After 14 Naperville North High School students became ill Tuesday, December 6, 2016 appears that laced gummy bear candy have been “homemade,” Naperville police said Friday.
Fourteen students attending Naperville North High School, 899 North Mill Street were transported to Edward Hospital’s emergency room in Naperville on Tuesday, after some ingested the candy. The Naperville Fire Department activated an EMS Box Alarm for a multi-ambulance response to the high school
Naperville police Cmdr. Jason Arres replied in an interview that, “it would appear from our (police) investigation that the candy was homemade, and not store-bought.”
In a written statement Arres reported, “In addition, we still believe that it was a form of cannabis in the gummy bears that made the students ill, but we are awaiting lab results to confirm this.”
Twelve students ingested the candy and complained of dry mouth, dizziness, accelerated heartbeats and symptoms consistent with panic attacks, hospital officials said. All of the students were released Tuesday after evaluation and treatment in the emergency room. Two other students were transported with conditions not related to ingestion of the gummy bears.
Police have questioned a 17-year-old boy at the Naperville Police Department Headquarters in connection with the incident, but no criminal charges have been filed.
If marijuana oil or cannabis oil was also included in the recipe for the tainted gummy bears, it will also be important to determine whether the cannabis oil was purchased online, for example, or whether the cannabis oil was also homemade.
Naperville police are urging parents and guardians “to reinforce with their children the importance of only accepting unopened candy or other forms of food or drinks from individuals they know and trust.”
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