Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 immediately if a child ate a cannabis gummy, even if the child seems fine right now. Call 911 if the child is hard to wake, breathing slowly, having a seizure, or vomiting without stopping. Do not wait for symptoms to appear before you make the call.
What should I do first if a child ate a cannabis gummy?
- Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. The line is free, confidential, and staffed 24 hours a day.
- Stay with the child and keep them awake and upright if you can.
- Save the package, wrapper, or label so a nurse or doctor can see the THC dose and product type.
- Write down the time you found the child and how many pieces are missing.
A specialist will tell you whether the child can be watched at home or needs an emergency department. Most children recover with monitoring, but only a medical professional can tell you which case you are dealing with.
How Long After Eating Cannabis Do Symptoms in Child Appear?
When is it a 911 emergency?
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if the child:
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- Will not wake up or is very hard to rouse
- Breathes slowly, shallowly, or stops breathing
- Has a seizure or jerking movements
- Vomits over and over or cannot keep fluids down
- Has a very fast or uneven heartbeat
- Acts confused, panicked, or does not respond to you
Children under 6 carry the highest risk because a small body weight turns a small THC dose into a large one.
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What symptoms appear, and when?
Symptoms start about 30 minutes to 2 hours after a gummy is eaten, because THC is absorbed through the gut. Sleepiness, unsteady walking, slurred speech, nausea, and a rapid heart rate are common. Effects can peak around 2 to 4 hours and last 6 to 12 hours or longer, so emergency doctors often keep a child overnight for observation.
How much THC is dangerous for a child?
There is no safe THC dose for a toddler. Symptoms have been reported after as little as 1 to 2 milligrams, and one gummy often holds 10 milligrams, which is a full adult serving. Edibles also hit harder than smoked cannabis because the liver converts THC into a more potent form.
Why do kids keep getting into gummies?
Convenience is the core of the problem. Gummies are pre-dosed, sealed, shelf stable, and sold in packaging that looks like candy, so they end up in purses, nightstands, and kitchen drawers instead of a locked box. Legal single-serve formats made edibles the fastest-growing cannabis category and, at the same time, a leading source of pediatric cannabis poisonings.
Edible cannabis exposures in children under 6 climbed from 207 in 2017 to 3,054 in 2021, a more than 13-fold increase as retail sales expanded.
What should I not do?
- Do not induce vomiting unless Poison Control or a doctor tells you to.
- Do not wait to see whether symptoms show up before calling.
- Do not assume a legal product is a safe product for a child.
- Do not leave the child alone to sleep it off.
How do I prevent the next one?
Store edibles in a locked container, up high, and out of sight, and keep them out of the home entirely if young children visit. Count the pieces when you buy them and after each use, and keep the original package for dosing information. Call edibles medicine or adult products, never candy, and never eat one in front of a child.