PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office deputies said 10 students at Oak Hammock K-8 School in Port St. Lucie are believed to have ingested gummies containing THC, resulting in five hospitalizations.
"Our school resource deputies are actively investigating an isolated incident that occurred on Tuesday at Oak Hammock K-8 involving 10 juveniles suspected of ingesting THC gummies," Sheriff Keith Pearson said in an email Thursday to WPTV. "Five students were transported to a local hospital as a precaution."
Pearson said the student "responsible for distributing the edibles" has been identified. He said deputies were working with school administrators "to hold all involved accountable for their actions."
WPTV first reported that the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office was investigating after a Facebook post from a grandmother claimed that four or five students ate what was believed to have been THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, and went to a hospital.
Daniel Elmore, who is the father of a second-grade student at the school, told WPTV that the news of the incident was "disheartening."
He said he learned of what happened via Facebook.
"But if the school had sent out an email or something to the parents, we could have been on guard and I could have talked to him this morning about it, saying, 'Hey, don't take candy from another kid,'" Elmore said Wednesday.
St. Lucie Public Schools claims it only notified parents of those involved because the incident was contained and isolated.