When the grass isn’t greener: A case series of young children with accidental marijuana ingestion

Abstract

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in Canada, with 10% of the general population admitting to its use in the past year. This high prevalence increases risk of accidental ingestion in young children. We report four pediatric cases of accidental marijuana ingestion who presented to our local emergency department with altered mental status. Three patients had extensive testing, including one patient who underwent lumbar puncture and empirical treatment for meningitis. To our knowledge, this is the first Canadian case series since McNabb et al., published over 2 decades ago. The case series aims to highlight the importance of considering acute marijuana intoxication in the differential diagnosis when assessing young children with altered level of consciousness.