CNN reports marijuana edibles “pose a growing danger to young kids” due to legalization and expansion across the country.
Nationwide, policymakers have legalized marijuana to varying degrees, and federal regulators have eased restrictions on the drug. But pundits continue to raise concerns about legalization’s unintended consequences — especially when it comes to children.
CNN writes:
In the United States, accidental ingestions of recreational drugs have surged by more than 3,300% among children younger than 6 over a 25-year period, according to a recent study published in the journal BMC Public Health. Cannabis products, particularly edibles, accounted for much of the increase.
As legalization makes more edibles and other cannabis products available, young children are more likely to find and consume them in their own homes.
The BMC Public Health study CNN referenced found more than 41,000 cases in which children under the age of six accidentally ingested drugs over the past 25 years. Most of the children were less than three years old, and most of the cases involved marijuana products like edibles laced with THC.
We have written repeatedly about how marijuana edibles are particularly dangerous for children because the edibles often look just like ordinary food. Small children cannot tell the difference between a marijuana gummy and plain candy.
Poison Control Centers and public health data have all found that marijuana edibles are sending kids to ERs and hospitals nationwide.
Marijuana isn’t just dangerous for kids. Legalization affects everyone — even people who never use drugs.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the CDC report that after alcohol, marijuana is the substance most often associated with impaired driving.
In Colorado and Washington, marijuana-related traffic deaths doubled after legalization. Coroner records analyzed in Ohio showed that from 2019 to 2024, nearly half of fatal car accidents in a major county were linked to marijuana.
Marijuana is not just a public health danger to children or to drivers. Legalization has also fueled the black market.
Instead of decreasing crime, we now know legalization has actually emboldened drug cartels and increased the flow of illegal drugs across America.
Authorities in California seized more than 63,000 pounds of illegal marijuana from April to June of this year and made multiple raids at illegal marijuana sites over the summer.
The U.S. Department of Justice has said organized crime from Mexico and China may be making millions of dollars from marijuana grown in states like Maine.
Illegal marijuana operations are often believed to be tied to labor trafficking and violent crime — contributing to what some have called “modern day slavery on American soil.” These grow sites often use illegal pesticides that poison users and pollute the local environment.
Leaders in Arkansas have pointed out that the state sits at the heart of major drug trafficking corridors. As a result, the Arkansas State Police routinely intercept marijuana from other parts of the country that appears to be intended for the black market.
In many cases, it is possible this marijuana was grown legally but then illegally diverted to the black market.
All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
