Marijuana Brownies Make Five Schoolgoers In San Francisco Seriously Ill

Five students from a San Francisco Bay Area high school fell ill after eating marijuana brownies that they bought at their school from another student. Two of the students have reportedly been hospitalized after falling unconscious.

Mark Gagan, Richmond police captain, reportedly said a 17-year-old senior at the De Anza High School allegedly sold the brownies within school premises on Thursday to the five students for $3 a piece or $5 for two, the Associated Press, or AP, reported. The students, between the ages of 14 to 16, reportedly fell ill and two students regained consciousness at the hospital and are in a stable but serious condition, Gagan reportedly said. The other three students were treated for nausea and vomiting at the school.

The teenager who allegedly sold the brownies was arrested on charges of selling drugs on a school campus as well as endangering the lives of children. She is currently being held at a juvenile hall, Gagan reportedly said.

Marijuana use in the state of California has been decriminalized for medical purposes only, while the states of Colorado and Washington have legalized the use of marijuana for both medical and recreational use. The state of Colorado has brought in more than $25 million in revenues since the law came into effect.

With calls for the decriminalization of marijuana growing in popularity in the U.S., which also incarcerates the most number of people in the world -- mainly on drug charges -- state governments in the country are reconsidering marijuana laws, which federal law, under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, declares as an illegal drug, claiming it has a high potential for abuse with no acceptable medical use.

A survey by the World Health Organization found that the U.S. consumes the largest amount of marijuana per capita with at least 35 million Americans willing to tell government representatives that they used the drug during the past year, a 2008 survey said. A recent poll said that a majority of U.S. citizens would support the legalization of marijuana -- a soft drug -- whose use has not caused any reported deaths.