Cannabis edibles – always risky, sometimes dangerous

Taking drugs including cannabis always has risks. Whether you smoke it or take edibles, THC (the main psychoactive component of cannabis) can cause you problems including with your mental health.

Swallowing drugs means the effects are even less predictable – it can be very easy to accidentally take a larger dose than you wanted to, and for the effect to go on much longer than you wanted. This is true for cannabis anyway but eating it can make it even riskier.

Taking edibles may also increase the risk of taking something more dangerous than cannabis. There are increasing reports of young people taking what they think are cannabis edibles and getting seriously ill from them. In many cases, it’s turned out that they had taken something containing synthetic cannabinoids rather than THC without knowing it. Some of the effects of synthetic cannabinoids can be similar to cannabis but they are often much more unpleasant or dangerous. They can cause hallucinations, extreme paranoia and (in high doses) even death.

Don’t be fooled by legit looking packaging.

In Canada and some US states, it’s legal to sell cannabis to adults, including in the form of gummies, lollipops, and other sweets. These products are often packaged to look like regular sweets, which might make them more attractive to young people, and make them seem like they must be safe.

Over here in the UK, it’s illegal to sell anything that contains THC but there are illegal edibles around which are often made to look like what you can get legally in the US. They may even say that they are only for over-18s and things like how much THC they’re supposed to have in them so they look legit. Even if they were they could cause problems for young people. But, a lot of the time, “cannabis” edibles over here don’t have any THC in them and contain synthetic cannabinoids instead.