Third-graders sickened after eating cannabis edibles brought in by unsuspecting classmate

Police in Arcata, Calif., responding to a feared carbon monoxide leak at an elementary school found something completely different.

A few third-graders were high.

They had eaten gummies that their well-meaning friend had brought from home, thinking they were candy, the Times-Standard of Eureka, Calif., reported. Three students at Jacoby Creek School, in the Humboldt County community of Bayside, were taken to the hospital after they began displaying signs of intoxication, the local newspaper reported.

Three third-graders at a Northern California elementary school were sickened after inadvertently eating cannabis gummies brought in by an unsuspecting classmate, school official said Sunday.

Their classmate had shared his edibles, thinking they were mere gummy bears, the Times-Standard reported.

Authorities at first evacuated the classroom and called the fire department, thinking there was a gas leak, local news site Lost Coast Outpost reported.

“But upon learning what happened, we shifted tactics,” school principal Melanie Nannizzi told the outlet. The affected kids’ parents were summoned to fetch their children, and some of them were taken for medical attention. Nannizzi found herself writing an unusual letter to parents.

“A third-grade student inadvertently brought marijuana gummies to school and shared them with four peers at snack recess,” she told parents in a letter obtained by Lost Coast Outpost. “The students were not aware that the gummies contained marijuana.”

She called it “a frightening incident for our entire school community” despite the relatively benign outcome.

The children all recovered, she said.

“All of the students are doing well,” Nannizzi told the Times-Standard on Friday afternoon.

Police are investigating, Arcata Police Department spokesman Brian Hoffman told news site Lost Coast Outpost, adding that adults who provided the gummies could face child-endangerment charges.

“We were assuming they came from somebody’s house,” Arcata officer Heidi Groszmann told the Times-Standard of the edibles. “It’s a friendly reminder to please store them in a safe location away from children because, obviously, they come in candy form.”