When to Seek Urgent Help After Cannabis or Cannabinoid Use

Urgent first

• Severe symptoms or immediate danger (US): call 911 or go to an emergency department. NIDA gives this instruction. [1]
• Poison questions (US): Poison Help, 1-800-222-1222. NIDA lists this number, and Poison Control says both phone and online help are free and confidential. [1][2]
• Mental health or substance use crisis (US): call or text 988, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. [1]
• Treatment referrals (US): SAMHSA National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357). [1]
• Outside the US: see poison help by country.
• A pet: call a veterinarian or an animal poison hotline; see accidental child and pet exposure.

This page is general education, not a way to decide whether an emergency is happening. If you are unsure, call.

Children who may have eaten cannabis

Call Poison Help or 911 for any suspected exposure, even if the child looks well. Eaten products can take 30 to 90 minutes to act, and effects may not peak for about 3 hours. [2] In US poison center data on children under 6, about 70% of cases with a known outcome involved central nervous system depression, and 22.7% of children were admitted to hospital. [3] A clinical review lists sedation and slowed breathing among the effects seen in young children exposed to high-concentration products. [4] Symptoms can be vague, and caregivers do not always know about the exposure, so tell clinicians about any possible access. [5] Full guidance is in accidental child and pet exposure.

Very strong or unexpected effects

Poison Control says acute toxicity from cannabis mostly shows as excessive sedation, loss of coordination, rapid heart rate and dilated pupils, and that death from cannabis alone appears very rare, though use together with opioids might be affecting opioid death rates. [2] It adds that psychotic episodes and more serious medical problems are rare but possible. [2]

Reports to the FDA after delta-8 THC products listed hallucinations, vomiting, tremor, anxiety, dizziness, confusion and loss of consciousness, and 55% of those cases needed an intervention such as emergency medical evaluation or hospital admission. [6] Poison centers recorded 2,362 delta-8 THC exposure cases in about fourteen months; 70% needed evaluation at a health care facility. [6]

Confusion, loss of consciousness, or severe loss of coordination are signs listed in the reports above and call for emergency help. Panic or paranoia after cannabis has its own page: see anxiety, panic and paranoia reactions.

Mixing with alcohol, sedatives or other medicines

The FDA says CBD used with alcohol or other drugs that slow brain activity increases the risk of sedation and drowsiness, which can lead to injuries. [7] The prescription CBD label says other central nervous system depressants and alcohol may increase sedation and somnolence. [8] A review of drug interactions found reports of altered mental status, bleeding risk and gastrointestinal distress when cannabinoids were used with certain prescription medicines. [9] If someone is very drowsy, hard to wake or bleeding after mixing, call for help. See CBD-medication interactions.

Vaping, breathing and chest symptoms

Poison Control lists persistent cough, shortness of breath, chest pain and wheezing as symptoms of serious vaping-related lung injury. [2] The FDA says people with a health concern after using a vaping product should contact their provider or poison control at 1-800-222-1222. [10] See smoking and vaping cannabis risks.

Repeated vomiting after long-term heavy use

NIDA describes cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome as nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain after long-term, heavy cannabis use. It says the episodes can recur and often require medical attention. [1] NIDA also says some people try hot showers or baths for temporary relief, but that the condition resolves only when cannabis use stops completely. [1] Severe or constant vomiting that does not stop is a reason to get medical care. See cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

Thoughts of suicide, psychosis or a mental health crisis

NIDA links cannabis use with suicidal thoughts and behaviors among teens and veterans, with psychosis in people at genetic risk, and with worse symptoms in people who already have these conditions. [1] If someone has thoughts of suicide, hears or sees things that are not there, or is a danger to themselves or others, call 988 or 911. See psychosis and mania vulnerability.

Prescription CBD and allergic reactions

For the approved CBD medicine, the label advises patients to seek immediate medical care for hypersensitivity reactions and says it can raise the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior, so mood changes should be reported. [8] Do not stop a prescribed seizure medicine on your own; the label warns that antiseizure drugs should be withdrawn gradually. [8]

What to tell the emergency team

Say what was used (smoked, vaped, eaten, applied), roughly when, and what else was taken, including medicines and alcohol. Honest information helps the team, and in a hospital study of toddlers, more than 60% of caregivers denied knowing about exposure, which made diagnosis harder. [5]

After the emergency

Cannabis use disorder is a medical condition with effective behavioral treatments, and NIDA says there are currently no FDA-approved medications for it. [1] See adverse effects and cannabis use disorder.