PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — A substitute teacher from Pontiac High School is being investigated by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office for allegedly supplying a student with marijuana-infused candy.
According to the sheriff, the student then brought them to school with the intention of giving them to classmates. The incident happened back in March.
Cannabis-infused candy seems to be finding its way into the hands of children. Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the fact that it's becoming commonplace is concerning
The incident at Pontiac High School is the latest example.
"A quantity of marijuana-infused gummies were recovered from the school and we are investigating how that happened and who was involved," Bouchard said.
Bouchard did not want to provide too many details about the investigation because it's still active. He did say a student had pot gummies and got them from a substitute teacher. And what's even worse, the student allegedly wanted to give them out.
"Anytime there's information sent in to us that someone is bringing in drugs to sell or distribute in a school, that's one of our priorities — to go after it quickly," Bouchards said.
A study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics back in January analyzed reports of child exposure to edibles from 2017 to 2021. The authors found that there had been a “consistent increase in pediatric edible cannabis exposures over the past five years."
"It's a new kind of adjustment in both how this is playing out in schools and how we have to deal with it as a society," Bouchard said.
A spokesperson for the Pontiac School District did confirm a student brought something suspicious to school, a staff member took notice and called the sheriff's office right away.
They say they are working closely with the office on the investigation.
"We've got to work through some of the evidentiary things. Some of the people we are talking to are not cooperating, so we are using investigative tools and working through the process," Bouchard said.
The school did not want to comment further but did say they'd be happy to sit down with 7 Action News after the investigation is concluded.
