On January 1, it became legal to buy and consume marijuana in Illinois. Many thousands were not celebrating bringing in the new year, but standing in winding lines that night to purchase legal pot. Many dispensaries have seen their stock of pot completely depleted forcing them to sell just to medically approved users.
Children and older adults, meanwhile, could mistake edibles for regular candies or other food and drinks, the doctors said. This is highlighted by the 70 percent spike in calls reporting children consuming edibles to Colorado’s state poison control center between 2013 to 2017, after the drug was legalized. Older people using cannabis are at greater risk of low blood-pressure related falls, suffering from thinking problems, issues with their heart rate, and interactions with drugs they take for existing conditions, the authors wrote.
Doctors told Newsweek: “Those who choose to use cannabis should remember that legal does not necessarily mean safe. Depending on an individual’s health, the nature of the product, or the means by which it is consumed, the consumption of cannabis in edible forms can have both short and long-term health impacts. “Some of those impacts can also differ markedly from the consumption of cannabis in lit forms, particularly in terms of time to onset and risk for overconsumption,” he said.
So my fellow Illinoisans, be cautious if embracing this mind-altering herb whether in lit form or consumed.
