COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County police have charged a mother with cruelty to children after they say her 2-year-old ingested THC.
Police say that when the mother dropped her child off at Sunbrook Academy on Hicks Road, staff members knew something was wrong.
Investigators say the two-year-old was unresponsive but breathing.
Police said the daycare called the child’s mother more than once, but she never answered.
Staff members called 911 and rushed the child to the hospital.
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Police say doctors found THC in the child’s system. The mother, Dystani Bethea, is charged with felony cruelty to children.
Dr. Pip Spandorfer, a pediatrician in Sandy Springs, says THC exposure in children can be deadly.
“Those symptoms can range from unresponsiveness, low blood pressure, poor respirations, and in severe cases can even be fatal,” Spandorfer told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell.
In this case, the child survived.
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Staff at Sunbrook Academy sent the following statement:
“Last week, a child arrived at our school and staff determined that medical attention may be necessary. They followed protocols and immediately called 911 out of an abundance of caution. We are grateful that the child is doing well.”
“With the high THC content that’s found in so many things now you could even get at the gas station,” drug addiction counselor Kim Castro said. “If you did buy them, which i do not recommend, but if you did, I wouldn’t even keep them at the same location your child is at... or in a lockbox somewhere.”
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