Parents Warned to be Alert for Marijuana Candies in Oklahoma
When marijuana-infused candies were found during a February 2016 traffic stop, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics issued a warning about marijuana-infused products. These agencies used this event to send a message to parents and other concerned Oklahomans that once cannabis candies are out of their packaging, there’s no way to identify them. Gummy bears, cookies, chocolate bars, bottled drinks, chewy candies – any of these items could contain a high dosage THC – or tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary intoxicant in marijuana.
Parents and other community members concerned about children being exposed to marijuana have voiced vigorous concerns about clear, proper labeling and childproof packaging. There’s been many instances of visitors to Colorado erroneously consuming cannabis-infused products because some packaging only carries a subtle message about the presence of THC. For example, in February 2014, a 21-year-old man traveled to California from Massachusetts and was invited to eat anything in his new roommate’s refrigerator. The young man chose a chocolate bar. The one-ounce bar actually contained six doses of THC. He wound up in the hospital on a suicide watch after he panicked and thought he was dying.
Short Drive from Colorado Pot Stores to Oklahoma
From Oklahoma City to Denver is a full day’s drive but it’s not necessary to drive that far to get these products. In Trinidad, Colorado, just a little over a hundred miles from the Oklahoma border, there’s three marijuana stores. Anyone wishing to bring edibles into Oklahoma does not have far to travel which means the products can easily be found in any Oklahoma community.
This is also not the first time that gummy bears and other edibles have been found in Oklahoma. During a drug bust in 2014, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Department drug task force found gummy bears and other edible products that tested positive for marijuana. And the same year, two men from Colorado were arrested near Oklahoma City for transporting 50 pounds of marijuana edibles.
Gummy Bears Deadly for One Oklahoma Man on Vacation
Pro-marijuana advocates are fond of saying that marijuana is harmless. Luke Goodman proved how false that statement is. In March 2015, he traveled with his family to the Keystone ski resort in Colorado. He and his cousin bought $78 worth of marijuana-infused gummy bears – the proper dose for a newcomer was one gummy bear. That’s something an experienced drug user might know but it would be unexpected for a newcomer. Goodman ate five over a period of time, not realizing that edibles can take as long as two hours to fully take effects.
When the drugs finally did take effect, he began to act erratic and was incoherent. While his family was out, he killed himself with a handgun he normally carried for protection. His mother was convinced that the cannabis gummy bears were to blame. She said, "It was 100 percent the drugs. It was completely out of character for Luke. There was no depression or anything that would leave us being concerned, nothing like that."
Parents Must be Alert for this Threat to Children
If a teen or young adult is smoking marijuana, a parent can identify the drug by its appearance or odor. With edibles, the only identification is the packaging. Parents should be warned not to let children eat any treats that are out of their packaging. Sadly, this threat also means that parents should check the labels of any candies, cookies or bottled drinks before letting a child consume it. The larger the marijuana industry grows, the more infused products will be available. With a child’s lower body weight, a single adult dose of cannabis could be dangerous indeed.
http://kfor.com/2016/02/25/the-gummy-bears-look-like-gummy-bears-deputies-find-marijuana-disguised-as-candy/
http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2015/March/Family-Marijuana-Edibles-Caused-Sons-Death
http://www.newson6.com/story/26116365/colorado-pot-products-showing-up-in-tulsa-drug-busts
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/that-six-serving-bar-of-marijuana-chocolate-my-son-ate-it/?_r=0
http://www.westword.com/news/marijuana-colorado-pot-products-seized-in-oklahoma-could-put-two-men-in-prison-for-life-5869173
