If a Child or Pet Eats Cannabis: Who to Call
Who to call, what to bring and what to say if a child or pet has eaten cannabis. General information only.
Short answer: if a child or pet eats cannabis, seek urgent help straight away. For a child, call your emergency number or your local poison centre. For a pet, call a vet or an animal poison service. Do not wait for symptoms to appear.
If a child or pet eats an edible
- Child: call your local poison control centre right away, even if they seem fine (US: 1-800-222-1222). If they have trouble breathing, are hard to wake, or have a seizure, call emergency services (US: 911). Do not make them vomit. Keep the package to show how much THC it contained.
- Pet: call your vet or an animal poison control line right away.
What to do first
- Stay calm and stay with them.
- Call for help: emergency services or the poison centre for a child; a vet or animal poison service for a pet.
- Take the packaging or product with you, so responders can see what was eaten.
- Follow the advice you are given by the person you spoke to.
- If they cannot be roused, call emergency services at once.
What to tell the responder
- What was eaten, and what the label says.
- About how much, if you know.
- When it happened.
- The age and weight of the child or pet, and any health conditions.
Why not to wait
Edibles can take time to take effect, so a child or pet may seem fine at first. Do not wait to see what happens before making the call.
Prevent it
- Store products locked and out of sight and reach. See how to store cannabis safely at home.
- Keep edibles in their original, labelled packaging.
- Never leave infused food on a counter or in an unmarked container.
Common mistakes
- Waiting to see if symptoms appear.
- Searching online instead of calling.
- Throwing away the packaging.
General information, not medical or veterinary advice. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.
Sources
- US CDC, Cannabis and poisoning, cdc.gov/cannabis/health-effects/poisoning.html.
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org, edible marijuana dangers, healthychildren.org/…/edible-marijuana-dangers.aspx.
- Geisinger, how to keep kids safe from marijuana edibles, geisinger.org/…/how-to-keep-kids-safe-from-marijuana-edibles.
- Your local poison centre, emergency services or veterinarian (official contact details for your area).
Last updated .
How we write this: figures come only from named public sources, and where we have no source we write without a number. Published by Insaan LLC as an organisation, with no individual author named; see about this site.
