Parents Start Toddler Pot Smoking at 23 Months: Teen Mom, Dad and 54-Year-Old Grandfather Arrested
Parents had their toddler pot smoking earlier this December in Mayville, New York, according to police. Teen parents Jessica and George Kelsey encouraged their 23-month-old child to ingest marijuana from a lighted bowl and were subsequently arrested. They were arraigned Friday.
The teen parents had their toddler smoking pot while under the age of two years old. Jessica Kelsey, 17, George Kelsey, 18, and Jessica's father Don Baker, 54, all either helped, observed or encouraged the child to smoke Dec. 5 in their South Erie Street apartment.
It is unknown how authorities got wind of the incident, but soon afterwards, the Chautauqua County sheriff's office began investigating the case. The Kelseys and Don Baker were all arrested and charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child, police told The Buffalo News.
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The arraignment of the child's parents and grandfather occurred in the Town of Chautauqua Court. They are being held in lieu of $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond, a Chautauqua County Jail spokeswoman said.
The 23-month-old child and another sibling were taking into protective custody.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time a child has been caught smoking marijuana under a guardian's direction. A 4-year-old in Edmond, Oklahoma showed up to his afternoon pre-kindergarten class high on pot.
Police said that when the child arrived at Cross Timbers Elementary school in late November, classmates noticed something was wrong- he reeked of marijuana, was "very lethargic" and "his eyes were dilated (and) watery," authorities told News9.com.
Teachers revealed that the 4-year-old stayed with his grandmother, 53-year-old Sandra Martinez, in Logan County. When she arrived to pick the child up with the boy's great aunt, 52-year-old Peggy Pierman, both of them were arrested.
The boy usually doesn't stay with his grandmother, but did that night because of inclement weather- her house is closer to the elementary school than his mother's house is.
Martinez and Pierman are currently both facing drug charges.
