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Nationally, marijuana-related emergency department (ED) visits among 15- to 17-year-olds increased between 2005 and 2011 (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhcs/ED_Substance_Abuse_Factsheet.PDF). To determine if this trend was apparent in Colorado, which commercialized medical and recreational marijuana use in 2009 and 2014, respectively, investigators reviewed all marijuana-associated ED and urgent care (UC) visits to a Colorado children's hospital by patients aged 13 to 21. Marijuana-related visits were defined as those with an International Classification of Diseases 9/10 code for marijuana/cannabis use or a positive urine toxicology screen for tetrahydrocannabinol.
From 2005 to 2015, 4202 marijuana-related visits occurred (median patient age…