Children at Far South Side school fall ill after eating cookies believed to have been laced with cannabis

CHICAGO (WGN) – A group of students at a Far South Side school were sickened Tuesday afternoon after reportedly eating cookies believed to have been laced with cannabis that another student passed around.

Those cookies are now believed to have been edibles, aka food or drinks made with cannabis, according to school officials.

The incident happened at around 1:30 p.m.

Parents told WGN-TV they arrived at Fort Dearborn School, located at 90th Street and South Throop Street in Washington Heights, at around 2 p.m. to pick up their kids when they saw police and fire trucks at the school.

“We saw the activity. Like, what is really going on? That’s when we were told a few kids got sick. It wasn’t our kids because she’s in first grade,” parent Stephanie Harris said.

Many parents did not know what was happening until school staff members said a student had passed out cookies to a group of kids who then got sick.

School staff members instructed parents to wait at a side entrance to pick their kids up one-by-one.

WGN-TV‘s crew arrived at the school and saw police officers at the front of the building talking with the principal. One woman, who spoke with WGN-TV, said her godson was offered one of the cookies but did not eat it.

“He said he thought it was a cookie, but it didn’t taste right,” the woman said.

Due to the funny taste, the woman said her godson spit the cookie out.

Some parents said they’ve heard about this type of incident happening at other schools and have been diligent about talking with and keeping a close eye on their children.

“She does the stranger danger. She doesn’t take anything from anybody unless she knows this is the person that’s okay to get anything from,” Harris said. “Her dad, [we] check her book bag when she comes in, goes out, anything she brings home from school we still check.”

A source told WGN-TV 11 children were taken to an area hospital. Their conditions are unknown at this time.

WGN-TV also reached out to the school for comment. The principal later provided the following statement:

Safety is always my top priority, which is why I am writing to notify you of a situation impacting our school. Earlier today, we were made aware that a few members of our school community had ingested an unknown substance. We immediately provided support to our impacted community members and notified their parents and the CPS Office of Safety and Security. While I cannot provide further details for privacy reasons, I can share that we are handling this matter in accordance with CPS policies.

We believe our community member may have ingested the unknown substance in the form of “edibles,” which are food or drinks that are made with cannabis or other prohibited substances. Prohibited substances of any kind are not allowed at our school, and we encourage you to take this opportunity to have a conversation with your child about the health risks associated with consuming edibles, and to remind them not to accept food if they do not know where it came from.

Thank you for your partnership as we continue striving to create a healthy and positive learning environment at our school. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly.

Sincerely,
Principal Porter