11 New York Middle Schoolers Sickened After Taking THC Gummies, a Growing Problem

(USA TODAY) A student at a New York middle school gave marijuana gummies to at least a dozen classmates this week, sending nearly all of them to the hospital, police and the school district said.

The 13- and 14-year-old students were sickened Monday morning at William Floyd Middle School in Moriches, New York, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a statement. Eleven of the students were taken to the hospital and one was released into the custody of a parent, James Montalto, a spokesperson for the school district, said in a statement to USA TODAY.

"While we cannot discuss student discipline publicly due to privacy laws, we take this matter seriously and there will be appropriate consequences," Montalto said. "We will continue to build upon our anti-drug programs and also continue to host grade-level assemblies highlighting the dangers of all drug use including edible marijuana."

It's not clear how the student obtained the edibles or whether they knew the gummies contained marijuana before sharing them. But similar incidents have happened in schools across the country and cases of children ingesting marijuana-laced treats have grown as more states have legalized the medical and recreational use of cannabis. 

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