Medical cannabis is now so prolific that it is time we start talking about some of the practical aspects of using it. At the top of the list is safety. How a person chooses to store medical cannabis has serious ramifications for both children and pets.
Salt Lake City Utah’s Beehive Farmacy reminds medical cannabis patients that their medications may contain THC. Furthermore, they explain that THC is a psychoactive substance that can make children and animals sick. Proper storage is of the utmost importance.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers the following eight suggestions for storing medical cannabis safely:
1. Store in Child-Resistant Packaging
The first tip is to always store medical cannabis in child-resistant packaging. Such packaging is required by law in the Beehive State. Therefore, Utah HHS recommends continuing to use the pharmacy’s child-resistant packaging even after taking one’s medications home. Just store it in its original packaging and the kids will be safer.
2. Out of Sight and Reach
In addition to child-resistant packaging, medical cannabis patients should store their medications out of both the sight and reach of children and pets. This is especially important if medications look anything like candy. Gummies immediately come to mind. Storing them out of sight reduces the temptation kids and pets might otherwise face.
3. Make Sure Labels Are Readable
The Utah HHS recommends that patients make sure they can always “see the original label and warning logos on the package” in question. I admit to not being sure why. Perhaps the idea is that clearly visible warning labels would give family members who might take the medication unwittingly at least some chance of seeing information that could dissuade them from doing so.
4. Use Child-Proof Containers
Using child-proof containers is yet another suggestion from Utah HHS. I am guessing this means that child-proof containers should always be used if the pharmacy’s child-resistant packaging is no longer available. Better yet, put the entire pharmacy package into a child-proof container and be done with it.
5. Put It Away
Next up is the suggestion to put away medical cannabis after using it. Another way to say it is to not leave a package of gummies or a medical cannabis vape pen lying around. As soon as a patient is done using it, the medication should be put away and out of the sight and reach of kids.
6. Don’t Consume Around the Children
Adult patients can further minimize temptation by not consuming medical cannabis around their children. If the kids do not even know cannabis is in the house, the chances of accidental exposure go way down.
7. Treat It Like Any Other Medicine
Medical cannabis patients should absolutely treat their medications like they would any other. A grandmother who made sure her grandkids could get nowhere near her heart medication should do the same with her medical cannabis. A father who stores his sleeping pills on the highest shelf of the medicine cabinet should consider doing something similar with his cannabis.
8. Be Prepared for Emergencies
Finally, Utah HHS recommends that medical cannabis patients always be prepared for emergencies. They should keep the local or state poison control hotline number stored in their phones for easy access. They should continually monitor their medical cannabis supply to be sure that nothing is missing.
Although medical cannabis has a pretty good track record in terms of safety, it is still a potentially harmful drug. Patients need to be careful with it, especially if there are kids and pets in the house.