A local lawmaker is pushing for strict regulation of certain types of medical marijuana after a high school student got sick from candy that contained THC.

  • Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, sits on State Health and Human Services Committee
  • Brodeur: Medical marijuana regulation must be strict when it comes to edibles
  • Brodeur's comments prompted by incident at Seminole High School involving "gummies"

On Wednesday, Sanford Police arrested a Seminole High School student for having two illegal THC gummies at school.  A school resource officer got a call from the parent of the student who ate one of them, after that student texted her father saying she felt sick after eating one of the gummies.  

Seminole High School student Jada Bradley said she wasn't shocked when she heard one of her classmates sold the THC-laced marijuana to another student.

"Nobody really cares anymore," said Bradley. "They'll just do whatever because they see other kids doing it, so it's not really a surprise."

All the more reason Bradley’s mother is urging her to be careful. Police said their investigation indicates more of the gummies have been sold throughout Sanford and the surrounding communities.

Sanford Police arrested the student who had the THC gummies. Per News 13’s Crime Guidelines, News 13 is not reporting the juvenile’s name.
 
THC gummies can look exactly like the regular gummy bears available on the store shelves. It can be hard to tell the difference.  

That’s why lawmakers in Colorado made some marijuana gummies and candies illegal, and restricted edible sales.

Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, said Friday incidents like what happened at Seminole High School are a reminder that lawmakers will need to strictly regulate upcoming sales of medical marijuana, to limit items like marijuana edibles from getting into the wrong hands.

“Children, which may be drug-naive, are trying this for the first time, and they’re getting inconsistent doses with very high potency strains, and that’s creating issues for our local emergency rooms,” said Brodeur, who sits on the State Health and Human Services Committee. “Edibles is something we wanted to regulate more strictly, simply because dosages in those types of ingestibles are inconsistent, particularly if they’re homemade.”

As for Bradley, she said people share food in high school, but she’ll be closely watching what she eats.
 
“Now, you’re trying to figure out what you can eat from people, what they have in it,” said Bradley.