A new study has linked the legalization of cannabis with a rise in the number of Ontario seniors visiting emergency rooms.
A variety of cannabis edibles are displayed at the Ontario Cannabis Store in Toronto on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
"These are people very sick to the point where health-care practitioners, without knowing that they've consumed cannabis, consider other serious health conditions, like stroke, serious infection serious metabolic abnormalities." The study reported the pre-legalization rate of emergency room visits among older adults, which stood at 5.8 per 100,000, soared to 15.4 per 100,000 during the first phase of legalization. The rate rose again to 21.1 per 100,000 once edibles were legalized.
The findings come after several recent studies outlined a rise in the number of kids hospitalized for accidental cannabis poisonings after legalization. Those figures saw a notable spike after edibles such as THC-infused gummies, chocolates and baked goods were approved for sale in 2020. While Stall's report on older adults only included ER visits and not rates of hospitalization, he said the data "saw similar effects of increasing hospitalization for cannabis poisoning with the legalization of edibles."
Some older adults who consumed may have also been unfamiliar with how edibles differ from smoking cannabis, he added.
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