ST. LOUIS – St. Louis County Police and the Riverview Gardens School District are investigating after a Highland Elementary third grader thought he was sharing candy with classmates but instead shared marijuana edibles, police said.
Six third graders ingested the edibles during school on Thursday, according to officials. None of the children were said to have experienced severe medical illnesses.
Nicole Howard is the parent of one of the students who ingested two edibles. She reported that her daughter was still foggy on Friday after being unable to recognize her family on Thursday.
“She couldn’t remember anything,” Howard said. “She wasn’t really able to walk or anything.”
Howard said her child was in tears and thought she was being kidnapped.
“Somebody’s got to answer for it,” Erica Stevenson, Howard’s sister, said. “You know, I think we deserve an answer.”
The school district contacted the police and sent a letter to parents notifying them about the incident. A district spokesperson stated the edibles were noticed when a teacher collected candy at the start of class. St. Louis County Police say a child abuse hotline call was also made.
The letter to parents reads, in part:
“The school nurse conducted a visual assessment of all scholars in the classroom. She
then conducted more thorough examinations of the scholars suspected of ingesting
the gummies. The parents of the affected scholars were contacted and encouraged to
take their children for additional medical evaluation. Thankfully, we do not believe
that any children have suffered serious medical complications as a result of this
incident.
“Parents, if you consume snacks, candies or other items meant for adult
consumption, it is critical that you keep them stored away from children. We also
ask that you monitor the items in your children’s bookbags to help ensure that they
do not bring items to school that violate school policy and/or local law.”
Julie Weber is the director of the Missouri Poison Center at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in Richmond Heights. The center is seeing an increase in the number of cases involving children ingesting edibles.
Weber said kids can become drowsy, go into a deep sleep and experience nausea or vomiting. In addition, they can have hallucinations or experience a seizure.
“Treat the edible cannabis products like medication,” Weber said. “We really encourage families to get something like a locked box or storage that a child can’t get into.”
Parents can contact the poison center, which is staffed 24 hours a day, if they suspect their child ingested an edible.
To contact the poison center, call 1-800-222-1222 or to visit their website, click here.
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