Cannabis Emergency Room Visits – Cannabis | weed | marijuana
Cannabis emergency room visits increased during the Covid hysteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC report found that the number of emergency room visits related to cannabis was increasing among children, adolescents and young adults. The data range from 2019 to 2022 and consider people under the age of 25.
In total, there were 539,106 cannabis emergency room visits.
“Several years before the pandemic, emergency room visits related to cannabis began to increase statistically significantly in all age groups except 15-24 year olds, possibly as a result of expanding state policies to legalize cannabis use,” the CDC report said.
Surprisingly, the CDC is not sounding dogmatic here. At least not compared to their Canadian counterparts. Canada’s public health officials wrongly claim that there is a causal link between the “proliferation” of for-profit dispensaries and children being hospitalized for cannabis.
As we mentioned earlier, now that it’s legal, parents might be more willing to admit that their child accidentally used cannabis.
So what is the rationale of the CDC? Does legalizing cannabis at the state level harm children? Why is it leading to more cannabis emergency room visits?
“The exact reasons for these increases are unknown and potential drivers may vary by age,” the report said.
Cannabis Emergency Room Visits: Details
The CDC says cannabis emergency room visits were possible for young people during the Covid hysteria. Is this all surprising? Another study found that alcohol and cannabis use rates did not decrease among 12th graders.
Doomsday propaganda and depriving young people of their social lives tend to lead to unintended consequences.
A better question, however, is whether the CDC’s report is even accurate. Consider the following issues with your methodology:
selection bias:
The CDC relies on data from emergency physicians reporting to the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP). What if participating ERs differ from non-participating ERs? What about specific patient demographics, geographic locations, or other relevant factors?
Generalizability:
Due to the above issue, data valid for the CDC may not reflect statewide emergency departments. The generalizability of the study is questioned. (Admittedly, the CDC mentions this in their “Restrictions” subheading. But it’s a section that many media outlets conveniently gloss over.)
Definition of Cannabis Emergency Room Visits:
The CDC defines an emergency room visit related to cannabis based on diagnostic codes and chief complaints. The former can lead to misclassifications, and the latter is too subjective to be helpful.
Data Validity and Accuracy:
The CDC believes its data is valid and accurate. But for each ER, there will be variations in the collection, whether in terms of data quality, completeness, or coding practices that differ from ER to ER.
Lack of a control group:
This study compares cannabis emergency room visits between 2019 and 2022 but does not include a control group. Without them, it’s impossible to determine whether the observed changes are due to cannabis, legal cannabis edibles, the Covid hysteria, or some other contributing factor.
Limited time frame:
The CDC examines data from 2019 and compares it to 2020, 2021, and 2022. This limited time frame tells us nothing comprehensive or long-term about cannabis emergency room visits.
The CDC does not account for changes in cannabis use behavior during this period. The cannabis bubble triggered by Covid-19 is a relevant factor. Ignoring it shows even more why this study is agenda-driven, partisan research masquerading as “science.”
Cannabis Emergency Room Visits: How Useful is the CDC?
The CDC claims to be a “science-based, data-driven public health service organization.”
But it’s clear they have an anti-cannabis bias. And it’s no wonder why.
The CDC raises millions of dollars each year through the CDC Foundation. Since its inception by Congress in 1995, the nonprofit CDC Foundation has received hundreds of millions from companies including Pfizer, Biogen and Merck.
The CDC, of course, says there’s nothing to see. “Public-private partnerships allow CDC to do more, faster,” Tom Frieden, CDC’s former director, told The BMJ.
But public-private partnerships are just another name for economic fascism. This is the merging of corporate and state power.
Cannabis users have every right to reject the CDC’s biased report. Like their counterparts in Canada, the public health sector is using falsified data on cannabis emergency room visits to spread fear-mongering.
We entrust our health to people who benefit from our illness.
The CDC is useless and so is this report.
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