PORT BARRE, La. (KLFY) — Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux clarified some of this week’s events in which a teenager consumed THC-laced gummy bears and ended up in the hospital.

In a press release, Boudreaux said the gummies were brought to school on Tuesday, Dec. 3 by a 16-year-old juvenile and sold at least three of them to an 18-year-old student. (No names have been released.) The 16-year-old was jailed on distribution of Schedule I narcotics in a drug-free zone. The 18-year-old was jailed on possession charges. Both were booked and have since been released.

Each gummy bear contained approximately 70 mg of THC, which is the illicit substance found in marijuana. Shortly after ingestion, Boudreaux said the 18-year-old felt disoriented, had an elevated heart rate and seemed to be having an anxiety attack. Boudreaux characterized the response as an overdose of THC.

“I’ve seen social media comments where some folks are making light of the situation because the drug ingested was THC, which is a chemical derived from marijuana,” said the chief. “Some people don’t believe there is a harm involved when ingesting THC, but that belief is a common fairy tale. The truth is, THC is harmful when ingested in large doses and especially if that person is not a frequent user.”

Boudreaux said a typical marijuana cigarette contains roughly 12 mgs of THC. Ingesting three of the gummy bears gave the 18-year-old around 210 mgs of THC all at once. That would be around 17.5 “joints.”

“We urge parents to be aware of and monitor social media and internet sources their children are attached to and have access to,” the chief said. “These types of drugs can be purchased online and mailed to your home. The more concerning issues are you don’t know what other drugs could be in these things and the fact that it is candy form is scary, especially if a small toddler would get a hold of a bag of THC laced candy.”