Young children being exposed to marijuana in the U.S. may be more common than we think.
A new study conduct at Ohio’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital suggests that more children under the age of six are being exposed to marijuana across the U.S., according to TIME.
The research, which has been published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics, reportedly showed a 147.5 percent increase in marijuana exposure among children younger than 6 years old between 2006 and 2013.
“Any state considering marijuana legalization needs to include child protection in its laws from the very beginning,” stated Gary Smith, senior author of the study and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
During the 2000 to 2013 period, there were 1,969 marijuana exposures reported among children 5 and under to Poison Control Centers, according to Yahoo News. Of the children that have been exposed, nearly 78 percent were reportedly under three, with the average age being 1.81.
Three-quarters of the exposure reportedly occurred via ingestion due to the burgeoning market of pot brownies, cookies and candy.
“Very young children explore their environments by putting items in their mouths,” stated co-author Henry Spiller.