LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - Several children have been released from the hospital a day after they suddenly got sick from eating candy labeled “cannabis infused” at the Boys and Girls Club in Lauderhill, police said.
It was a scary Wednesday afternoon for the parents whose children go to the Lauderhill location.
Between 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., Lauderhill Police were called to the center three times.
7News cameras captured police cruisers pulling into the facility.
According to investigators, eight children ingested the cannabis-infused candy.
On Thursday, concerned parents at the center reacted to the news.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m shook,” said Titi Lois. “That’s disturbing because that’s supposed to be, like, one of the safest places for kids to have.”
But this candy was not kid-friendly. Lois said she has taught her kids to only eat what she gives them.
“I taught my kids never to accept anything in school,” she said.
Now she’s double checking to make sure her children know that.
“I believe that if anybody is going to have any drugs or anything at all, then it should be kept under lock and key to prevent things like this from happening,” said another parent.
Police have since released the 911 calls for help.
It appeared that a girl brought in the cannabis infused candy and shared them with other children.
“A 6-year-old female brought in edibles, then fed them to the kids,” a caller said. “I don’t know how many kids were given the edibles.”
“The children, one’s a female, she ate an entire piece of the candy and one of the patients is a male, he had half of the candy, that edible,” a dispatcher said over Broadcastify police scanner.
Firefighters said all of the children who ate the candy were between 7 and 8 years old. Two of them were treated at the center and released to their parents, and the six others were transported to the hospital in stable condition for further evaluation.
All the children are expected to be OK.
“One of the patients is the 8-year-old male,” the dispatcher said. “They thought it was just candy.”
A spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County released a statement that reads in part, “Upon learning of the situation, staff reacted immediately by contacting the local authorities and medical personnel, who responded quickly to the club facility. We are continuing to monitor the situation and the status of all youth involved.”
Leaders at the center confirmed the six children who were taken to the hospital have been sent home to their families.
Police said no charges have been filed, but they are still investigating how the children got their hands on the candy.
On Thursday, a spokesperson with the police department released a statement that reads in part, “The packaging on the candy contained the verbiage of ‘cannabis infused’ and ‘for medical use only.'”
Police said the candy has not been tested yet for the presence of THC, a chemical compound of marijuana, so they are not able to confirm at this time if that’s actually what was in those candies.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.