Eight hundred Ohio children under 12 were exposed to cannabis products in 2024, a 53% jump from the year before, according to a Nationwide Children's Hospital study published in BMC Public Health.

The findings land as Powell City Council weighs whether to allow marijuana dispensaries in town. Council unanimously extended its moratorium on dispensaries through Dec. 31, 2027, at its Sept. 1 meeting, as we reported Sept. 2. Planning staff are now studying zoning options, including potential locations in commercial, flex-industrial and downtown-mixed zones.

The Ohio exposure figures come from state poison center data. The national study, led by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's, examined 41,612 unintentional recreational drug ingestions by children younger than 6 from 2000 through 2024, as NBC4 reported. Cannabinoids accounted for 85% of those cases. Children younger than 3 made up nearly 60%.

"We found that much of the increase in recreational drug ingestions was driven by cannabis edibles, which accounted for nearly half of all ingestions in the study, and I would say that mirrors what we see every day at Nationwide Children's," said Dr. Hannah Hays, medical director of the Central Ohio Poison Center and chief of toxicology at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Nationally, cannabinoid ingestions among children under 6 rose more than 2,300% between 2015 and 2024. The overall ingestion rate per 100,000 children increased more than 3,300% over the full study period, with a sharp climb beginning in 2013. Almost all exposures occurred in a home.

About 51% of children in the study experienced no or minor effects, Spectrum News 1 reported. Five percent had life-threatening symptoms or significant disability. Six children died, all younger than 3.

Hays urged families to lock cannabis products out of children's sight and reach, keep them away from purses, backpacks and food, and avoid using the products in front of young children, who tend to imitate adult behavior. She said edible cannabis products can resemble candy or food and often contain multiple servings in one package.

Nationwide Children's operates a Close to Home facility with an emergency department in Lewis Center.

Powell's dispensary debate

Powell first imposed its dispensary moratorium in June 2024, after Ohio voters approved State Issue 2 legalizing adult-use marijuana. Council has extended the moratorium three times since.

On Aug. 4, council reversed a proposed permanent ban on dispensaries, removing cannabis-prohibition language from the city's new zoning code after public pushback. The Powell Planning and Zoning Commission had unanimously recommended making the ban permanent on July 15.

At the Sept. 1 Development Committee meeting, Planning Administrator Claudia Husak noted that some Ohio cities require greater distances between dispensaries and schools, churches and parks than the state-mandated 500 feet, The Delaware Source reported. An Ohio State University analysis cited at the meeting estimated an average dispensary generates roughly $175,000 a year for its host city through the state's Host Community Cannabis Fund.

Council members are split. Councilman Tyler Herrmann said at the Sept. 1 meeting that he would support a full ban if residents want one. Committee Member Shaun Simpson questioned why the city would turn down the revenue. Vice Mayor Tom Counts said council members must weigh the information and decide what fits Powell.

City Manager Andy White told The Columbus Dispatch the moratorium gives time for "the discussion of certain regulations or an outright prohibition," adding that a public discussion will follow.

The Development Committee's next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 6 at 6:30 p.m.