Weed gummies and child safety: What to know after Long Island students sickened

After a dozen William Floyd Middle School students were sickened Monday from eating marijuana gummies, Newsday spoke to experts to get advice for parents and guardians on THC edibles and child safety.

Eleven of the 12 students, who were between 13 and 14 years old, were treated and released from the hospital after falling ill, officials said.

A 13-year-old student handed out the gummies and all the students involved knew they contained marijuana, Suffolk police said Tuesday.

Officers were investigating the matter, although no charges had been filed "at this time," police also said Tuesday — after saying Monday no criminal charges would be filed and the Moriches school would handle discipline.

  William Floyd School District spokesperson James Montalto said Tuesday the school would take disciplinary action against the teen.

"While we cannot discuss student discipline publicly due to privacy laws, we take this matter seriously and there will be appropriate consequences," he said.  

A John Jay College of Criminal Justice adjunct lecturer told Newsday on Monday that pursuing charges for minors ingesting edibles may be difficult. Legal sales of gummies and other marijuana edibles began at state-licensed facilities in late 2022, but the state prohibits the sale of the products to anyone under 21.

What symptoms can edible marijuana products cause in children and what’s the medical treatment?

The effects can include intoxication, drowsiness, anxiety, vomiting, rapid heartbeat, respiratory problems and seizures, depending on the dosage and the child’s size, medical experts said.

Dr. Matthew Harris, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, said when kids older than about 6 come to the hospital after eating marijuana products, they typically don’t get any treatment other than being observed to make sure they recover well.

"I would say 95-plus% of kids go home the same day, hopefully with a bit of a lesson learned," he said. 

It’s rare for edibles to be laced with other drugs, and there generally is no reason to conduct drug tests if the symptoms are consistent with marijuana exposure, Harris added. 

For younger children or those experiencing more serious symptoms, treatment can include hydration — either drinking liquids with electrolytes or getting intravenous fluids — and if needed, respiratory support such as oxygen or a breathing machine used for sleep apnea that is known as a CPAP, said Dr. Candice Foy, a pediatric hospitalist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

What should a parent or guardian do if they suspect their child has ingested a marijuana edible? 

It's a good idea to consult with the child’s pediatrician and seek emergency care if there are serious symptoms, Harris said.

The effects depend on body weight and the amount of THC ingested, so edibles can have a more severe impact on smaller children, he said. "In much younger children, you can have a significant enough intoxication that you need to be hospitalized," the physician added.

If a young child eats marijuana edibles or if a child of any age is unable to walk, is vomiting or suffering other serious symptoms, parents should call the Poison Control Center or seek emergency care, according to Harris.

The Poison Control Center can be reached at 800-222-1222.

Are there health risks if children eat edibles?

"Too many young people think ‘legal’ means ‘safe,’ and when it comes to minors, nothing could be further from the truth. High-potency THC, especially when distributed in the form of gummies and candies that are appealing to kids, comes with some significant health risks," said Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of Garden City-based Family & Children's Association. 

Young people’s brains are still forming until they are in their mid- to late 20s, and research shows chronic use of marijuana in children and young adults can damage memory, cognitive abilities and attention, Foy said. Long-term use also is associated with psychiatric illnesses including schizophrenia, she said.

Reynolds said there are also concerns about adolescents' decision-making abilities while impaired.

What should parents know about the way some edibles are marketed? 

In many cases, "these candies and gummies look like regular candies" in packages that can resemble mass-market snacks such as Oreo cookies or Lifesavers candy, Harris said. "I say this as a parent of three, that we all need to be diligent about checking" to make sure snacks are safe for kids, the doctor said. 

Reynolds said: "We've seen a trend toward manufacturing cannabis products that are likely to be attractive to children as well." 

When a child ingests a marijuana edible, how long does it take to feel the effect and when does that effect peak?

It typically takes up to an hour for a marijuana edible to take effect, Foy said. In some cases kids ingest more than they intended to because of the delay, she said. The effect typically peaks within a few hours and wears off within 4 to 6 hours for most adults, and within 12 to 24 hours for very young children who ingest a large amount, she said.  

Are such exposures on the rise?

Incidents have become more common since about 2018 or 2019, perhaps in part because kids spent more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and "got into more things they shouldn't have," Harris said.

Foy said cases of kids ingesting marijuana edibles were rare at Stony Brook before 2020 but have risen to about a dozen a year since then.

The New York City Regional Poison Control Center, which tracks cannabis gummy exposures based on calls from health care providers and the public, said Tuesday the center recorded 53 cases on Long Island in 2023 for people under 19 and 38 such cases in 2024.

How should such products be safely stored in households for adult-only use?

When a child ingests edibles and comes to the emergency room, hospital social workers will talk with parents about storing the products safely, Harris said.

Safe storage can include keeping edibles in a safe, a locked bag or on a high shelf that is out of sight and away from other food products, Foy said. Keeping edibles near food creates a "really high risk for toddlers" and puts them "in the reach of teens," she said.

If possible, it is best to avoid keeping edibles at home, she said. 

Reynolds added that parents can go a step further and store their cannabis products in lockboxes or treat them like medication.

How should parents talk with teens about the risks of marijuana edibles?

Among teens, "there's a ton of peer pressure, there's a ton of desire to experiment," Foy said.

Parents can share information about the effects of marijuana on developing brains, and they also can examine whether a child is using marijuana to alleviate stress, anxiety or depression, and get them appropriate treatment if needed, Foy said.

"Having an open dialogue — ‘Please tell me everything’ — and having some confidence that the kid’s not going to get in overwhelming trouble when they do come to you, I think is important … as opposed to just a black and white, ‘No, we don't do drugs,’" she said. 

Reynolds said it's important that these conversations, which should not be demoralizing, start early and be ongoing. "Responsible adults using cannabis, as long as they're not pregnant or operating a motor vehicle, is one thing," he added "Kids under the age of 21, there's a fair amount of science and data that suggests that's unhealthy."

With John Asbury