A 3-year-old girl was among six minors who developed undesirable effects between June 21st and 26th after knowingly or unknowingly consuming cannabis or food containing cannabis, according to the Royal College of Paediatricians of Thailand and the Paediatrics Society of Thailand.
Citing the report, Asst. Prof. Dr. Opass Putcharoen, chief of the Emerging Infectious Disease Clinical Centre at Chulalongkorn Hospital, said in his Facebook post today (Tuesday) that the little girl ate part of a cookie, believed to contain cannabis, which a relative had bought and kept in the house. She became sleepy and subdued and was sent for treatment.
The second case concerns a 14-year-old psychiatric patient, who had not been medicated for two weeks. He reportedly smoked a cigarette, provided by a friend to ease stress, not knowing that it contained cannabis. He became confused and his mood changed. He was treated and sent home.
A 17-year-old in Phichit province consumed cannabis flowers for fun. He had hallucinations, became aggressive and tried to harm himself. He was also treated before being sent home.
Another case concerns a 16-year-old, who smoked cannabis given to him by a friend, and then developed extreme anxiety and tried to hurt himself and was restrained by his mother. He was later advised not to attend class and was treated with psychiatric medication.
A 17-year-old youth in Nakhon Si Thammarat admitted to his teacher that he had been using cannabis for about a year, after the teacher noticed that he was losing weight and appeared subdued. He was sent to see a doctor and then treated at home.
A 16-year-old in Bangkok, who has a history of psychiatric problems, tried chocolate containing cannabis and vomited, became anxious and began hallucinating.
Dr. Opass said that doctors who treat minors for symptoms of ingestion of cannabis, hemp or their extracts are urged to report the cases to the Royal College of Paediatricians and the Paediatrics Society of Thailand, so they can keep a record of all cases and develop measures to protect the young from the harmful effects of the plants.
