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Anybody involved with keeping up to date with all things cannabis will have seen the recent plethora of media reports saying that cannabis poisonings are inundating ER departments. But what is the reality behind the headlines? What are the numbers?
Ruth analysed publicly available data for California since 2016 and unsurprisingly the results show a more nuanced, complex narrative where context is key.
Ruth Fisher
Co-Founder, CannDynamics | Economist | Systems Modeler | Analyst | Educator | Expert Witness
Explains in clear, easy-to-understand terms how products or technologies create value for customers, companies, and investors and how to maximize the value created.
Model system dynamics to understand how environments (culture, technology, markets, laws, infrastructure) shape outcomes — for market systems, social systems, technology systems, etc. to determine:
* Which factors are important for shaping outcomes
* How the system will likely evolve in the current environment
* How to change the environment to improve outcomes
Economist with expertise in:
* Theoretical and Applied Modeling and Problem-Solving
* Game Theory
* Behavioral Economics
* Systems Dynamics
* Complexity Theory
* Data Analysis
Areas of interest include:
* Technology Ecosystem Dynamics
* Technology Adoption
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* Healthcare
* Cannabis and Psychedelics
* Economics of Networks and Information
* Creation, Management, and Capitalization of Intellectual Capital and Intellectual Property
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfisher/
https://quantaa.com/blog/609-cannabis-related-poisonings
CANNABIS-RELATED POISONINGS
WRITTEN ON 19 JULY 2026
by Ruth Fisher, PhD
- Symptoms of Cannabis Poisoning
- Poison Control Calls
- Cannabis Emergency Department Visits
- Cannabis ED Visits vs. Poison Control Calls
- Discussion
- References
This analysis seeks to better understand and contextualize trends in cannabis poisonings over time.
Let’s start by understanding what the symptoms and effects of cannabis poisonings involve.
Symptoms of Cannabis Poisoning
A review of unintentional exposures by adults[1] indicated,
Common presenting symptoms included dizziness, dry mouth/mucous membranes, confusion, vision changes, paresthesia, nausea/vomiting, speech difficulties, anxiety, and somnolence. Hypertension, memory impairment, lethargy, incoordination, and tachycardia were frequent…
A study of unintentional exposures by children[2] indicated,
Common symptoms of paediatric cannabis exposure include drowsiness, tachycardia, ataxia, and vomiting. More serious effects, like hypotension, coma, respiratory depression, and seizure, occur in less than 3.5% of cases, with some requiring intensive care and invasive measures such as intubation.
A discussion of cannabis poisoning resolutions will be discussed later in the analysis. Next, let’s see what patterns in calls to poison control centers involving cannabis look like.
Poison Control Calls
CALIFORNIA CANNABIS POISON CONTROL CALLS
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) published statistics on California-related calls to the California Poison Control System (CPCS) between 2016 and 2024.[3] Calls are reported based on several categorizations including:
- Intention of cannabis exposure, where categories include:
- Intentional: “… [A]cute toxicity resulting from deliberate misuse or overdose of cannabis products… Intentional self-harm involving cannabis typically results from deliberate ingestion or inhalation of cannabis in amounts exceeding safe limits. This may involve concentrated products, edibles, or other forms of cannabis, with the explicit intent to cause harm.[4]Other descriptions of poisonings involving intentional use suggest that the this label includes individuals who intended on consuming cannabis but unintentionally consumed too much, that is, they did not necessarily intend to cause self-harm.
- Unintentional: “… [A]ccidental (unintentional) instances where the exposure was not intentional, as opposed to deliberate misuse or abuse… Accidental cannabis poisoning typically results from consuming edibles with high THC content, inhaling concentrated cannabis products, or mistakenly ingesting cannabis products, especially by children or inexperienced users.”[5]
- Unknown/other
- Modes of use, which are not mutually exclusive, include
- Dried Plant (Flower)
- Edible Preparation (Edibles)
- Concentrated Extract (Extracts)
- E-cigarettes (Vapes)
- Unknown/Other, which includes unknown, oral capsule or pill, topical, undried plant, or other preparation
“These categories when combined may not equal the total number of calls because of missing mode information for some calls and some calls being about more than one product.”
- Age Group:
- 5 and under (5-)
- 6 through 19 (6 – 19)
- 20 and older (20+)
CALLS BY INTENTION
The data indicate that total calls increased annually from 850 in 2016 to 2,234 in 2023, then remained stable between 2023 and 2024 (Figures 1 and 2). Calls for unintentional use increased early on but have leveled off to about 60% of total calls, with intentional use relatively stable over the period and accounting for about 30% of calls (Figure 3).
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Takeaways:
- Calls increased by about 160% between 2016 and 2024.
- Calls have stabilized over more recent years.
- About 60% of calls are due to unintentional use.
Also see these datasets
* Data for 8th, 10th, 12th graders:
https://monitoringthefuture.org/data/bx-by/drug-prevalence/#drug=%22Any+Illicit+Drug%22
Dropoff in cannabis started with Covid and hasn’t recovered.
* Data for adults:
https://monitoringthefuture.org/data/panel/substance-use/#drug=%22Cannabis%22
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