Students found themselves feeling “dizzy and euphoric” after accidentally consuming marijuana edibles at an Oshawa elementary school on two separate occasions, Durham police said.
In a news release issued Tuesday, police said a Grade 6 student brought home-baked cookies to a school in Oshawa as a treat on May 14. After eating the cookies, three 11-year-old students and one 12-year-old student reported feeling “dizzy and euphoric,” police say. Officials from the Durham District School Board (DDSB) contacted police to look into the incident.
An investigation by Durham police found that one parent made the cookies for a spouse with a medical marijuana license and that some of the batch had been taken without consent by an older sibling and had “somehow ended up in the Grade 6’s backpack.”
The Children’s Aid Society has been called in to conduct a review.
A week before, THC-infused gummy bears were consumed in the same elementary school. Four children in Grade 7 and Grade 8 reported feeling symptoms after consuming the candy. Police say they do not know how one of the students came into possession of the gummy bears, but they do say they were not made at the student’s home.
Images of the pre-packaged gummy bears have been circulated to staff at the school.
In the news release, officers said they have taken the time to educate students, parents and teachers in the DDSB and the Durham Catholic District School Board on “the dangers and risks of consuming psychoactive chemicals at such an early age.”
Durham police also told CTV News they were not identifying the school because they didn’t want these incidents to turn into a “distraction” for the school community.
The DDSB issued a statement Tuesday at 5 p.m. reiterating the facts as described by Durham police, saying the incidents were “isolated and separate.”
“Both incidents were brought to the attention of the school administration. The school administration followed our Police-Board Protocol reporting both incidences to police. The situations were dealt with quickly and efficiently by both school staff and Durham Regional Police Services,” the statement said. “Drug use by students is a serious matter and is dealt with as such through progressive discipline and police intervention as necessary.”
The statement does not name the school where the edibles were found.
The DDSB did address pending federal legislation in the statement and said it has not had an impact on how schools within the region deal with drug use.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact Central East Division at 1-999-579-1520 or to make an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers.
