(CNN) Cannabis use in Colorado has been on the rise since medical cannabis was liberalized in 2009 and recreational cannabis went on sale in 2014, and it has led to an increase in emergency department visits, according to a new study.

Although inhaled cannabis leads to more visits overall, new research says, edibles -- foods containing cannabis extract -- account for more visits for psychiatric and cardiovascular symptoms.

Research has shed light on increasing safety concerns related to cannabis. The researchers identified 9,973 cannabis-related emergency department visits at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital from 2012 to 2016, a more than threefold increase in such visits.

Lead study author Dr. Andrew A. Monte, a medical toxicologist and emergency medicine physician at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, and his colleagues were motivated by their own experiences. "We observed a higher number of visits attributable to edibles than expected, and there was no data to determine if this was indeed true," he said.

For the study , published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers also looked at the relationship between cannabis sales reported to the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division and emergency department visits. Although edible cannabis only made up 0.32% of sales in Colorado from 2014 to 2016, 10.7% of cannabis-related emergency department visits at UCHealth University of Colorado were due to edibles.

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