Getting higher: The risk of cannabis sickening NM kids; Cannabis bill aims to deter access by kids

Amanda Ulibarri showed up at Presbyterian Rust Medical Center the night of July 1, 2022, with a partially eaten bag of THC gummies and an unresponsive 2-year-old.

Ulibarri, then 33, told Albuquerque police she had put the bag of gummies in her purse on the couch at her home, where her toddler could reach it. Then she went into the bathroom, returning to discover some of the THC candies in the bag were missing, presumably ingested by her young daughter.

“Amanda also admitted to the officer she was alone with her child and intoxicated to the point she had to call for her mother to give her a ride to the hospital,” a police report stated.

When examined by emergency department nurses, the child was unresponsive to attempts of contact except for pain, the report stated. Deemed to be in “serious but stable condition” that night, the young girl eventually recovered. Ulibarri was charged with child abuse, but the case was later dismissed, according to court records.

The incident underscores a growing trend in which young children in New Mexico are getting sick on cannabis products and ending up in the hospital.

The child was among 34 children ages 4 and younger in New Mexico in 2022 to be taken to a hospital emergency room for what was labeled a “cannabis-related visit,” according to newly obtained data from the state Department of Health. Last year, the DOH reported 50 cannabis-related ER visits in that age group.

In Bernalillo County, the number of children 4 and younger treated in emergency departments for cannabis-related issues was more than three times higher in 2023 than in 2020. Eight children in that group went to the ER in 2020, while 26 were treated in 2023.

The first licensed sales of recreational marijuana began on April 1, 2022, for anyone 21 and older. New Mexico legalized medical use of marijuana in 2007.

Over the past four years, according to Joseph Lambson, director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center, the center hotline has received more than 300 calls involving children under 12 who were exposed to cannabis. Some 200 of those calls involved children who ingested cannabis in the edible form.

In about nearly 90% of those cases, he said, the children were taken to an emergency room or were referred to the ER by the poison control center “because the amount ingested or the symptoms were concerning. So to me, that’s a pretty big concern. ...”

More than 60% ended up having symptoms that were remarkable enough to require monitoring at a hospital, Lambson said.

“So the majority of the calls that we are receiving regarding cannabis are either overdoses or people just having a terrible trip, or their kids getting into a product,” Lambson said.

Though no deaths have been reported in New Mexico, Lambson said children who accidentally ingest THC-infused products can develop serious symptoms that should be monitored in a hospital, including respiratory issues.

On the national front, the Federal Trade Commission and the federal Food and Drug Administration last year issued cease-and-desist letters to six companies selling THC edibles in packaging that mimicked popular snacks and candy consumed by children.

In the recently-completed 30-day legislative session, New Mexico lawmakers passed a bill to require stricter rules for packaging and labeling of such products.

Senate Bill 6 would add to existing law by barring packages and labels that “mimic the brand, design, name, logo or colorway of a non-cannabis consumer product marketed to children.”

Under the bill, packages and labels can’t use cartoons, symbols or images, including images of celebrities or celebrity likenesses, that are commonly used to market to children. Edible cannabis products would be required to be opaque in their packaging.

The bill still needs to be signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to become law.

Lambson advised families or individuals with children at home who purchase cannabis products to ensure they are storing them where children can’t see them. Such products also shouldn’t be stored next to food items because children can easily mistake them for food. And, he added, adults should never use the products in front of children, “because again, that puts children at higher risk of wanting to take the products.”

He said the state poison control center hotline, 1-800-222-1222, is open 24/7 for anyone concerned about cannabis exposures in children or adults.

Amanda Ulibarri couldn’t be reached for comment for this story.

Court records show that she was charged with third-degree felony child abuse after the incident involving her daughter in 2022. The 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges in April 2023 citing insufficient evidence.

“The state must prove reckless conduct on the part of the defendant,” said DA spokeswoman Nancy Laflin last week. “We could not do that in this case.”