Six students from a Perris elementary school were recovering Friday after apparent exposure to marijuana-laced food that caused them to feel ill, which sheriff’s officials said was an isolated occurrence, with no lingering health risks to other youths.
The illnesses were reported about 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in the 1300 block of Mount Baldy Street, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
“The investigation revealed a student brought food to school and later shared that food with peers,” sheriff’s Sgt. Edward Soto said. “The food was believed to contain small amounts of a cannabis product, unbenownst to the responsible student.”
A parent, Raquel Miranda, told KCBS2 that her 9-year-old daughter Davina was among the half-dozen girls who felt unwell, suffering stomach discomfort and dizziness after eating the Cheetos.
“I’m like, these don’t taste right,” Davina Miranda said. “Then I smelled it, (and there were) little specks of green on it.”
Davina said she confronted her friend who shared the chips, whose identity was not released, and the girl admitted sprinkling a substance on the edibles.
“A total of six students were transported to a local hospital as a precaution for treatment and are believed to (have made) a full recovery,” Soto said. “This is an isolated incident. At this time, there are no reasons parents and students should continue to be concerned.”
Perris Elementary School District spokesman Jason Archard told City News Service the investigation is being handled entirely by sheriff’s personnel. He would not comment as to whether disciplinary action may be pending against the student suspected of bringing the contaminated product onto the Enchanted Hills campus.
According to Archard, the district permits students to bring their own lunches and snacks from home.
Enchanted Hills is a K-6 campus, with an enrollment of 450.