11 US teens were taken to hospital after ingesting gummy bears laced with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. Video/CBS Chicago
Authorities say drug-laced gummy bears are responsible for sickening a group of young people in northern Indiana.
The LaPorte County sheriff's office says deputies responding to a call Thursday night found a 19-year-old man along a roadway. He told a deputy that he took an unknown drug and wanted togo to the emergency room. He said his friends also had taken the drug.
Other deputies found 10 other young people at an area home. The department said they had rapid heart rates, pain in their legs and blurred vision.
"You know I'll tell you that in 31 years on the job I've never seen that many people affected by eating a gummy bear," said Captain Mike Kellems, La Porte County Sheriff's Department.
"This wasn't one bad gummy bear. They tell us that they had six and they cut each of them in half. There were 11 kids so there was a half leftover and each ingested a half of a gummy bear," said Kellems.
The sheriff's office says the teenagers were between 18 and 19 years old: six young men and five young women.
"You know when you put a can of Coke in front of me and I know I'm going to drink 16 ounces of Coca Cola, you know what's in it. When you take something that is made and manufactured in a state that unfortunately allows this type of thing, you don't know what you're getting," said Kellems.
Not your average gummy bears, these were larger versions of the candy, specially manufactured with THC pre-infused.
"Their heart rates were upwards of 200 and that's not safe," said Kellems. "We're confident they knew what they were getting into but I don't think they knew the severity of it."
