Colorado and 
Washington state have spiked since the states began allowing legal 
sales last year, with an especially troubling increase in calls 
concerning young children.

But it's not clear how much of the increase might be related to more 
people using marijuana, as opposed to people feeling more comfortable 
to report their problems now that the drug is legal for adults over 21.

New year-end data being presented to Colorado's legislature this week 
show that the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center received 151 
calls for marijuana exposure last year, the first year of retail 
recreational pot sales. That was up from 88 calls in 2013 and 61 in 
2012, the year voters legalized pot.

Calls to the Washington Poison Center for marijuana exposures jumped 
by more than half, from 158 in 2013 to 246 last year.

Public health experts say they are especially concerned about young 
children accidentally eating marijuana edibles. Calls involving 
children nearly doubled in both states: to 48 in Washington involving 
children 12 or under, and to 45 in Colorado involving children 8 or under.

"There's a bit of a relaxed attitude that this is safe because it's a 
natural plant, or derived from a natural plant," Dr. Alex Garrard, 
clinical managing director of the Washington Poison Center. "But this 
is still a drug. You wouldn't leave Oxycontin lying around on a 
countertop with kids around, or at least you shouldn't."

About half of Washington's calls last year involved hospital visits, 
with most of the patients being evaluated and released from an 
emergency room, Garrard said. Ten people were admitted to intensive 
care units-half of them under 20 years old.

Pot-related calls to Washington's poison center began rising steadily 
several years ago as medical marijuana dispensaries started 
proliferating in the state. In 2006, there were just 47 calls. That 
rose to 150in 2010 and 162 before actually dropping by a few calls in 
2013, a year in which adults could use marijuana but before legal 
recreational sales had started.

Calls about exposure to marijuana combined with other drugs spiked in 
Colorado, too. There were 70 such calls last year, up from 39 calls 
in 2013 and 49 calls in 2012.

Both states saw increases in calls across all age groups. Colorado's 
biggest increase was among adults over 25 - from 40 in 2013 to 102 
calls last year.

In Denver, authorities charged a couple with child abuse last month, 
saying their 3-year-old daughter tested positive for marijuana. The 
couple brought the girl to a hospital after she became sick.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom