JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Law enforcement stepped in to investigate a Monday incident that caused several students at Twin Lakes Middle School to become sick from eating an unknown gummy stance.
Five out of six students were taken to the hospital after they became sick. All of the students are expected to recover.
According to the school district, the students received the unknown gummy substance when another student shared it with them.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney talked about the dangers of edibles in the hands of young kids.
“The more they are available to the general public not only In our state but other states. I think that trend is on the rise. In years past it wasn’t as concerning but certainly now as again as it becomes more readily available and people have it in their homes it’s on the uptick,” Hackney said.
A similar situation happened in October at an elementary school in Interlachen when four children were sent to the hospital after ingesting THC gummies.
“Edibles are really designed for an adult body and especially in a middle school child it’s a lot smaller in frame and body mass than an adult. The kids obviously there not smart enough to figure out how many milligrams this is or isn’t and it can do a lot of things to them up to and potentially including death.”
DCPS sent the following statement about the incident
“At this time, we are unable to verify what type of substance was ingested, but law enforcement is investigating. While the substance is unknown, this incident does present an important opportunity for families to talk to their children about the dangers of drugs and illegal substances as well as ingesting unknown substances.”
Hackney also shared a few recommendations to help prevent events like this from happening.
“Parents need to be aware things like this can happen and that just like maybe with a firearm they need to be accountable for where they are. It’s not a bad idea to consider locking these things up especially when you have kids.”