Edible marijuana candy likely sent 19 people attending a Mission District quinceañera on Saturday night to the hospital, the Department of Public Health said Monday. As of this morning all 19 people had been discharged from the hospital.
On Saturday night, firefighters and police officers were sent to the Women’s Building at 3543 18th St. between Valencia and Guerrero streets when several people fell ill after eating an unknown substance. All of the victims had eaten a gummy candy at the party, a Fire Department spokesperson said.
An official with the California Poison Control System said the hospitalizations were the largest he knew of related to edible marijuana.
“To have 19 patients all at once — I’m not aware of an outbreak of that magnitude,” said Craig Smollin, co-medical director with the poison control system.
It is unclear whether any of the patients knew the candies contained marijuana, how they were presented at the party, or whether they had any marking or packaging. The Police Department is working to determine whether anyone intentionally fed the marijuana candies to the victims.
Thirteen of the 19 victims were younger than 18, the Department of Public Health said on Monday. The youngest was a six-year-old, and three children were taken to the intensive care unit.
All suffered various symptoms, “including rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, dilated pupils, dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, lethargy and confusion,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The Department of Public Health analyzed both the victim’s blood and the gummy candies themselves and found THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, in both, health officials said Monday.
Dr. Tomas Aragon, a health officer for Department of Public Health, said in a statement that the incident served as a reminder about responsible drug use.
“This event is a strong warning about the dangers of edibles, which can be very potent and hard to control dosage in the best circumstances,” he said. “A situation like this, where they were consumed by unsuspecting people, and many children, is greatly concerning.”
He said the appeal of the edible candies to children, who would be unable to discern that they contain marijuana, was concerning. The consumption of THC, he said, was not likely to have been fatal, however.
The Department of Public Health is urging others who attended the party and have remaining edible candies to discard them. The department said the party was catered by an Oakland company, and that it was working with the Alameda County health department to find out where the edibles came from. Police and health officials declined to name the catering company.
The Fire Department said 17 people were taken to the hospital from the party, and two other adults transported themselves to the hospital later.
But cannabis is a miracle cure all, along with coconut oil and apple cider vinegar, and totally harmless and could never possibly do anything to harm anyone.
Please, leave the sarcasm to the professionals. Despite unpleasant symptoms, nobody was said to have been harmed in this incident.
Chad,
Did we read the same article?:
“Thirteen of the 19 victims were younger than 18, the Department of Public Health said on Monday. The youngest was a six-year-old, and three children were taken to the intensive care unit.”
“An official with the California Poison Control System said the hospitalizations were the largest he knew of related to edible marijuana.
“To have 19 patients all at once — I’m not aware of an outbreak of that magnitude,” said Craig Smollin, co-medical director with the poison control system.”
David, 1. The fact that people were under 18 and there was a 6 year old does not automatically mean harm was done. being taken tot he intensive care unit does not mean you NEEDED intensive care. It just means they were so aranoid from being stoned they thought they needed it. 2. just because some guy said he thinks it’s the largest amount of people to come at one time does not mean people were harmed.
3. Everyone at a party eating contaminated food is not and should not be referred to as an outbreak. That is false and misleading and poison control officials should know better. There was no outbreak at all. Only the people at the party that ate the candy had symptoms. AN outbreak would imply it spread somehow.
John,
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I wonder if you’re missing the point of the article.
Neither you nor I got to decide whether harm was done to the 19 people or whether they needed to be admitted to the hospital or to the intensive care unit; trained medical personnel made that call. I find it curious that the age of those affected doesn’t concern you.