PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office is investigating after parents at Oak Hammock K-8 School in Port St. Lucie said a handful of students were sickened, possibly by candy containing THC.
WPTV found out about the situation through a Facebook post Tuesday that said four to five students that day ate what they believed was THC and went to a hospital. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the substance that's primarily responsible for the effects of marijuana on a person's mental state.
A St. Lucie County School District spokesperson couldn't confirm the cause, saying the sheriff's office is investigating.
But there are hundreds of people wondering what happened.
"What 9-year-old doesn't like candy?" Daniel Elmore, who has a second-grade student at the school, said Wednesday. "My reaction is more or less more disheartening and concerned."
He found out about the news through 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 about it this morning, saying, 'Hey, don't take candy from another kid,'" Elmore said. "What if it wasn't THC? What if it was fentanyl or Oxycontin or God forbid if it was even heroin."
The school district said the incident is contained and isolated, which is why a mass email wasn't sent to every parent. Instead, a message went out just to the parents involved.
The most common symptom that's reported is lethargy, or sleepiness, dizziness and vomiting.
Pediatric gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Thomas with Palm Beach Children's Hospital said symptoms can last up to 24 hours.
"It has the potential to be life-threatening," Thomas said. "The dose or the concentration of these edibles varies greatly, and that's where you get in trouble."
WPTV spoke with a family member of a student who was hospitalized, but the family member said Wednesday night that the student was OK.
The comments on Facebook kept growing.
Parents want answers.
The question is who is going to be held accountable for this situation?
The school district was asked what's next for the student responsible in this case but said right now it's an open investigation.