Child eats THC candy at elementary Halloween event

A student ate a THC-infused candy handed out during a Halloween event at a California elementary school, while three other families found more treats laced with marijuana in their kids’ candy bags.

The unidentified child became ill and needed medical attention after eating the candy at the Amelia Earhart Elementary event on Sunday afternoon.

The student ate a Kiva Lost Farm fruit chew, which looks strikingly similar to a Starburst.

But in an image shared by police, the wrapper states the candy is infused with 10mg of THC.

Three other families also found the fruity candy in their children’s bags, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

There have been no reports that any other child has ingested the THC candy.

Alameda Police are investigating the incident to determine where the candy came from at the PTA-sponsored event. They warned the public that many drug-infused candies strongly resemble the original sweets.

The department recommended parents “check your child’s candy” prior to letting them enjoy it to look for “unusual packaging” and to report any “suspicious” sweets that were handed out during holiday festivities.

In a Facebook post, the Alameda Police Department shared several popular brands that have been ripped off THC candies.

Some of these included Nerds Ropes that claimed to be “medicated” and KitKat wrappers that displayed a marijuana leaf. Others had slight changes to brand names like Reefer’s instead of Reece’s and Stoney Patch instead of Sour Patch Kids.

Some packaging can be even harder to identify, such as Jolly Ranchers Gummies, which the THC brand uses the same name, font, and similar graphics. The only indication that the gummies are cannabis-infused is the small corner that normally shows the calorie count per serving.

To the unsuspecting eye, many THC candies appear to be the original sweets.

“Exercise extra caution and inspect your child’s Halloween candy,” the department warned.

Parents of the schoolchildren were notified Monday afternoon about the incident and the school is working with police to “determine the source of this candy,” Earhart Principal Bryan Dunn-Ruiz said in a letter to families, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Alameda Unified School District officials encouraged families to throw out the candy received at the event, spokesperson Susan Davis said, according to the outlet.

“It’s very worrisome,” Davis said. “We’re trying to do everything we can to keep the kids safe while we investigate what happened.”