Since the state of New York legalized recreational marijuana in 2021, some Long Island hospitals said they have noticed an increase in emergency room visits from cannabis-related incidents.
At Stony Brook Hospital, some doctors said that they have felt this growth, especially among underage users.
“In my opinion, we see an increasing frequency of marijuana and cannabinoid related visits in both children and adolescents, and young adults,” said Dr. Carl Kaplan, the Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Stony Brook Children's Hospital. “It's something we see every day.”
Six years ago, New York saw over 58,000 cannabis-related emergency room visits in 2019. Four years later, the state saw a significant increase in marijuana-related ER visits, with over 135,000 incidents in 2023, according to state data obtained by the USA TODAY Network.
Kaplan said that at Stony Brook Hospital, the highest rate of children coming to the ER was in 2021– it still had a significant amount of visits in 2022, but slightly fewer. However, Kaplan highlights that the ER visits from cannabis-related issues among adolescents and young adults have been steadily increasing.
Common causes for these ER visits include cannabis poisoning, overdosing and the overconsumption of marijuana.
Symptoms of acute cannabis poisoning include a decreased level of consciousness, sedation, vomiting, and changes in a person’s speech pattern.
Young children and adolescents are at risk of overconsumption and cannabis poisoning because of their exposure to cannabis edibles. While cannabis gummies can look like candy gummies, young children are vulnerable to accidentally consuming cannabis gummies and overdosing.
Kaplan described the signs when emergency care is necessary.
“I think that when someone notices another individual who is unresponsive and can't be woken easily and/or they are repeatedly vomiting,” Kaplan said, “then those are signs that they should seek emergency care.”
Kaplan recommends that marijuana be used only by those who’ve reached the legal age of 21, for new users to start with a small dosage, and to safely store the cannabis so children are not exposed to it. For individuals with significant behavioral health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, he recommends not ingesting cannabinoids without the permission of their mental health provider.
