Police Investigating After Waltham Student Sickened By THC Candy

WALTHAM (CBS) – The student at Northeast Elementary School in Waltham who was recently rushed to the hospital after eating candy laced with THC is expected to recover from the incident.

"Who would ever think a 9-year-old would be bringing that to school," parent George Konstantopoulos said. "That's the world we're living in right now unfortunately."

Parents and school officials are unsure how the child got a hold of the drug infused candy. The student's identity has not been released because they're a minor.

"I'm concerned about our children, whether they be elementary, middle or high school children," Mayor Jeanette McCarthy said. "There's all kinds of research that indicates that this is dangerous to their development."

According to WBZ's Dr. Mallika Marshall, if a child consumes a large amount of marijuana through an edible form, it can cause difficulty breathing make the child lethargic and can lead to coma and in some cases death.

Mayor McCarthy is reminding parents that adult items must be out of reach of children.

"They should have a chance to grow up in an environment that is drug free," McCarthy said.

Waltham School Officials issued a letter to parents days after the incident assuring that students are safe.

"When a situation like this one occurs, we first come together to assure students are safe and second we create a plan to prevent such a situation from occurring in the future," Northeast Elementary School Principal Ellen Tenaglia wrote in the letter.

School officials are reminding students of a school-wide "no candy" policy and asking students not to share any food.

"Not all candy is safe," parent Nayda Cuevas said. "Really trying to make them understand at a young age that there is harm that can come from something he enjoys."

The investigation is still ongoing, and is being handled by the Department of Children and Families and Waltham Police.