THC emergency room visits decrease in young Virginians

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - New data from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association shows a decrease in young Virginians going to the emergency room with THC or hemp-related issues.

The data suggests the decline in hospital visits for people 18 and younger follows a new law that went into effect last July regulating these products.

“One of the reasons we share a lot of data-informed insights is because we want the public to understand those things that impact community health that impact their health,” VHAA Vice President of Communications Julian Waker said.

Walker says for years the rate of hospitalization for young Virginians exposed to THC or hemp-related products was steadily increasing.

“What our data analysis found is, in the six months after this law took effect July 2023 those numbers went down in a statistically significant way,” Walker said.

Doctor Chris Holstege, director of University of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Poison Center says the same thing is happening in Charlottesville.

“We now have seen a plateau of calls,” Dr. Holstege said.

According to Holstege’s data, from July to December of 2022 the Poison Center had 54 of these types of calls from people 18 and under. 48 of them had to go to the hospital.

During the same time in 2023, there were 60 calls but only 40 hospital visits.

“What we’ve seen is a decrease,” Dr. Holstege said. “First time that we’ve seen a decrease in children going to the emergency departments for care, and that part’s good.”

The law put tighter restrictions on how these products are sold, including their labeling and packaging.

Dr. Holstege says while this data is still fresh, it’s promising.

“We just looked at six months of data, and I’ll be curious to see once we get a year’s worth of data compared to the other years, but that part at least is encouraging that it’s plateauing or potentially dropping,” Dr. Holstege said.

Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.