Edible treats containing marijuana, as well as money and a handwritten ledger, were confiscated when a student was arrested at Nashoba Regional High School in Bolton in January 2017. [Photo from Bolton Police Department's Facebook page] ▲ Worcester School Safety Director Robert Pezzella, in his office last week, displays samples of edible items containing marijuana found at local schools. [Photo/Paul Connors] ▲ Worcester School Safety Director Robert Pezzella displays samples of marijuana-infused edibles found at local schools. [Photo/Paul Connors] ▲ Drugs and paraphernalia found in Worcester schools are displayed last week in the office of School Safety Director Robert Pezzella. [Photo/Paul Connors] ▲

WORCESTER - As the cannabis industry takes root in the Massachusetts economy, many communities are worried they will see an increase in schoolchildren using products meant for adult consumption.

Edibles such as cookies, soda, gummies, chocolates and ribbon candy are just a few of the hundreds of types of cannabis-infused edibles.

"I'm very concerned about this issue," said Robert F. Pezzella, school safety director for the Worcester public schools. "I'm taking the lead on this because I'm concerned about the new recreational marijuana laws."

Several recreational marijuana retail shops have opened in the state, including one in Leicester, with other retail applicants having received or awaiting final licensing approval from state regulators. The businesses come two years after Massachusetts residents voted to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana for anyone 21 or older.

Massachusetts is projected to see sales of at least $1.8 billion and as high as $5 billion annually, industry leaders estimate.

"I worked in the substance abuse field prior to this position and I am 33 years in recovery," Mr. Pezzella said. "I feel there is a lot of misinformation floating around about this issue and I don't want to see youth and teenagers at an early age caught up in drug use. We want to work with local marijuana shops in the city. We could have up to 15, and I want to work with them and make sure they are selling legally and know what products we have to be prepared for."

At the Youth and Drug Conference held every two years in Worcester, this year's gathering focused on teenagers and marijuana use, he said. Educators from surrounding communities were invited to attend, along with school resource officers, counselors and representatives of nonprofit agencies.

In a public health survey given to Worcester public schoolchildren earlier this year, Mr. Pezzella said, kids in Grades 9-12 said the No. 1 drug they are using is marijuana, primarily with vaping devices.

"We've already had issues," he said. "Kids in Grade 6 picked up a package on school grounds of edibles made in the shape of ribbons and gummies of all different colors. The students turned it in. We had two local high school students two years ago in 10th grade consume brownies and they were treated for marijuana when they became ill during lunch period."

And recently, two Mountview Middle School eighth-graders in Holden were taken to a local hospital after eating gummy bear candies on their morning bus ride that were infused with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

One student was taken by ambulance to an emergency room. The other student was taken to the hospital to be monitored. Both students were expected to recover.

The Telegram & Gazette obtained an email sent to parents after the incident from the school's principal, C. Erik Githmark, which said, "This incident serves as an opportunity to make families aware that with changes in Massachusetts laws regarding marijuana, products such as gummy bears, cookies and other 'edibles' are more readily available than ever and packaged in a form that may be attractive and enticing to our children."

He noted the unpredictable effect THC can have on young brains.

"The concerning aspect of all of this is that it is difficult to know what effect these products may have on someone as the levels of THC can vary from one product to the next and the effect after consuming these products may not be felt for up to an hour after ingesting," he said in the email to parents.

The principal cautioned, "This event serves as a timely reminder and opportunity for us to be increasingly vigilant with our children. With marijuana, nicotine, and vaping products evolving at a faster pace than we can sometimes keep up with, it is more important than ever to keep an eye on our kids at school and at home."

Mr. Githmark provided parents a link for a web page about the danger of cannabis to children: ​​​​​​​https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/substance-abuse/Pages/Edible-Marijuana-Dangers.aspx

Wachusett Regional School Superintendent Darryll McCall and the Holden police chief did not respond last week to several requests for comment on the subject.

Addiction experts say they believe that in the rush to legalize recreational marijuana, potential consequences were not well thought out.

Among them is Jack J. Maroney of Holden, who has worked in addiction services for more than 30 years and is also in long-term recovery. He is the former CEO of Recovery Centers of America at Westminster and founded Spring Hill rehabilitation and recovery in Ashby. He is executive director of Woburn Wellness, an outpatient substance use disorder clinic, and co-author of "The East Side of Addiction," a book about his experience living with drug addiction on the East Side of Worcester.

"I hope use of all the tax revenue generated from it (legal marijuana) will go to prevention and resources for young kids to mitigate what problems do arise from early use," he said. "Access really goes a long way to increasing use early on, and kids tend to be risk takers. This is something readily available now, with many of their parents openly smoking, and often children mimic the adults. All kids need is adults to co-sign it's safe."

Marijuana products that are ingested can take longer to enter the bloodstream, he said, and the amount of THC in them varies, leading to people eating too much when they don't feel the "high" right away.

Effects of too much THC in the system that is consumed in food or drink can last several hours, he said, including: extreme anxiety or panic attacks, psychotic reactions like paranoia, hallucinations or delusions, impaired judgment, perception and coordination, fast heart rate, chest pain or heart attack, seizures and unresponsiveness.

Marijuana use in adolescents impacts the developing brain, Mr. Maroney said, and can result in long-term damage. He said he is concerned that the products are packaged in a way that will entice kids.

