According to Fayval Williams, the Jamaican minister of education, over 60 youngsters in Jamaica were sent to the hospital after eating candies containing cannabis.
The injured youngsters were elementary school pupil students from the St Ann’s Bay region, which is around 80 kilometers from Kingston, the capital city, according to a post by Fayval Williams on the social networking site X.
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Some of these kids experienced severe symptoms, such as hallucinations and vomiting. According to the BBC, none of them are now listed as having a serious condition.
Williams praised the efforts of the healthcare professionals caring for the kids, noting that several required intravenous (IV) infusions.
She issued a warning about the peril these candies posed, which makes one wonder about their accessibility and legality.
Williams first stated that the children from St. Ann’s Bay Primary School were the ones who were harmed, however, according to adjacent Ocho Rios Primary School pupils were also touched.
The latter school’s principal identified the “lone seller” who had sold the candy to pupils illegally as the source of the goodies.
The director of the St. Ann police department, Senior Superintendent Dwight Powell, has urged anybody with knowledge regarding the seller or the contaminated candies to contact the authorities.
Williams provided pictures of the candy’s packaging, which made it quite obvious that no children should be allowed to purchase the treats.
Each candy is said to contain a sizable 100mg of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), or delta-8.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration, this dose is known to cause intoxicating effects and is considered excessive even for adults (FDA).
The fact that the candies were made by a US corporation in California, where marijuana is legal, but they are not FDA-approved, is remarkable.
In 2015, Jamaica decriminalized the personal use of small quantities of cannabis (marijuana).
The government, according to Health Minister Christopher Tufton, does not allow the importation of delicacies containing pharmaceuticals.
This incidence in Jamaica is not unique; it comes after a recent instance in South Africa when over 90 kids became sick after eating muffins that were laced with drugs and bought from a street seller.
