Three young students at a Montgomery County, Maryland, elementary school felt sick after ingesting what they thought was candy but instead may have turned out to be a controlled substance.
Police arrived at College Gardens Elementary in Rockville after the 7-year-old students became sick on Monday. The students found a container of “blue items that they believed to be candy,” a Montgomery County police news release said.
They briefly put it in their mouth and then quickly spit them out. But when they started to feel dizzy, they went to the school nurse, who called emergency medical service. The children were taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Detectives are not sure what the students took, as none of the items were recovered. Investigators believe it could have been a methamphetamine-related drug such as such as Adderall or MDMA. The students have been discharged from the hospital and are home with their parents, police said.
In a letter to the school community, a letter to parents Stacey Rogovoy asked parents to remind their children only to eat food brought from home or purchased at the school. She also said students should talk to an adult if they find suspected candy and food on school property.
“It is imperative that we remember that no food of any kind is to be shared with other students,” Rogovoy said.
Montgomery County police Chief Marcus Jones said in a statement that he is relieved that the student will be fine, but added what happened was “frightening.”
Earlier this month in D.C., five elementary students were hospitalized after sharing gummies suspected of containing a control substance.
In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, a mother was indicted and taken into custody after the death of her 4-year-old son who ate THC gummies.
Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, said that they are seeing THC-infused drinks being marketed to kids.
“I hope that it serves as a powerful motivator for parents to keep having the difficult conversations with their children about the dangers of taking or eating unknown substances,” Jones said.
