12-Year-Old Charged For Distributing Marijuana-Laced Gummies In School, Several Students Hospitalized

Police and fire crews responded to a Florida junior high school Thursday where several students fell sick after consuming gummy bears laced with marijuana. A 12-year-old student who handed out the candies was slapped with seven felony charges.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that officials were called to Mulberry Middle School on Thursday afternoon “in response to several students who had a negative reaction to marijuana-laced gummy bears they had ingested.”

“Five students were transported to the hospital, and two other students were picked up by their parents to be medically checked out,” the statement said, New York Daily News reported.

A boy brought a pack of Green Hornet fruit punch gummies containing 100 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to school and distributed it to his classmates on Thursday morning. A few hours later, several students started complaining of stomach pains, nausea and dizziness.

"They had stomach aches, they were nauseous, dizzy. One of them was all but passed out," Sheriff Grady Judd told Fox 13.

The package of the gummies warns it is “for medical use only” and that it needs to be kept “out of the reach of children and animals.” The product is illegal in Florida, the Sheriff’s Office said.

“We have long been concerned about the dangers of marijuana-infused candy, and that it would get into the hands of, and poison, children. Here's an example of that,” Judd said, Orlando Sentinel reported.

The 12-year-old told authorities “a couple of different stories” about how he got the "Green Hornet" fruit snacks including that he ordered them online and that somebody gave it to him when he was in the school bus, NBC News reported. He also said he did not eat any of it.

"We're concerned as to, one, how did a 12-year-old ever come to be in possession of this drug — this illegal drug in the state of Florida and, two, why did he offer it to these six kids?" Judd said.

The 12-year-old faces charges including “distribution of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school,” “possession of marijuana resin” and “possession of paraphernalia.”

“We are cooperating with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on an incident that occurred at school today. At this point, it is our understanding a student brought candy to school that contains THC, the chemical found in marijuana. The candy was consumed by other students, five of whom have been taken to the hospital for examination. We will continue to cooperate with the Sheriff’s Office during this ongoing investigation," Polk County Public Schools said in a message sent to the parents.

In a news conference, Polk County Public Schools superintendent Jacqueline Byrd urged the parents to talk to their children about the use of drugs.

"We want to make sure everyone is safe when they come to school each and every day," Byrd said.