Port Barre Police have arrested two in connection with an incident involving THC-laced gummies at Port Barre High on Tuesday.
Police say a 16-year-old student was arrested for Distribution of Schedule I Narcotics and Drug-Free Zone violation. An 18-year-old student was arrested for Possession of a Schedule I Narcotic and Drug-Free Zone violation. Both teens were booked into the Port Barre Jail and have since been released.
After an investigation, police say they learned that the 16-year-old student brought the THC-laced candy to school and sold some to the 18-year-old. The older student then ate three of the candies, which each contained approximately 70mg of THC, according to police. Shortly after, the 18-year-old began to feel disoriented, with an elevated heart rate, and seemed to be having an anxiety attack. Staff was notified and called 911.
Police Chief Deon Boudreaux released the following statement regarding the incident:
I've seen social media comments where some folks are making light of the situation because the drug ingested was THC, which is a chemical derived from marijuana. Some people don't believe there is a harm involved when ingesting THC but that belief is a common fairy tale. The truth is, THC is harmful when ingested in large doses and especially if that person is not a frequent user.
What most don't know is, the amount of THC consumed from a typical marijuana cigarette "joint, blunt etc" , is roughly 12mgs of THC, beings most of it lost due to the burning, but the THC content in a single gummy candy can vary from 5mg to 90mg, depending on the manufacturer. The particular gummies, sold and consumed in this case, are suspected to have contained 70mg of THC each. If the 18-year-old consumed 3, then he ingested a dose of 210mg of THC all at once. So yes, an over dose of THC.
We urge parents to be aware of and monitor social media and internet sources their children are attached to and have access to. These types of drugs can be purchased online and mailed to your home. The more concerning issues are you don't know what other drugs could be in these things and the fact that it is candy form is scary, especially if a small toddler would get a hold of a bag of THC laced candy.
Read our original story here.
