Two 'Lethargic' Students Overdose On THC-Laced Gummy Bears

Two Uniontown, Pennsylvania high school students were briefly incapacitated after they consumed THC-infused gummy bears, Laurel Highlands School District officials say.

School officials say the students consumed the weed candies on school grounds Friday. The THC-laced gummies and other similar candies that produce a marijuana-like high can be easily purchased online but are still illegal under reacreational marijuana laws applied in Pennsylvania. The two students' Friday overdose incident started when teachers noticed the "lethargic" duo not "acting right" at school. They were then taken to the school nurse's office before first responders took them to the hospital.

“Both students were acting and feeling lethargic,” School Superintendent Dr. Jesse Wallace III told KDKA-TV. “As a result of that, we acted and determined there was obviously something not right. Safety became the most important thing, and we tried to get them help as quickly as possible.”

As a result of the students' brief incapacitation incidenton Feb. 8, the Laurel Highlands School District put out a warning to area parents, staff and students about the side effects and rapidly spreading "Gummy Bear" and "Sweet Stone Candy" products.

"[T]wo of our high school students ingested a legally produced and distributed 'Gummy Bear' laced with 100 mg of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), rendering our students temporarily incapacitated and in need of medical attention. THC is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis," read the Laurel Highlands district letter.

Superintendent Wallace said the incident should be a wake-up call in showing the community the ease with with weed, cannabis or THC products can be purchased. Officials claimed to have confiscated the Sweet Stone Candy wrappers that contained the gummies.

“Whenever you have a crisis like this in a public school setting, it’s important for all students, parents and families to know you have to talk to your kids,” Dr. Wallace told KDKA-TV. “You have to have open conversations with them about what’s going on in their lives, and you need to stay away from these types of things.”