When they looked at children under five, calls increased 22 times.
“The kids who explore and get into accidental things are usually one to two year olds. Children are very curious, and especially if things are packaged and smell or taste like candy, kids are going to be attracted to them. So it’s incumbent on the parent to keep them safe by keeping these products out of reach,” said Smolinske.
A quick Google search shows just how colorful and similar that packaging can be to food you can find at the grocery store, whether it’s chips or chocolate.
“Kids developed different symptoms that are much more likely to be so lethargic that they need to have a tube down the throat to help them breathe. It’s not uncommon to have kids need to be in the intensive care unit after a marijuana exposure,” Smolinske said.
So at Everest Cannabis Co. they’ve been thinking ahead.
“You have to pull up the tab and break it open in order to get the top off and then it opens like a can,” said Trishelle Kirk, CEO of Everest Cannabis Co.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” Kirk said. “Nobody wants kids to get their hands on cannabis, especially not cannabis operators. And so we started looking for childproof packaging, luckily really before they were the start of pandemic because it’s gotten much harder since that started.”
Some vape pens that use cannabis oil are different and not everyone can function it. In fact, you can register the device to your phone and make sure no one else can get into it, like a child. It even has a function where you can lock the vape pen.
“This is an oil that you can use in a variety of products, teas, drinks etc. This also has a push and turn in order to make it difficult for children to open it,” said Kirk.
Kirk says all their products are childproof.
“The sticker has to be removed and it has to have a push and turn in order to open it. Once you take off this tamperproof seal, this is a childproof pack on the top that makes it difficult to get access to this product. There’s multiple steps with its dexterity and hand size of children. They just find it very difficult to get into that kind of packaging,” she said.
The poison center at UNM is preparing for recreational sales and has been gathering product information in case a child does accidentally ingest a product.
“We’ll be able to look up the amount of THC in it and provide advice in terms of deciding whether someone can be kept at home or not,” Smolinske said.
The poison center has a good rule of thumb for parents:
“If you try to arouse them and they can’t wake up, then you need to call 911,” said Smolinske.
Outside of an emergency, the poison center is available 24/7 to answer questions. You can also call them at 1 (800) 222-1222.
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