This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council's Public Health Programme Officer, Timothy Howells, and Health and Safety Adviser, Victoria Swift. This is for the attention of all Schools in Slough, Headteachers, Wellbeing Leads and staff responsible for drug enforcement.
We have recently become aware of an incident in West Berkshire where sweets thought to contain cannabis/spice were purchased by local pupils. One pupil was admitted to hospital as a result of consuming one of the sweets and was observed to be unwell from the effects. The sweets have so far not been tested and we have no information about the drug contained in the sweets. Each sweet was being sold for £5.
The sweets are brown/green in colour and 1.5x1.0cm in size and thought to contain cannabis/cannaboids.
This is hopefully an isolated incident however please be vigilant and watch out for any unusual activity or behaviour.
What are the possible negative effects of edibles?
- Increased heart rate
- Nausea and vomiting, feeling unwell
- Psychotic episodes
- Hallucinations
- Paranoia
- Panic attacks
- Impaired motor ability
- Violent or aggressive behaviour
- Possible overdose
Harm reduction advice
- If you are going to use a substance take breaks
- Remember there are different potencies of cannabis-higher levels are more harmful
- Be careful with edibles- Eating substances leads to a slower effect from the drug but the substance stays in your system for longer and if you are experiencing negative effects this means that the effect stays with you for longer
- If you have a severe reaction to cannabis or hallucinations this may be a warning sign of more serious issues
- Everyone is different and responds differently to substances and one person’s reaction to a drug may be different to another person’s experience.
Evidence suggests that using substances throughout the teenage years is associated with the highest risk of harm. Whilst the harms of each drug are different. Using any drug when you are young is more risky than when you are an adult and using them together increases the risks further.
Please make staff and students aware of this issue. You may also wish to issue some information to parents about the associated risks. Please also see attached notification form Newbury District Council.
If you are aware of any further incidents or would like further advice please contact:
