Almost 17 years ago Michigan voters approved the use of medical cannabis by adults in their state, followed by the approval of recreational use 10 years later.
In September of last year a poll from the University of Michigan (UM) reported that 27% of Michiganders over the age of 50 had used cannabis products containing THC — the psychoactive component in cannabis —at least once in the last year. This is a higher percentage than people in the same age group in the rest of the United States. The rest of the country reported that 21% of people over 50 said that they had used THC containing cannabis in the last year.
From 2020 to 2022, the Michigan Poison and Drug Information Center, which takes calls from across the state, recorded 801 incidents of cannabis toxicity among children ages 5 and younger. That represents a nearly 75% increase of unintentional youth cannabis ingestion, a “worrisome and concerning” spike, said Varun Vohra, the center’s academic and managing director.
