Emergency department visits during the 4/20 cannabis celebration

What is it about?

In many cities, annual 4/20 cannabis festivals occur on April 20. Researchers used 10 years of data from six regional hospitals in Vancouver, Canada, to compare the number of emergency department visits on April 20 to the number of visits on control days. They found that significantly more visits for substance misuse and intoxication occurred on April 20 than occurred on control days, and that the hospital closest to the festival site experienced a 17% increase in emergency department visits on April 20. The researchers suggest that their findings may help festival organizers and local emergency departments plan for future 4/20 celebrations.

Featured Image

Photo by Rick Proctor on Unsplash

Photo by Rick Proctor on Unsplash