3-Year-Old Eats Marijuana Cookies Grandma Made, is Hospitalized
A 3-year-old in southern California consumed marijuana-laced cookies and had to be taken to the hospital when his parents could not wake him up.
The grandmother, who was diagnosed with cancer, had a prescription for medical marijuana to treat her pain stemming from the cancer treatments and also help her sleep, according to Sgt. Phil Gomez of the Murrieta Police Department.
Police stated that the toddler's grandmother had made the batch of cookies using THC oil a few days prior and then put the cookies in a refrigerator that was located in the garage. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active ingredient in marijuana.
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On June 30, the boy's father noticed something was wrong after the boy failed to wake up after sleeping through the night. The boy fell asleep the previous day at around 5 p.m. after playing outside. The father realized the boy was still asleep at 9:30 a.m. the following morning and called the police, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
The boy was taken to a local hospital, where he was later released.
Local police think the boy wondered into the garage after playing in the backyard and happened to find the bag of cookies in the refrigerator, Gomez said.
Police have not yet released the names of the family members because there have been no arrests made and the incident is still under investigation.
However, if marijuana byproducts are discovered in the boy's system, his family could face charges of child endangerment. Investigators are awaiting the results of toxicology tests and Riverside County child protective services were notified, police said.
Gomez explained that the family had been cooperative with police and that it looked as if the child was well cared for.
"It's unfortunate that they didn't take better steps to keep those cookies out of reach of the child," Gomez said.
The grandmother told police she would not make the cookies anymore, Gomez said.