"The packaging is intended to be enticing," he said. "They know what they are doing when they package this stuff."

Moreover, marijuana is a psychoactive drug, he said, that can trigger underlying psychoses.

"If there is something latent, an underlying issue, use of a drug like marijuana can cause unexpected complications," he said. "Once you ingest it and it is in your system, it is similar to IV drug use in that it is slowly entering your bloodstream and by the time you realize it, it is too late.

"We haven't got to the point of labeling things with THC content," he added. "This is still in its infancy and in the rush to legalize it, we haven't addressed what constitutes impairment, how much is too much or not safe for operating machinery or paying attention to detail like a line of demarcation."

Mr. Pezzella said that last week he visited Good Chemistry of Massachusetts, which currently sells only medical marijuana and was recently granted the city's first retail license for adult-use recreational marijuana, to learn what the company is selling to clients.

"I had a conversation with the operations manager of Good Chemistry," he said. "I was surprised at some of the edibles - lozenges that don't look any different, chocolate candy bars and other products. He said he would send me some for an educational presentation for all principals in January. We want to be very vigilant and for students on school property who have it in their possession or consume it, we want principals to be the first line of response to provide help and try to discern where it came from."

One of the problems is, it is difficult to tell by just looking at them what products are infused with cannabis, he said.

"We're in the middle of an opioid epidemic and thousands of people are dying every day from opiates," Mr. Pezzella said. "Nine out of 10 people who are treated in an inpatient setting for drug addiction say they started with using alcohol and marijuana. That has not changed. Students' preference is to use marijuana. It is a gateway drug."

Mr. Pezzella said he is working toward getting Worcester schools to implement a program, similar to ones in other schools, to get clinical supports for students who are caught possessing or using marijuana.

"We don't want to be punitive," he said. "Students using drugs in their teenage years is common and we want to provide interventions and supports. But we're fighting an uphill battle if the mothers and fathers are addicted to drugs or passed on from secondary illnesses that come from drug addiction."

Auburn Police Chief Andrew J. Sluckis Jr. said one reason the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association was against the decriminalization of marijuana was to avoid it getting in the hands of children. Additionally, searches for marijuana previously resulted in a "tremendous amount" of stolen firearms being taken off the street, he said.

"The people who voted for the change in the law are now getting just what they voted for," he said. "When police used to execute search warrants for marijuana, we would in many, many cases find not only marijuana and other illegal drugs, but firearms and stolen firearms, as well. Now that those search warrants are not being executed because of the legality of marijuana, there are a ton more illegal guns on the street. Like the previous president once said, elections have consequences. Unfortunately a lot of people who voted for the decriminalization of marijuana didn't put a lot of thought into the subject before they voted."

Chief Sluckis said it is not the responsibility of the police or school administrators and teachers to make sure that kids are not getting into their parents' stash of drugs.

"If school-age children are gaining access to drugs that are in the home that they live in, then that's on the parents, not the police or the school," he said. "Be a parent, figure it out and get a clue."

He said he also feels that cannabis-infused products should not be made to look like candy.

"In my view, there is no legitimate reason to make any type of drugs look like candy," he said. "What good could possibly come from it? I can't think of anything. However, I can think of an awful lot of bad scenarios that can come from making drugs look like candy."

Chief Sluckis said he believes now that recreational marijuana shops have opened for business, communities will see more incidents of students using edibles.

"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it will happen a lot more often," he said. "It's like many other things in life - it's about statistics. By that I mean, the more times you drive a car, the greater the chance exists of you getting into a car accident. Now, with the decriminalization of marijuana and the fact that you can now legally possess it and even grow it in your home, there is a greater statistical probability that kids will come into contact with it."

In Ashburnham, Oakmont Regional High School Principal David P. Uminski said he has seen an increase in the prevalence of students bringing marijuana to school in oil form to use in vape pens. The school was averaging three marijuana suspensions each year, he said, until last year, when that number jumped to 17.

"I think the attitude is now that it is legal, it easy to get," he said. "Last year, I had a kid say to me, 'I know I'm not supposed to have it because I'm under 21, but it is legal now, so what is the big deal?' With the changes in the law, police are frustrated because they can't do anything about it."

The district has four school resource officers and there is always at least one working each day, he said.

"We had one incidence of edibles last year and if we didn't know what we were looking for, we wouldn't have noticed it," Mr. Uminski said. "It is especially troubling the amount of THC these things contain. We're trying to be vigilant. Ironically, a lot of the information we get comes from students concerned about their friends."

Teachers keep an eye out in locker rooms and bathrooms, he said.

"Unfortunately, the time it takes to do this takes away from things we really should be doing," he said. The school recently spent an entire day educating students on the issue, he said.

When students are caught with marijuana products, the maximum punishment is a 10-day, in-school suspension, he said, so they still have access to their teachers to minimize the academic impact. The district also requires kids go to a drug and alcohol counselor to determine if there is a bigger problem, and this year, a local organization is providing counseling groups after school every other week, he said.

He said he agrees that parents must take an active role in ensuring their children are not accessing marijuana products.

"Parents need to be made aware and be vigilant about what is going on," he said. "They should check their kids' bedrooms periodically and go through their children's phones. Kids use all sorts of social media to communicate with each other and parents need to be aware. I send out newsletters and emails about the dangers of things like that. The most important thing is try to involve parents more in this."