Chocolate chip cookies, gummy candies, chips or corn flakes, colorful donut-shaped cereals, all very similar to those sold in our supermarkets, but containing Thc, one of the active ingredients of cannabis, led the Higher Institute of Health to issue a ‘Grade 1 Alert’, sent to the Ministry of Health, regional health departments, the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa) and other health organizations. “We have verified that such products are for sale on the internet, a clandestine trade that we hope will be limited to the web – reports to time.news Salute Roberta Pacifici, director of the National Addiction and Doping Center of the ISS – but our concern is strong because these products perfectly mimic those consumed by childrentherefore an accidental ingestion can be very, very dangerous for the little ones, both at a neurotoxic and cardiotoxic level “.
“We have made many reports of this kind – continues Roberta Pacifici – but it is the first time that we have intercepted products that are too similar to those that children use, from gummy candies in the shape of bears, to cereal rings to soak in milk for breakfast. , to round biscuits such as brownies, for this reason we have alerted the health authorities to be vigilant, especially to prevent these foods from ending up in the hands of children “. In this case, the seizure from an Italian citizen of various food products containing Thc, by agents of the local police of Bolzano, took place last August 30 and “the analyzes were subsequently conducted by the Ris”, continues Pacifici.
The document, entitled “Grade 1 alert – Food products containing Thc for sale on the internet – Risk of unaware intake”, therefore reads, highlighted in capital letters: “The potential danger for unsuspecting consumers, including children, who could take such foods is noted , completely identical to other lawyers on the market “. “Thc taken orally – reminds the Alert – can cause delayed onset and longer duration of effects than taking it by inhalation. It can take up to 2 hours for the effects to occur after ingestion of edible products containing Thc. Furthermore, during digestion, Thc is subject to first pass metabolism and is extensively converted into 11-hydroxytetrahydrocannabinol, which penetrates the blood-brain barrier more quickly than Thc, causing longer lasting psychoactive effects than by inhalation “.
“A concern associated with edible products containing Cannabis – the document reiterates – is the risk of involuntary exposure”, as “excessive amounts of Thc can be consumed, increasing the risk”. “The assumption of Thc – it is warned – can cause important cardiotoxicity (eg tachycardia), hypotension and neurotoxicity (eg convulsions, coma), especially in children. Furthermore, it can also play an important role in determining psychiatric manifestations, especially in subjects in pediatric / adolescent age “. Children “may have more severe and prolonged clinical pictures related to Thc-induced toxicity than adults. The clinical manifestations of Thc intoxication” in the smallest “are characterized by lethargy, ataxia, hallucinations, respiratory depression, reduced consciousness / syncope, convulsions, coma, tachycardia “.