Toddlers Poisoned By Edible Drugs at Record Rates, Study Warns

A toddler finds a gummy on the coffee table. It looks like candy. It smells sweet. Before anyone notices, the child has swallowed it. That gummy might contain marijuana, and it might not be the only edible drug parents now have to worry about vanishing off counters and out of purses.

A new study published in BMC Public Health looked at more than two decades of calls to United States poison centers and found something startling: the rate at which young children accidentally swallowed recreational drugs jumped by 3,307% between 2000 and 2024. That is not a typo. What started as roughly one ingestion per 100,000 children in 2000 climbed to nearly 36 per 100,000 by 2024, with the sharpest climb kicking off around 2013.

A research team led by Nationwide Children’s Hospital analyzed data from the National Poison Data System, which collects information from poison centers across the country. They zeroed in on children younger than 6 who accidentally swallowed drugs like marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, psychedelic mushrooms, and opioids such as fentanyl and heroin. The goal was to figure out who these kids were, what they swallowed, and how badly it hurt them.

How Many Kids Are Swallowing Recreational Drugs?

Across the 24 years, researchers reviewed 41,612 cases of children under 6 who swallowed a recreational drug and were reported to poison centers. Most of these kids, 57.6%, were younger than 3. That tracks with how toddlers explore the world: everything goes in the mouth, and anything left on a low table or in an open purse is fair game.

Nearly all of the cases, 96.4%, happened at home, and 95.9% involved just one drug rather than a mix. Marijuana and related products made up the overwhelming share of ingestions at 84.7%. Cocaine and methamphetamine accounted for 8.4%, psilocybin mushrooms for 3.5%, opioids for 2.8%, and ketamine and similar drugs for 0.6%.

About half of the children (50.6%) had no effect or only mild symptoms. Another 30.8% had moderate effects, and 5% suffered what poison centers call a major effect, meaning symptoms were life-threatening or caused lasting harm. Six children died during the study period, and all six were younger than 3.

Age made a real difference in how badly a child was hurt. Kids under 3 were about 54% more likely to suffer a major effect than kids aged 3 to 5, and about 23% more likely to end up in intensive care. Study authors suggest younger kids weigh less, so the same amount of a drug may hit them harder relative to their size. Toddlers also struggle to tell adults something is wrong, which can delay treatment.

Marijuana Edibles Are Driving the Recreational Drugs Surge

Edible forms of marijuana like gummies and baked goods accounted for nearly half of all cases in the study, 47.9%. Edible cases began appearing in the study data in 2013 and grew fast, eventually overtaking other forms of marijuana around 2019.

Researchers tie this rise to the wave of state laws legalizing marijuana and the growing number of edible products showing up in people’s homes. Oddly, edible marijuana ingestions were actually less likely than other drugs to cause a major health effect or land a child in intensive care. But there were so many cases that these products still accounted for a large share of hospital admissions.

Opioids, Stimulants, and Mushrooms: Fewer Cases, Rougher Outcomes

Opioids made up a small slice of the total cases, just 2.8%, but their impact was outsized. Ingestions involving opioids were about 2.6 times more likely to be linked to an intensive care stay compared with other drugs combined. Fentanyl stood out most: it was involved in almost two-thirds of opioid cases and was roughly 7.7 times more likely to be linked to a major effect than all other substances combined. Four of the six deaths in the study were linked to fentanyl.

Cocaine and methamphetamine told a similar story. They accounted for 8.4% of cases but were about twice as likely to be linked to an intensive care stay or a major effect compared with other drugs combined. Two of the six deaths involved cocaine. Dissociative drugs, a category that includes ketamine and PCP-related substances that can cause hallucinations and a sense of detachment from reality, made up less than 1% of cases but were about 1.6 times more likely to be linked to intensive care admission than the other drug categories combined.

Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in certain mushrooms, produced one of the more unexpected findings. Ingestions involving psilocybin mushroom products rose sharply starting around 2018, climbing more than 1,400% by 2024. By the last two years of the study, psychedelic ingestions had grown to outpace every other drug category except marijuana.

Researchers suspect this jump tracks with psilocybin’s expanding legal status for therapy and its growing popularity as a recreational drug. They also flagged a separate problem: independent testing of some mushroom-branded gummies and chocolates has found inconsistent labeling, meaning products marketed as psilocybin may actually contain other substances entirely. That makes it harder to know exactly what children are being exposed to.

Why This Matters for Every Household

Study authors are direct about what needs to happen next. Since almost all these ingestions happen at home, they argue that safe storage is the best defense parents have. That means keeping any recreational drug, especially ones packaged to look like food, locked away and out of reach. Edible drug products are especially risky because they resemble candy and often come in multi-serving packages, making it easy for a small child to eat far more than intended in one sitting.

Researchers also want stronger packaging rules: child-resistant containers, clear labeling, and limits on how many servings come in a single package. They urge adults to avoid using these substances around young children too, since toddlers copy what they see grown-ups do.

Accidental ingestions among the youngest kids have climbed for more than a decade with no sign of slowing, and products like marijuana gummies and psilocybin chocolates are showing up in more homes. Until safe storage and packaging rules catch up with what’s now sitting on kitchen counters, the youngest children remain the ones most at risk.

Disclaimer: This article summarizes findings from a peer-reviewed study and is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Poison center data reflects cases reported to U.S. poison centers and may not capture every exposure. If you suspect a child has swallowed a drug or any harmful substance, call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222 or 911 immediately.