Child (9) rushed to Royal Victoria Hospital after eating 'cannabis sweets' - urgent warning issued to parents

A nine year-old child was rushed to the Accident and Emergency ward in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast recently after unwittingly eating sweets containing cannabis.
Andrew Quinn
By Andrew Quinn
Published 8th Jun 2021, 17:19 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2021, 17:20 BST
The nine year-old child was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.The nine year-old child was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
The nine year-old child was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

The incident was confirmed by Northern Ireland's Drug and Alcohol Monitoring and Information System (DAMIS) who have subsequently issued a warning to parents and children.

"DAMIS has received information from the Royal Victoria Hospital following the assessment of a nine year-old at the Children’s Emergency Department, who had detectable levels of cannabis in their system.

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"The clinician who assessed the child explained that the child had consumed a THC medicated sweet (‘Nerds rope’) after finding what they believed to be sweets on the ground.

"While on closer inspection the sweet packet is labelled as containing THC, the main psychoactive ingredients in cannabis, to all other purposes they look like a common brand of sweets which are marketed for children.

"As children often have a smaller body mass than adults the effects may be more profound and can include: loss of coordination; hallucinations; nausea/vomiting and lethargy, collapse or loss of consciousness," added DAMIS.

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Related topics:Royal Victoria HospitalBelfastNorthern Ireland