4 Kids Sent To Hospital After Eating Weed Gummies Brought To Camden Co. School: Reports

PENNSAUKEN, NJ — Four middle schoolers in Pennsauken were sent to the hospital after consuming weed-infused gummies on Valentine's Day, according to reports.

One child brought the gummies from home and shared them with several students either before or during school that morning, according to Dr. Ronnie Tarchichi, superintendent of Pennsauken Public Schools. After staff noticed their behavior, the Phifer Middle School students were sent to the nurse and then to a medical facility.

The students were sent to the hospital as part of district policy and are expected to be fine, Tarchichi told ABC7 New York.

About 7,000 children across the United States went to emergency rooms for exposure to cannabis edibles from 2017-21, including 573 kids admitted to critical care units, according to USA Today. The number of cases for children younger than 6 increased from 207 in 2017 to 3,014 four years later, reported the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In New Jersey, cannabis dispensaries must be located at least 1,000 feet away from schools. But Tarchichi believes that their proximity to schools presents a danger.

"Educators across the country have seen a significant increase in what children are inhaling and eating now, especially with the opening of new Marijuana/Cannabis dispensaries all over," Tarchichi wrote in a Feb. 14 letter to families. "Many are even opening in close proximities with schools. I would like our parents/guardians to be extra vigilant in who our children are spending time with and encourage them to always say no to anything not given to them by parents or the school."

Both Pennsauken High School and Burling Alternative High School, also in Pennsauken, conduct security checks on all students each morning, partly to keep drugs off campus. The district planned to bring the same measures to Phifer Middle School this September.

"Due to these security checks in the mornings, we have not had issues such as the one in Phifer Middle School on February 14th," Tarchichi said.

The state legalized recreational cannabis consumption for people 21 and older in 2021, after a ballot question passed 2-to-1 in the 2020 election. New Jersey dispensaries, with proper licensing, have been able to sell recreational weed since April 2022.

Since cannabis has become legal in some states, accidental marijuana poisonings in children have increased, sometimes requiring visits to the emergency room or hospitalization, according to the CDC. Adults who consume cannabis products should keep them in childproof containers that are out of the reach of children or pets, the agency says.