Kids Cannabis Edible Symptoms: Signs and Timeline

What to do first

Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. The call is free. Staff answer 24 hours a day, every day. Give the child's age, weight, and the THC amount on the package if you know it.

Cannabis and Child Accidental Ingestion: Safety Guide

Call 911 if the child has trouble breathing, has a seizure, or does not wake up when you rub their chest or call their name.

Child Cannabis Overdose Signs: What to Look For

Symptoms by body system

• Sleepiness that goes past normal napping. The child is hard to wake.
• Vomiting, one time or repeated.
• Loss of balance. An unsteady walk or a stumble when standing still.
• Fast heart rate.
• Confusion, slurred speech, or a blank stare.
• Agitation, crying that does not stop, or a startle response.
• Slow breathing, cold skin, or a blue tint on the lips in severe cases.

Timeline

Symptoms start 30 to 120 minutes after the child eats the edible. Some products take longer because of the food base. Peak effect lands at 2 to 4 hours. Symptoms can last 12 to 24 hours.

kids cannabis ingestion emergency

A second dose is the main cause of a worse case. Children do not know the effect is delayed, so they ask for more.

Dose thresholds

A standard adult serving is 10 mg of THC. A 15 kg child, about 33 lb, can show symptoms at 1 mg to 2 mg of THC. Children who eat 5 mg or more often need emergency care. A single 10 mg edible can cause a hospital visit for a toddler.

How often this happens

US poison centers reported about 3,000 cases of children under 6 eating cannabis edibles in 2021. The count was about 200 in 2017. Most cases involve a product taken from a home kitchen, a purse, or a drawer.

What not to do

• Do not make the child vomit.
• Do not give food, milk, or a cold shower to wake them.
• Do not leave the child alone.
• Keep the package and the label. Poison Control and the hospital staff ask for the THC number and the product name.

Hospital care

There is no antidote for THC. Emergency staff watch breathing, heart rate, and blood sugar. Treatment is support: oxygen, fluids, and monitoring. Most children recover in 24 hours with no lasting effects.

Prevention

• Store edibles in a locked box, not a drawer or a purse.
• Keep the original child-resistant package. Do not move edibles into a candy bag.
• Do not call edibles candy, gummies, or treats in front of children.
• Save the Poison Control number in your phone contacts.