Candy That Likely Included Pot Sickens 13 Kids

A special unit of the San Francisco Police Department is investigating how 19 people including a 6-year-old child could have eaten gummy candies at a birthday party that most likely were marijuana edibles, the AP reports. The 19 were hospitalized Sunday, but all of them were released by Monday. Officer Grace Gatpandan said at a Monday news conference that the unit is interviewing people to see if the candies were intentionally placed at the party to target children, which would be a serious crime. But she says investigators don't want to rush to the assumption that it was intentional.

She says police only know that the patients had THC in their systems, and they could not yet say whether the gummies had medical-grade levels of marijuana. The patients' symptoms were consistent with the effects of edible cannabis, including rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, dilated pupils, dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, lethargy, and confusion. Police did not name the Oakland catering company that provided the food for the party or say how the gummies were presented. The incident took place during a quinceanera celebration. Thirteen of the patients were 18 or younger. (More marijuana stories.)