Last month, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced that their enforcement of Gov. Mike Parson's executive order on hemp products will focus on the misbranded THC products that pose a danger to children.
At St. Louis Children's Hospital, we thank the governor for his executive order and this important step forward in better keeping our kids safe, and the department's focus on protecting this vulnerable group. The action to ban misbranded THC products is an important first step, but the seriousness of this issue demands additional regulation and safety measures at home to protect children.
The ingestion of THC is life threatening for small children — especially those under the age of 12 — who are at higher risk of serious medical consequences due to their small size and weight. Intensive care unit admission, prolonged observation in the hospital, lumbar punctures, head CT scans and other potentially invasive medical tests are just some of the interventions small children may need after a THC exposure.
As THC products become more readily available in our communities, the need for regulation is vital. The products that specifically contain Delta-8, and therefore are affected by the governor's ban, are an appropriate target for regulation. These products represented about 40% of the THC overdoses at St. Louis Children's Hospital in 2023, our most recent data show.
