Eleven teenagers were hospitalized after consuming gummy bears laced with THC. Police in Northwest Indiana confirmed that 11 teens, aged between 18 and 19 years, were taken to hospitals on Thursday night after eating the laced gummy bears. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the main psychoactive compound found in marijuana.
The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office reported that a 19-year-old man called 911 and asked for the emergencies department. The man explained he had been camping with some friends who had also ingested the gummy bears.
Police officials said the man didn’t know where his friends were because he wasn’t familiar with the area.
Teenagers had only eaten half a THC-laced gummy bear before they became sick
Police officials were able to locate ten other teenagers in a house on the 5200 North block of County Road 325, who said they’d also eaten the gummy bears and felt sick after doing so. The La Porte County Sheriff reported the teenagers complained of rapid heart rate, blurred vision, and pain in their legs. The report shows that some of them even suffered from hallucinations.
The cause was the THC-laced gummy bears. Investigators of the case said that each teen had eaten one-half of a drug-laced gummy bear before getting sick.
“The strength is so strong that it caused an adverse reaction in 11 people – not one person, not three – it wasn’t just a small batch or a bad batch,” said Captain Kellems of the La Porte County Sheriff’s office, according to ABC7 Chicago.
The sheriff’s office reported that the drugged teenagers were six young men and five young women.
“You know when you put a can of Coke in front of me and I know I’m going to drink 16 ounces of Coca Cola, you know what’s in it,” explained Capt. Kellems. “When you take something that is made and manufactured in a state that unfortunately allows this type of thing, you don’t know what you’re getting.”
Police officials noted this is the first time La Porte County has encountered a case like this.
Last year 13 teenagers were intoxicated with gummy bears laced with marijuana
Last December, 13 teens in Naperville, Illinois, were taken to the hospital for medical attention after also eating gummy bears laced with THC. The gummies were distributed at Naperville North High School, and four minors were accused of delivering a substance containing THC.
Police officials and parents who spoke with ABC7 Chicago expressed concern that these edibles could end up in the hand of younger children.
“I have kids myself so I would be concerned a kid brings it to school, I mean it looks like gummy bears,” said parent Stacey Hastis, according to ABC7 Chicago.
The case is under revision by the La Porte County prosecutor’s office to determine if the teenagers will face any criminal charges. Police officials believe the laced gummy bears may have come from a state where marijuana is legal.
Source: ABC7 Chicago