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Students hospitalized after eating laced food

Posted at 10:00 PM, Feb 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-12 22:00:30-05
Two middle school students were rushed to the hospital after eating an unknown substance.
 
The investigation by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office started Thursday. 
 
Between 10:30 and 11 a.m. that day, two 6th grade students started feeling ill. They were taken to the hospital. They have been released.
 
According to deputies, those two students bought some kind of food on campus from another student, 14, for $20 and then ate it. 
 
Deputies said the container had a parrot on it with the words “forbidden fruit and fruit loops” and “200 milligrams of THC per batch.”
 
Deputies said THC is the chemical found in the Cannabis plant.
 
Detectives sent the empty package to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing. 
 
According to school district officials, the packaging made it look like the contents were candy or cereal.
 
Authorities continue to investigate this case. 
 
They want to know what the substance was and where it came from, but at this point no one has been charged.
 
The following audio message was sent to parents from Principal JoAnn Johnson after the incident.
 
“Good afternoon parents this is JoAnn Johnson principal of Smith Middle School, calling with an important message. We had two students ingest a substance today and became very sick. The students got the substance from another student. They were transported to the hospital. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what the substance was and where it originally came from. Parents, please take this opportunity to talk to your children about not accepting and ingesting something from anyone else, if they do not know exactly what it is. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the office. Thank you. Have a nice evening.”