Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 right away if a child eats cannabis, and keep the package so you can tell them the product name and its THC content. In children, symptoms often start 30 minutes to 2 hours after an edible, and a small body feels the effect of THC far harder than an adult body does. Do not wait for symptoms to appear before you make the call.
What are the first steps after a child eats cannabis?
- Take the product away and put it somewhere the child cannot reach.
- Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. The line is free and staffed around the clock.
- Give the details: what the child ate, THC per serving, number of servings, and the time.
- Stay with the child and watch for sleepiness, vomiting, and unsteady walking.
- Skip home remedies. Do not force vomiting or try to dilute the dose with food or drink unless a nurse or pharmacist tells you to.
- Call 911 if the child has trouble breathing, a seizure, or will not wake up.
Poison Control staff triage the case and tell you whether to stay home or head to the emergency room. Write down the case number they give you. It helps the ER team and your pediatrician later.
First Aid for Kids Who Ate Cannabis: What to Do Right Away
Why are edibles a bigger risk for children than smoked cannabis?
An edible hides THC in a cookie, gummy, or chocolate bar, so a child sees candy and not a drug. One piece often holds 5 to 10 mg of THC, which is a full adult serving. Two or three pieces eaten in a few minutes push a toddler into a dose that no small body handles well.
- Delayed onset. The high arrives in 30 to 120 minutes, so a child may eat more before the first piece hits.
- Concentrated dose. One gummy can carry more THC than a child would get from several puffs of a joint.
- Body weight. THC per kilogram of body weight runs much higher in a 12 kg toddler than in an adult.
- Packaging. Some brands copy the look of real candy, which makes mistakes at home and at a relative's house more likely.
What symptoms should parents watch for?
Most children who eat cannabis get sleepy, clumsy, and hard to wake. Symptoms build over the first two hours, peak around two to four hours, and can linger for 6 to 12 hours with edibles.
what to do if kids ingest cannabis
- Deep sleepiness, limp body, or trouble staying awake
- Unsteady walking, shaky hands, slurred speech
- Vomiting, nausea, or stomach pain
- Fast heartbeat, dilated pupils, flushed skin
- Agitation or crying that does not settle
- In serious cases: slow or shallow breathing, seizures, or loss of consciousness
Children under 5 make up the bulk of cannabis exposure cases seen in US emergency departments. Infants and toddlers can get hit hard by a dose that an older child shrugs off.
When does a child need the emergency room?
Go to the ER, or call 911, if the child has trouble breathing, turns blue, has a seizure, cannot be woken, or cannot keep fluids down. Any child under 2 who ate cannabis needs a medical check, even if they look fine.
Bring the package or a photo of it. The THC amount and the ingredients list guide treatment. Some edibles also contain chocolate, nuts, or xylitol, and those matter for a child with allergies.
How do you prevent accidental ingestion at home?
Store cannabis and CBD the way you store opioids and cleaning products: locked, labeled, and out of sight.
- Move edibles and tinctures into a locked box or a cabinet with a child latch. The fridge door and the bedside table are the two worst spots.
- Keep the original child-resistant container. A baggie or a candy jar defeats the safety cap.
- Count what you have. If a piece goes missing, you will know before the child shows symptoms.
- Tell every caregiver: grandparents, sitters, and the parents at a sleepover. Edibles in a purse or a car console cause many of these cases.
- Buy products with clear dosing and a lab report. A label that states THC per piece lets you give Poison Control an exact number.
- Do not eat an edible in front of a young child or joke that it is candy.
Are CBD products a risk for children?
CBD products can carry trace THC, and the label does not always match the bottle. Third-party lab reports, often called a COA, show the actual cannabinoid content, including THC. A child who drinks a whole bottle of CBD oil may take in far more THC than the label suggests.
Keep tinctures, gummies, and capsules in the same locked cabinet as medicine. Do not give a child CBD without a pediatrician's input, and do not treat a child's ingestion of a CBD product as harmless when the lab report is missing.
Questions parents ask about cannabis ingestion
How long do the effects last in a child?
Expect 6 to 12 hours of symptoms from an edible, sometimes longer after a large dose. Poison Control will give you a timeline for your case and tell you when to seek care.
Can one gummy hurt a toddler?
Yes. A single 10 mg gummy is an adult serving, and a toddler weighs a fraction of an adult. Treat any amount eaten by a child as a call to Poison Control.
Should I make my child throw up?
No. Vomiting does not remove much THC from an edible, and it raises the risk of choking. Wait for instructions from Poison Control or the ER staff.
What if the edibles belong to a grandparent or a sitter?
Ask about locked storage before the visit. A calm question about where cannabis and CBD are kept prevents most of these calls.
Will cannabis show on a drug test after one exposure?
Maybe. THC metabolites can stay in urine for days after a single high dose, and a positive test in a child can raise questions from a doctor or caseworker. Tell the full story at the first call.