Girl eats 15 pieces of edible pot product: ‘It looked just like a chocolate bar’

HALIFAX — A four-year-old Nova Scotia girl was hospitalized after eating 15 pieces of an edible marijuana product she thought was a chocolate bar.

Halifax RCMP issued a statement on Monday saying the recommended daily consumption limit for that particular product is one piece — for an adult.

“It looked just like a normal chocolate bar,” police said in a statement.

The girl’s father realized the cannabis bar was missing from the console of his vehicle on Saturday, and then noticed the four-year-old was looking very pale, the Mounties said.

He called 911 and police were dispatched to the family’s home in a rural community east of Halifax. The girl was taken to hospital for treatment and since released.

The RCMP said they were investigating, “including determining whether charges will be laid in this case.”

In their statement, the Mounties said the possession of edible marijuana products will remain illegal even after the sale of recreational cannabis becomes legal on Oct. 17.

However, the federal government has confirmed that it expects to have rules in place for edible cannabis no later than July 2019.

Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said: “Many questions linger about the distinct dangers that edibles pose, particularly for children.”