A panel that reviews child deaths and serious injuries in Maine reports that the number of children who have accidentally ingested drugs has more than tripled in the last three years. And some state lawmakers said a recent change in the law could make the situation worse.
Half of last year’s 94 cases involved cannabis. And with 51 child ingestions reported through June, Maine is on pace to exceed last year’s totals.
Rep. Michele Meyer, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, said it’s easy to connect the dots between the rising numbers of child poisonings and the increasing availability of cannabis edibles such as gummies.
“And it is with deep regret that I see the Legislature weakening regulations around labeling of these products,” Meyer said during a committee meeting Wednesday. “You know, we are talking about a product that takes the form of well-known food products that are enticing to children.”
Under a new law, individual servings of gummies and some other edibles no longer need to be labeled with a symbol signifying that they contain cannabis. Industry representatives had argued that it was impractical to label each individually wrapped serving.
Meanwhile, the Northern New England Poison Control Center reported 71 calls last year of child poisonings involving cannabis.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
