(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Researchers at Southern Illinois University have released a national study, which shows a sharp increase in recent years in the number of younger children eating products that contain ingredients from marijuana.
Dr. Marit Tweet of the SIU medical school said the number of children under the age of 6 who ate products that contain marijuana-based ingredients was about 14 times higher in 2021 than in 2017.
She said in about a quarter of those cases, children ate enough to require hospital treatment.
She explains one reason why children are attracted to many of these products.
"They can look like a number of different gummy products. They can be in a candy form like chocolate bars. They can be cookies, Tootsie Rolls, I mean all number of things," she said.
Dr. Tweet said the study also reflects the growing availability of food products that include ingredients from cannabis, after the legalization of recreational marijuana use in many states.
The study was published in the journal "Pediatrics."
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