Marijuana-consuming visitors to Colorado are increasingly ending up in the emergency room, a new Feinberg School of Medicine study found.

Colorado has allowed sale of marijuana to individuals age 21 and older in retail dispensaries since 2014. It became one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana use in 2012.

Dr. Howard Kim, a postdoctoral fellow in emergency medicine at Feinberg and the study’s lead investigator, said cannabis-related emergency room visits have seen a more dramatic increase among out-of-towners than among Colorado residents, which he said may indicate the former are unprepared for marijuana’s adverse effects.

“Anecdotally, we noticed that most out-of-towners were in Colorado for other reasons, such as visiting friends or on business,” Kim, who began the study when he was a resident at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said in a news release. “They ended up in the ER because they decided to try some marijuana.”

In 2014, out-of-state visitors admitted for marijuana-related symptoms accounted for 163 emergency room visits per 10,000, as opposed to the 101 per 10,000 among Colorado residents. This was an increase of 109 percent from 2012 for out-of-towners compared to an increase of 44 percent since 2012 for residents.

Dr. Andrew Monte, senior author of the study and an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said the study’s findings made it clear that people need to be better informed about the side effects of marijuana use.

“These results underscore the importance of educating the public and especially any visitors to marijuana-legal states on safe and appropriate use of cannabis products,” Monte said in the release.

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