MULBERRY, FL — Five 12-year-old children from Mulberry Middle School were taken to a local hospital Thursday after ingesting what Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and school officials described as a 100 mg “block”of gummy candy laced with tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. A sixth child was taken to the hospital by her mother. She was also 12.
“We believe a student brought some candy to school and the candy contained THC,” Kyle Kennedy of the Polk County Public Schools told Patch.
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“It was consumed by a number of other students that began feeling the effects from that,” Kennedy said, adding that the Polk County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation.
Speaking at a press conference with Polk County Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd, Judd said a 12-year-old seventh grader shared the gummy candy with six classmates during second-period gym, including four girls and two boys. The child who provided the edibles did not eat any himself.
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“They had stomach aches. They were nauseous, dizzy,” said Judd. “One of them was all but passed out.”
The sheriff said that the child who supplied the gummies will face seven felony charges, including one count of possession of THC or marijuana resin and six counts of distribution of THC within 1,000 feet of a school. He will also be charged with misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia. Patch is withholding his name because of his age.
The other children will not be charged.
“The other kids have eaten the evidence so to speak,” Judd told reporters. “We’re not going to charge the other children. They will be dealt with appropriately by their parents and the school system under discipline conduct rules.”
The gummy candy was produced in California and sold online, according to the sheriff who said that the 100 mg block of gummies was torn into six pieces meant to be 10 doses. He said all but “one littler corner” was devoured by the children during gym class around 10 a.m.
“Of the six of them that received a piece of this gummy, five of them were transported to the hospital because of an overdose,” Judd said. “It’s easy to figure out — six kids, a 100 mg bar that should be into 10 separate doses of legal use, in California of THC, is now distributed, the 10 doses, between six children.”
The superintendent praised school staff for their quick response and said that all of the children were expected to make full recoveries.
“We could have been here with a different outcome if someone did not respond,” Byrd said. “Parents, I ask you, please talk to your children. Please make sure we’re looking at their online, social media. If they are buying, purchasing see what it is.”
In a communication to parents, the school district said it was cooperating in the investigation into the incident.
“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,” parents were told.
Mulberry Middle School is located at 500 SE Dr MLK Jr Avenue in Mulberry.
Watch as Judd and Byrd speak with reporters below:
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd addresses reporters with Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd. Image courtesy Polk County Sheriff’s Office.