Several NC teens hospitalized after ingesting THC gummies at their middle school

Several students at a North Carolina middle school were treated Friday at a local hospital after showing signs of being impaired.

The Pitt County Sheriff’s Office says at about 9:30 a.m. Friday, several Hope Middle School students were acting abnormally and showing signs of impairment.

Deputies said that during the resulting investigation, a package of THC gummies and a quantity of marijuana were seized.

Jyquante Spruill, 14, was one of the students affected. His family was alerted that he had passed out in gym class and that paramedics were on the way.

Kesha Spruill, Jyquante’s grandmother, was made aware of the situation while at work.

“I got real upset, real jittery, just scared and nervous. And I made sure that my job was completed and I just left. And when I got back there with him, the way he was laid out of it...” Kesha Spruill recalled. “If someone were offering me candy and I’m a child, all kids love candy. Being the age that they are and this is middle school, some kids are introduced to some things and some kids are not.”

Jyquante was released after being checked out by medical staff and deputies told his family that no legal action would be taken against him.

East Carolina University Health pediatrician Matthew Ledoux said the gummies are worthy of concern.

“Parents and families need to educate themselves and educate their children that number one, there are these substances that are out there that are marketed in a way that make it look very appealing and almost candy-like and that they should never be taking any of those types of things, pills, gummies, anything like that,” Ledoux said.

The doctor also explained what can come out of the consumption of THC gummies.

“Slurred speech, stumbling, falling asleep, you know in severe cases if you took a lot of them, they could be life-threatening things like respiratory depression, shallow breathing,” Ledoux said. “It could also cause things like vomiting and things that are much more life-threatening than just a mild intoxication.”

Spruill hopes a situation like this is prevented in the future by adding extra precautions to keep schools safer.

WITN is told that this case remains an open investigation.

No other information is available yet due to the ages of those involved.