Health information checked: 2 November 2026. This article is for parents and carers in Ireland. It supports getting professional help and giving a clear account; it cannot diagnose poisoning or decide whether a child can safely stay at home.
If the child is unconscious, difficult to wake or having trouble breathing, call 112 or 999 for an ambulance now. Do not delay this to call the poison information line. See HSE: urgent help for a very unwell child.
Get advice on suspicion, not proof
If you think a child may have swallowed cannabis or a cannabis-containing food, do not wait for symptoms or try to calculate a safe amount. HSE guidance says to contact the National Poisons Information Centre (NPIC) immediately for suspected child poisoning. The public Poisons Information Line is 01 809 2166, every day from 8am to 10pm. Outside those hours, contact a GP or hospital emergency department. In an emergency, call 112 or 999. These are Irish contacts. See HSE: poison risks to your child.
You do not need a complete explanation before making that call. A missing piece of food, an opened packet or an uncertain account can be reported as exactly that. Say what you know and what you do not know; let the healthcare professional assess the situation.
Keep the first response simple
HSE lists cannabis gummies among potential poisons. Its child-poisoning guidance advises taking the substance away and keeping its container because it can help healthcare staff. If hospital attendance is needed, try to bring the container. Do not delay getting help to search for missing packaging. Read HSE: poisoning in children.
For something eaten, NPIC says do not make the child vomit, never give salt water, and do not give anything to eat or drink unless healthcare staff direct you to. Call for immediate advice and follow the professional's instructions rather than an internet remedy. Its first aid and safety guidance also confirms the Irish public line's hours and emergency numbers.
Prepare a factual handover
NPIC's public advice lists questions about the substance, amount, child's age and weight, symptoms, existing medical problems, time and container information. Use the following as a communication aid, not a form you must finish before calling:
- What you found: describe the food, substance or packet. Read the label if available; distinguish its wording from your own assumption.
- What happened: say whether you saw swallowing, found something in the child's possession, or discovered an item missing.
- When: give the observed time, or explain that the time is unknown. Keep a discovery time separate from a suspected ingestion time.
- How much: report what is actually known. If nobody saw how much was eaten, say so rather than turning a missing portion into a dose estimate.
- About the child: give age, known weight, relevant medical problems and what you can currently observe. Do not delay the call to weigh the child.
- Instructions received: note who you spoke to and what they advised. Ask them to repeat anything unclear.
Plain descriptions are more useful than a confident diagnosis. “I found this packet open” and “I saw my child eat from it” are different observations. Keep both the facts and the uncertainty visible when speaking to the next professional.
A short note can separate “seen”, “reported by someone else” and “unknown”. This is an organisational suggestion, not a clinical checklist. It helps avoid an uncertain detail becoming an established fact each time the account is repeated.
If another adult takes over
A handover should preserve information, not restart the investigation. If another carer is present, agree who is speaking with healthcare staff and who is supporting the child. Share the advice already received and any new observations. Gathering details is secondary to getting help.
Keep the container available for the receiving team without leaving it accessible to another child. Avoid passing around loose food for people to inspect or taste. A useful spoken handover has three parts: what prompted concern, what professional advice has been given, and what remains unknown. Let healthcare staff decide what assessment or care is needed.
A fictional planning exercise—not medical advice
Imagine two carers discover an open packet after a family visit. Neither saw anyone eat from it. Practise saying: “We found this open at this time. We do not know whether the child swallowed any or how much.” One carer can identify where the Irish contact numbers are saved; the other can describe where packaging information would be found.
The exercise is about communication only. It does not establish a waiting period, a harmless quantity or a treatment plan. In a real incident, stop the exercise and get professional advice immediately.
Review prevention after the immediate concern
Health Canada advises keeping cannabis locked away, out of children's reach and separate from ordinary food and drinks, and discussing safe storage with other caregivers. Its child cannabis-poisoning guidance is an international prevention resource, not a source of Irish telephone numbers or Irish law.
For separate, non-urgent reading, see our guides to reading EU and Irish product-safety alerts and secondhand cannabis smoke and shared indoor air. Neither replaces individual advice about a suspected ingestion.