With millions of people across the country now using medical cannabis regularly, there is a real concern about accidental exposure among children and family pets. The concern is significant enough that both states and medical professionals are now actively educating patients about safe cannabis storage.
This is an issue that shouldn’t be ignored. Cannabis isn’t inherently safer around children and animals simply because it’s being utilized as a medicine. Patience should make every effort to properly store their medicines to keep them away from kids and pets.
A Rising Problem Across the U.S.
How serious is the problem of accidental exposure? A May 2025 report from WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina tells the story. An official from North Carolina Poison Control told WBTV that the number of children under the age of twelve accidentally exposed to cannabis products has doubled over the last several years. And it’s not just in North Carolina.
A 2023 study published by the CDC demonstrates that emergency department visits among children ages fourteen and under inadvertently exposed to cannabis products steadily grew between 2019 and 2022. The simple fact of the matter is that cannabis legalization has led to an increase in accidental exposure.
Why It’s a Problem
Accidental exposure is a problem for kids and pets because their bodies don’t process THC the same way adult bodies do. Even small amounts of cannabis can induce significant symptoms in children and pets. Children can experience:
- Confusion
- Drowsiness
- Lethargy
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Respiratory distress
Even if a child doesn’t experience a serious reaction to cannabis, common symptoms that would be considered mild to adults can make a child feel extremely ill. It’s just not a good situation no matter how you look at it.
Protecting Them Is Easy
The good news is that protecting children and pets is easy. The starting point is to treat medical cannabis like any other medicine. As a parent, would you leave a bottle of prescription painkillers on the kitchen table? No. Keeping prescription drugs out of the reach of children is just common sense.
Beehive Farmacy, a medical cannabis pharmacy with locations in Salt Lake City and Brigham City, UT offers the following tips for safe storage:
- Lock It Up – Although many states require childproof packaging, kids are smart enough to get around it. A better option is to lock medical cannabis up in a tamper-proof container. Keeping it locked up keeps it away from both kids and animals.
- Choose Smart Locations – Common sense dictates storing locked containers of medical cannabis in places that are normally inaccessible to children. A general rule says, the higher the better. Keeping lock containers out of reach generally keeps them out of sight as well.
- Keep Original Packaging – Unused medical cannabis products should be stored in locked containers but still in their original packaging. Clearly labeled packaging includes warnings and content statements.
- Store Separate From Food – Storing medical cannabis separate from food is a good idea when patients prefer edible products like gummies and THC-infused candies. Storing separately removes any confusion.
- Set and Enforce Boundaries – Finally, parents should set and enforce boundaries for the children. Doing so goes a long way toward removing the temptation to touch something that is off limits.
Medical cannabis growth continues unabated. It doesn’t look like America’s appetite for it will wane anytime soon. That being the case, it is more important than ever for patients to be extremely careful about storing medical cannabis products away from children and pets. Accidental exposure is real. It could have unintended consequences parents should want to avoid.
