A 6-year-old spent hours in the emergency room after ingesting 13 times the adult dose of THC-laced candy sold at a North Carolina restaurant to an unsuspecting family who thought they were buying Skittles.
“He was in excruciating pain,” his mother, Katherine Butterright, told the Post about the harrowing ordeal.
Butterlight and her family had planned for a fun day of duckpin bowling Friday in Charlotte's South End neighborhood, but their plans were put on hold when the group went to lunch at the Common Market, billed as an “unusual convenience store, deli, and bar.” It failed.
A mother and her young son were ordering lunch at the bar when they noticed what they thought were freeze-dried Skittles on the counter, Butterright recalled.
It was the first time he had seen a crunchy version of the candy, and the boy had been eager to try it ever since he learned about it on YouTube, but Butterlight was quick to accept his son's pleas to try it. It broke.
“I said, 'Sure, yeah, that's cool. Let's try it.' And he handed me the bag, I handed it to the cashier, she typed it in, and we made the deal. ,” the mother said.
“I was never asked for any identification. I was never told what I was buying.”
The mother-son pair sat down to eat with their fiancé, his parents, and several other children in the family. Everyone tried new candies and nothing seemed strange.
While everyone in the party ate one or two, Butterlight's son ate nearly 40.
The impact was immediate. While playing duckpin next to his restaurant, the boy started complaining that he felt a burning sensation in his pelvic area, his chest was freezing, his head hurt, and his abdomen was contracted.
“But he didn't show any symptoms that my child was actually suffering from. He just had this grin-like look on his face,” Butterlight said.
She initially thought he might have just wanted to go to the bathroom, but decided to call 911 after he told her the water he was giving her “tasted.” Butterlight had previously heard of this phenomenon as a symptom of addiction.
That's when Butterite's fiancée read the ingredients on the bag and discovered it contained delta-9, the main psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.
“He said it was marijuana pot and three adult side servings,” the shocked mother said. “At that point, he had consumed about a third of the package, which equates to about 30 to 40 pieces estimated at the hospital.” So he was basically an adult at 13 I'm on double the dose and I'm like a 6-year-old who weighs 40 pounds. ”
Although it is Delta 9, It is considered a therapeutic drug, Doctors told Butterlight they don't know what the long-term effects will be on the young child.
The boy slept as deep as 17 hours while in the hospital before being allowed to go home, where he slept some more.
“When he woke up, the first thing he said was, 'At least it doesn't hurt anymore,'” Butterlight said.
Although marijuana is illegal in North Carolina, Delta-9 THC products with a maximum content of 0.3% can be sold at hemp stores, convenience stores, and online stores across the state.
However, some packages are stamped with the recommended 21+. Ms. Butterlight claims that the package she purchased had very small print.
Despite being classified as a cannabis-related product, stores are not required to enforce age restrictions for sales, the law says. State information system.
But the Common Market has Butterlight strict requirements for identification of customers, as well as drinkers, and the candy is typically kept in a plexiglass case behind the counter, rather than within reach of customers. He is said to have admitted that it was done.
The store did not respond to The Post's request for comment. Confirmed by WSOCTV That the items should have been locked, that staff are trained to educate customers when purchasing such types of items, etc.
Butterlight is concerned about its availability because she fears other parents who haven't received Delta-9's education will find themselves in the same horrific situation.
“I just want other parents and guardians to know that this very new medicine is now available not only in vaping stores, but also in family settings with children. I just want to,” Butterlight said. It added that employers must “pay close attention to the training and education of their employees and be proactive in ensuring that these products do not fall into the hands of children.”
“I fully acknowledge my negligence as a parent. I made the mistake of not reading the packaging and am now dealing with the consequences. But it was a 50/50 mistake. The product was It wasn't in storage.”
