Also, below, the numbers from the study referenced in the story.
They reveal ER visits by children for THC poisoning has
increased 150 times since Trudeau became PM.
..
Molasses cake with THC served to children, staff at N.S. school
One adult was sent to hospital, some children fell ill after event on Friday
Eskasoni Elementary and Middle School, Cape Breton, N.S.
Cake containing cannabis was served to children and staff at a school in Eskasoni, N.S., on Friday, according to police.
In a news release, Nova Scotia RCMP say a molasses cake was believed to have contained THC — the intoxicating component of cannabis.
One adult was sent to hospital shortly after eating the cake on Friday. A number of adults and children later sought medical attention after feeling ill.
Some tested positive for THC. Those include Kate Augustine's eight-year-old daughter, who attends the Eskasoni Immersion School, which has children from kindergarten to Grade 4. Eskasoni is about 40 kilometres southwest of Sydney, N.S.
Pale and sweating
"I was really angry and I'm hurt that that happened to her," Augustine said. "I'm just happy she didn't have a really bad anxiety attack or a heart attack. It is really scary. I couldn't even think about it because I was crying."
Augustine said her daughter was pale and sweating after school on Friday.
"I asked her what was wrong and she just kept telling me she was tired and her eyes were sore," she said. "When she woke up in the morning she was still groggy."
Cpl. Jennifer Clarke says there are fewer than 10 people known to have become sick. An outside caterer provided the cake for the event.
"We know the event was catered, so we do know where the cake came from," Clarke said. "We don't know how it happened and obviously we're looking into whether it was intentional."
Augustine said she learned about what had happened on Saturday morning from another parent. She decided to take her two children who attend the school to hospital and the eight-year-old tested positive for THC.
Among the other children who were there at the same time, Augustine said at least two tested positive for THC.
Mid-winter feast
She said at no point was she contacted directly by school staff about the incident. "They should have contacted me right away," she said. "I would like them to contact me, to actually come and talk to me, instead of me reading stuff on social media."
According to a post by the Eskasoni School Board on Facebook, the school was having a mid-winter feast on Friday. The post says "edible marijuana may have inadvertently been placed in a dessert cake" that was served.
"If you have [ingested] food from this event, or brought home from the event you should seek medical attention if necessary," the post reads. "If you have food from this event in your possession, please destroy it immediately."
Eskasoni Chief Leroy Denny said he and council will act on the police findings, but they have to wait until the investigation is complete. "Our main concern is the health and safety of these children. I'm glad that everybody is fine, OK now, but it was a scare," he said.
"Parents are upset, I spoke with some of them ... Once we get all the information, we'll get to the bottom of this." Denny said he plans to speak with both police and the school board on Monday.
The number of young children in Canada in need of medical care after accidentally ingesting cannabis has been on the rise, according to a report last year from the Canadian Paediatric Society.
And that was last year, before edible cannabis was legalized. The problem will grow exponentially because of Trudeau's PCMadness. Public horror shows like this will increase, but we are not likely to know how many children will have to go to ER because they live in a home where there are marijuana edibles. They should never be allowed anywhere. It's madness! It's child abuse. How traumatizing it is and will be for children. Thanks so much Justin.
The report said the majority of confirmed cases were due to accidental ingestion of cannabis belonging to a parent or caregiver.
Police in Eskasoni are investigating and ask anyone who became ill, regardless if they sought medical treatment, to contact them at 902-379-2822.
Montreal Gazette, May 16, 2019
Before 2016, it was rare for patients to consult the emergency department for cannabis use or intoxication. Between 1990 and 2016 there was, on average, one case every three years.
As discussions about legalizing marijuana began and interest in the topic grew, the volume of young children seen in the hospital’s trauma centre with symptoms following cannabis ingestion or cannabis intoxication increased. Since 2016, nine children under age seven have been treated in the trauma centre of Montreal's Children's Hospital. Symptoms have included vomiting, anxiety, lethargy, increased respiratory rate and seizures. Two young children with seizures ended up in intensive care.
Since marijuana was legalized on Oct. 17, 2018, there have been 26 visits to the trauma centre for marijuana-related reasons — mainly in those younger than 7 or 12 and older. There have been similar reports of increases in such visits to emergency departments by young people elsewhere in Canada and in jurisdictions in the United States in which marijuana has been legalized.
Approximate stats for Montreal Children's Hosp., Trauma Centre - number of small children with THC poisoning:
1990 - 2016 - 0.3 per year
2016 - Oct 2018 - 3.2 per year
Oct 2018 - Apr 2019 - 26 visits = 52 per year - 150 times as many as <2016. Trudeau became PM in the fall of 2015.
That is one city, one hospital, and edibles were just legalized. Who knows what that represents with respect to all of Canada. It could easily be in the vicinity of 7%, the approximate ratio of Montreal's population compared to the rest of Canada. If so, it would mean about 750 children have visited ERs because of cannabis. And that is likely to be very conservative as the numbers have been growing exponentially.
Children have no voice, and it appears too many parents are not willing to speak up for them. Certainly, the government isn't, and doesn't seem to care.
Although the increase affects teens as well, Thursday’s alert is focused on young children. They are more susceptible to cannabis poisoning because they are smaller, Chalut explained: A child weighing 15 kilograms (33 pounds) or even 30 or 40 kg (66 to 88 pounds) will be exposed to a higher concentration of the drug than an adult.
“If you eat the whole chocolate bar,
there is a crazy amount of THC in it,”
Children are not small adults, as the brochure explains, and consuming even a small amount of cannabis can have severe consequences for them.
THC is the principal psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, and its concentration in chocolate bars tends to be high. Adults generally consume only a small piece at a time. “If you eat the whole chocolate bar, there is a crazy amount of THC in it,” Chalut said.
It’s important for adults to realize that, simply because a product is legal, as marijuana is and as edible marijuana products will be come fall (and now is), does not mean it’s acceptable to leave it where a young child can find it, Friedman said.
“We really want to try to make people aware that just because it’s legal doesn’t mean that using it is without consequence,” she said.
And we don't know the long-term consequences of even a single dose of THC on a small child. But we will obviously find out in due time, thanks to our very Liberal government. My apologies if I sound a little bitter here, but this is child abuse, plain and simple, and so few seem to care.
The number of cases being seen in emergency represents “probably just the tip of the iceberg,” Chalut said.
Some parents might be reluctant to bring in a child who has swallowed an edible marijuana product, either because the child has no symptoms or because they fear that youth protection authorities will be involved. But if the ingestion has clearly been accidental, he said, authorities are not notified.
Symptoms often do not appear until two or even three hours later, Chalut said. “If you suspect an ingestion in a child younger than seven years of age, the child should be evaluated to make sure there is no problem.”
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