Boy, 4, hospitalised after eating THC lollipop from birthday party bag
Ella Scott
Featured Image Credit: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The parent of a schoolboy who accidentally consumed a THC-laced lollipop has questioned why school officials reportedly waited almost two days to inform other caregivers that their children could also be at risk.
Savannah Mallach recently took her four-year-old son to celebrate the birthday of one of his peers in Austin, Texas.
Speaking to CBS Austin, the mother explained that the event, held at The Nest at Anderson Mill, saw kids being gifted goodie bags, and that her son accidentally received an adult-friendly lollipop.
However, she only learned that the confectionery item contained THC after her child had consumed it.
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THC, a compound found in the cannabis plant, is a psychoactive substance that can change how your brain works. It can cause hallucinations if consumed in large amounts.
Mallach said to the publication that she’d decided to examine the laced lollipop wrapper after her child appeared to be ‘sleepy’ after consuming it.
“He looked high. He's four years old, and I was thinking in my head, ‘Why do you look high?',” she lamented.
Upon realising her son had accidentally ingested THC, Mallach alleged that she rang the daycare centre where her child had picked up the spiked lolly.
She believed that they could inform the parents of the 20+ kids to keep the candy away from their children.
However, despite ‘immediately’ telling the centre, Mallach claimed they didn’t issue a parent-wide report until ‘almost two days’ after the event.
The 'vage message' was allegedly distributed via an app, People Magazine reported.
Her son, who had a ‘high’ heart rate after consuming the item, was admitted to hospital where he was administered an IV line.
“We're just trying to make him comfortable through all these things to flush it out of his system,” the mum recalled. “He wasn't himself. He would wake up and say things that didn't make sense, he was hallucinating.
“He wasn't my happy child. It was awful, it happened to my kid.”
According to her interview, Mallach has pulled her child from the institution, claiming she and other parents are ‘angry’ at the supposed ‘miscommunication’ as their kids may have had the lolly in their bag for days.
“My message to the school is to do better, to do better in the future, and own up to any mistakes that have been made,” she said.
“I hope that this doesn't happen to any other child or any other family.”
The school's CEO, Shavonda Lawson, told CBS News: “In the days since, we have spent time listening to families, reviewing procedures, evaluating our systems, and identifying additional safeguards to strengthen our program moving forward.
“We believe that trust is built through accountability, transparency, and action.”
People Magazine said that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is currently examining the incident.
When contacted for comment, Austin Police (APD) officers said they had investigated the incident and deduced that the boy’s parent did not ‘knowingly or intentionally provided the THC product to the juvenile’.
“Additionally, the available evidence did not establish that the THC-infused item was intentionally, knowingly, or criminally recklessly provided to a child by any involved party,” officials said.
“Based on the facts available, the circumstances were consistent with an accidental introduction of the item into the goodie bag rather than a deliberate criminal act.”
As the investigation did not produce sufficient evidence to meet ‘the statutory elements of a criminal offense under applicable Texas law’, the case was closed with ‘no further investigative follow-up by the Child Abuse Unit’, the department added.
People Magazine added that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is continuing to examine the incident.
FOODbible has contacted The Nest at Anderson Mill for comment.