Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Marijuana-Laced Candy Sickens Unsuspecting Partygoers, Including 13 Children
San Francisco Chronicle: Edible-THC Gummies Suspected Of Sickening 19 At Quinceañera Party
Gummy-ring candy laced with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, is the suspected culprit in a weekend incident in which 19 people fell ill at a quinceañera party in the Mission District, San Francisco health officials said Monday. Partygoers who ingested the candy Saturday night reported symptoms including heart palpitations, high blood pressure, dizziness and nausea. Nineteen people were taken to hospitals, 13 of them 18 years old or younger, health officials said. (Veklerov and Lyons, 8/8)
KQED: Candy That Sickened 19 People At San Francisco Birthday Party Contained Marijuana
A San Francisco birthday party took an upsetting turn on Saturday when guests began feeling ill after consuming orange candy gummy rings that were later found to contain edible marijuana. The candy sickened 19 people who unknowingly ate the marijuana-laced candy at a quinceañera party. They were all taken to area hospitals after experiencing symptoms including rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, dilated pupils, dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, lethargy and confusion, which can occur with edible marijuana consumption, San Francisco Department of Public Health officials said. (Fine, 8/8)
Meanwhile, in Ohio —
Cleveland Plain Dealer: What Is THC? Why Did It Sicken 24 People At EST Music Fest?
Over the weekend, 24 attendees at the EST music festival experienced adverse health effects after consuming edible candies laced with THC. They were treated with Naloxone, an antidote used to treat opiate overdoses, and no deaths occurred. The Mansfield News Journal reported that, despite what some outlets claimed during the incident, no drug overdoses happened and none of the afflicted attendees lost consciousness. (Nickoloff, 8/8)
