An 11-year-old boy from New York City was hospitalized after overdosing on THC gummies that he mistook for candy at a Super Bowl party.
The boy’s mother, Veronica Gill, says she first became concerned after her son returned home from a Super Bowl party “acting really strange.”
“My son was sitting on the couch with me, and he started zoning out. At first, I thought he was pretending because he opened his eyes wide and laughed. Then he would zone out for a minute again, then open his eyes wide and laugh,” she said according to the New York Post.
Eventually, the mother says, her son, Ryan, started shaking and crying out for help.
Sunnyside Chews cannabis edible gummies at a Cresco Labs Inc. facility in Indiantown, Florida, U.S., on Monday, March 28, 2022. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“He started saying ‘Mom, I feel really weird.’ He was hearing voices. Then he started shaking … I thought he was maybe having a seizure.”
The mother sprung into action and took the child to urgent care. However, doctors at the clinic were alarmed by the child’s heart rate and called for an ambulance which rushed him to Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island.
Urine tests at the hospital revealed the presence of a large amount of THC.
In shock, Gill called her friend who had hosted the Super Bowl party to find out how this could have happened.
“When [my friend] went back to check the drawer after we told her what happened, she realized that the candy had THC in it. She called us hysterically crying,” Gill said.
Gill’s friend added, “I have no idea how the hell this got into my house.”
Marijuana edibles, gummies, and fire cheese snacks are distributed as vendors gather for Cannabis Cup, the world’s largest marijuana trade show taking place at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, Calif. on Sat. June 20, 2015. (Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Rather than be angry at her friend, Gill was angrier because the THC gummies were packaged in a similar way to normal candy, and the warning label on the package was not big enough.
“A lot of people have said ‘How did she not know [they were edibles]?’ And I tell them, ‘I wouldn’t know.’ People that use that stuff know. People that don’t, don’t even think to look [for THC warnings],” Gill said.
“I’m really not blaming the homeowner at all, because they’re also a victim of this packaging.”
Ryan rested in and rehydrated in the hospital overnight and made a full recovery.
Gill is pushing New York City Mayor Eric Adams to crack down on vendors who sell TGC gummies without adequate warning labels and in packaging that resembles normal candy. Adams announced that he plans to tackle the issue.