Original ArticleExamining the Health and Drug Exposures among Canadian Children Residing in Drug-Producing Homes
Section snippets
Methods
Since January 2006, children from drug-growing homes in the Toronto area identified by police and the Children’s Aid Society were referred to the Motherisk Program at the Hospital for Sick Children for assessment of their general health and well-being, with specific focus on exposure to illicit drugs. Upon discovering children in these dwellings, police routinely called the Children’s Aid Society, which removed them immediately from their homes and families. We were then asked to examine the
Results
The mean age was 6.5 years (range 2 months to 15 years). Among marijuana-growing homes, less than 25% (9/37) had 1 child; the majority being inhabited by families of multiple children (>75%, or 28/37). Of the children who came to the consultation, 26 (34.7%) were accompanied by somebody other than their parents because custody had been taken away from the parents, at least temporarily. Of the children, 45 (60%) were of Asian ethnicity (Chinese or Vietnamese), 28 (37.3%) were Caucasian, and 2
Discussion
Despite our findings that 30% of the children in our study tested positive for drugs of abuse in their hair, we found that the vast majority were in good health at the time of examination, which was within 1 to 2 weeks from their removal from their homes. The rates of the mostly minor health issues observed were well within the range expected in Canada and other developed countries (Table I). The current protocol followed by Police and Children’s Aid Societies has been based on the assumption
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The presence of licit and illicit drugs in police stations and their implications for workplace drug testing
2017, Forensic Science InternationalCitation Excerpt :A study of 149 children who had parents involved in a methadone programme resulted in 114 positive tests for drugs in hair including methadone, amphetamine, cocaine, heroin and diazepam [12]. A study involving 75 children from houses where cannabis was being grown (80% of children) or other drug production occurred, showed the hair of 24 of 72 of the children tested were positive for cannabinoids, cocaine, MDMA and/or methamphetamine [13]. Another study involving 19 children of people who used cocaine in their houses around their children aged <1–16 years showed cocaine and its primary metabolite, benzoylecgonine, in the hair of children <1 and 1–6 years old, but not 6–16 years old [14].
Work place drug testing of police officers after THC exposure during large volume cannabis seizures
2017, Forensic Science InternationalCitation Excerpt :In another study, exposure of 27 laboratory staff who complained of health problems while being routinely exposed to bulk drug exhibits in a police analytical laboratory was investigated, but weekly urine samples were all negative to drugs, including THC [9]. In a study investigating the health of children removed from drug-producing homes, hair from 15 of the 72 children who were tested for drugs were positive for cannabinoids, even though only 61 of the children were removed from cannabis houses [10]. Eight of the children presented results in the 100–600 pg/mg range, while three more showed trace levels.
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The role of child protection in cannabis grow-operations
2013, International Journal of Drug PolicyCitation Excerpt :Children may have better recuperative capacities than adults for many toxic agents (Brent, Tanski, & Weitzman, 2004) and the restricted location of the mold within specific areas of the child's home may reduce risk to their overall health (Karvonen et al., 2009). Finally, a recent study in Ontario conducted toxicology hair testing on 75 children found living in cannabis grow-operations (Moller, Koren, Karaskov, & Garcia-Bournissen, 2011). They found that although 30% of the children tested positive for illicit drugs (in their hair), the majority of these children had no clinical symptoms related to these drugs.
Safe at home?
2011, Journal of PediatricsExposures associated with clandestine methamphetamine drug laboratories in Australia
2016, Reviews on Environmental Health
Supported by a grant from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Funding was received from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program and University of Toronto Fellowships (to M.M.); Lactation, Hospital for Sick Children, Ivey Chair in Molecular Toxicology, University of Western Ontario (to G.K.); Clinician Scientist Training Program, Hospital for Sick Children (to F.G-B). The authors declare no conflicts of interest.