Saskatchewan Dad Charged After Son Suffers Seizures from Eating Marijuana Cookies

Edible marijuana products on display at medical marijuana dispensary in Denver

Children who consume food containing marijuana are at serious risk, according to a Regina consultant on drug and alcohol addictions.

Rand Teed, from Regina, says the effects of marijuana on children can be damaging.

"It's very harmful to kids, no matter how you do it," Teed said.

"An overdose causes anxiety, panic attacks. It can cause hallucinations," he added. "[For] a little kid, if that kind of stuff starts to happen to them, they're going to have no idea what's going to go on. So that becomes very frightening."

Rand Teed, a Regina-based consultant on drug and alcohol addictions, warns
that  eating marijuana-laced cookies can easily lead to an overdose for a child

Teed's observation follows a report from Swift Current RCMP that a toddler suffered seizures and spent two days in intensive care in January after eating cookies made with marijuana.

RCMP said the 20-month-old boy survived and the father is facing charges.

Teed noted that cookies made with marijuana taste like regular cookies.

"So you can eat yourself into an overdose situation before you even realize that there's anything happening," Teed said..

The effects of the marijuana can harm brain development, he said.

"Kids that ... use it accidentally are risking changing how their brain is going to develop," he said. "It can cause comas and seizures."

Teed said marijuana could be compared to alcohol when it comes to keeping it away from children.

"You wouldn't leave a glass of alcohol where a toddler get it and drink it because we know that it is toxic," he said. "And marijuana is equally toxic, but in a different way."

RCMP did not provide details on how the Swift Current youngster came to ingest the marijuana cookies beyond stating the toddler "was given access to the cookies."

Last fall, an elementary student brought marijuana cookies to school and shared them with classmates.

RCMP in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, are investigating an incident in which a child brought cookies suspected of containing drugs to a local elementary school, and then shared them with classmates.

Officials with the Peace River South School District confirm the incident happened at École Frank Ross at the end of October, but are saying little else, refusing to confirm how many students ate the cookies in question, or whether any of them became ill as a result.

Police, however, admitted that several children were made sick and had to be taken home.