2 students charged after edibles at Concord middle school send 7 to hospital

CONCORD, N.C. — Two students accused of giving out edibles at their middle school last week have been charged, the Concord Police Department confirmed.

Around 12:30 p.m. Friday, an eighth grade class was having a snack party when some students allegedly ate Rice Krispies Treats with THC in them, landing several students in the emergency room.

The district released a statement Friday, saying “Cabarrus County Schools can confirm that several students at C.C. Griffin Middle School were treated by the school staff this afternoon for negative reactions related to ingesting an unknown substance.”

In a news release, Concord police confirmed the treats tested positive for THC. They also found psilocybin mushrooms at the scene.

Police said after a series of interviews, they learned the students had planned to use the edibles. Two students told their classmates they had access to them, and agreed to sell them to other students.

On Friday, the edibles were shared among a group of students, some of whom also admitted to doing shrooms.

Police said students knowingly ate the edibles.

“All the students who ate a piece of the Rice Krispies Treats and who spoke with police admitted to knowing that they were eating a THC edible,” police said.

Investigators filed petitions through the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice against the two students who brought the Rice Krispies Treats to school.

One will be charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver a Schedule VI drug and the other is charged with one count of possession with intent to deliver a Schedule I drug.

Because both students are under the age of 18, their identities will not be released.

Concord police said they’re still looking into the original sources of the edibles and the shrooms.

‘Anxiety level’s been through the roof’

A Cabarrus County school board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, three days after the incident. A number of families involved plan to voice their concerns about what happened on Friday.

“I’m still just as upset now as I was then,” Melissa Morphis said.

She said she was at the dentist when another parent texted her that her daughter, Alicyn, thought she had been slipped an edible from another student handing out Rice Krispies Treats.

Morphis said Alicyn and several other students tested positive for THC at the hospital.

“My anxiety level’s been through the roof,” she told Channel 9′s Hannah Goetz.

Morphis said even though police said the students knew the treats were laced, both she and her daughter say it isn’t true.

“Why just assume that every kid -- which was like what 20-plus kids or more -- knowingly took that?” she asked.

Alicyn told Goetz she was never interviewed by police and had no idea the snacks contained drugs, but she faces a 10-day suspension. She said she’s an A-B honor roll student on track for early college and is worried this will hurt those plans. That’s why she intends to speak out at Monday’s board meeting.

“A lot of these students didn’t know what was in it, and the police and the school’s accusing them, and it’s just wrong,” she said.

Goetz reached out to the school district for a second time on Monday to ask how many students were suspended, but they said they cannot release that information. They did say “any students found to be in violation of our student code of conduct will be subject to disciplinary actions.”

The district also said its messages to parents may have come later than expected as it dealt with the situation Friday.

“Attempts were made by school staff to contact parents as soon as possible during this emergency situation. Our primary goal is to provide safety to our students,” the district said. “At times, messaging about what we have done may come later than expected since we are acting in critical moments to provide immediate emergency attention to the needs the students present to us.”

(WATCH BELOW: Health officials visit restaurant after customers say they got treats possibly laced with drugs)

Health officials visit restaurant after customers say they got treats possibly laced with drugs

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