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Nov 26, 2023

Parents express outrage after elementary schoolers hospitalized for eating suspicious gummies

FOX13 Memphis Reporter WATCH: Parents express outrage after elementary schoolers

FOX13 Memphis Reporter

WATCH: Parents express outrage after elementary schoolers hospitalized for eating suspicious gummies

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Four children were rushed to the hospital after eating gummies on the playground at school.

Memphis Delta Preparatory, a charter school in South Memphis, said the gummies may have contained THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, or another substance.

Parents were outraged by the incident, especially because it happened on a playground that they believe is not secure.

There is a fence around the playground, but it is not closed after school hours.

The parent of a Memphis Delta Prep kindergartener said she believes an adult doing drugs at the park after hours is how the gummies ended up in the children's hands.

"What if that was my baby?" she said. "It sucks, as a parent."

The Memphis Fire Department said it arrived at Memphis Delta Prep just before 1 p.m. and found four students disoriented after eating candy on the playground.

A parent shared an email the school sent out to parents addressing the incident. It reads, in part:

"There has been a nationwide increase in children eating gummies and chewable candies that contain THC or other substances. Today, four students shared gummies that may have contained a substance."

MPD said the children who ate the gummies were three 10-year-old boys and a 9-year-old girl.

All four were taken to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital.

A parent said she can't imagine what they experienced when the gummies kicked in: "They just start getting dizzy. I know they were scared because it's too strong for some adults. I’m sure those babies didn't know what was happening to them."

She also said part of the problem is that drugs have become readily available.

Gummies containing variants of THC can be purchased at countless corner stores across the city without so much as a prescription.

In its letter, the school encouraged parents to talk to their children about not eating from opened packages of candy.

One of the parents FOX13 spoke with said she will bring the topic up to her daughter but added that she believes the unsecured playground is a bigger problem than kids eating candy.

"It was found in a park. In a park that's not monitored by anybody, so anybody could have dropped that," she said. "It's not gated. It's open to the public. Anyone can go in there."

MFD said it can't disclose exactly what was in the gummies because of HIPAA.

In its letter, the school said it will hold an assembly for students on the dangers of gummies and chewable candies.

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