More and more children are ingesting cannabis and ending up in the hospital.

James Jones, the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club in New Britain, said prevention is key.

“What we found was 85 to 90% of those kids started experimenting from the house,” Jones said.

He said a recent survey shows marijuana use amongst young kids and adolescents is on the rise.

“A lot of people don’t understand the adolescent brain continues to grow until you’re 25,” Jones said. “Especially in the early years, when kids are making decisions, these kids are making poor decisions.”

Jones said this can have unintended consequences.

“The different marijuana’s collected from our high schools had fentanyl laced in them, a huge percentage; it’s not just weed,” Jones said.

And it’s not only teenagers who are being exposed to marijuana at a young age.

Dr. Eric Hoppa with Connecticut Children’s said they are seeing children in the emergency department.

“Especially with the gummies. A child will ingest a significant amount thinking it’s a snack or candy,” Hoppa said.

He said ingestion of cannabis at a young age can lead to sleepiness to the point of unresponsiveness, nausea and vomiting, and, in rare cases, seizures.

So what should parents do to prevent this from happening to their kids?

“Keeping it locked away, keeping it out of reach of children, is really important,” Hoppa said.

Jones emphasized the importance the role of a parent plays in kids drug use.

“If you’re a parent and your child gets your stash and passes it on to everyone else, I feel like that’s negligence, and you should be held accountable for that,” Jones said.

Hoppa said if a child does ingest cannabis, to contact poison control, and if they are showing symptoms, take them to the emergency department for an evaluation.