HOLLYWOOD, Md. (January 24, 2018)—A father of one of five children that got sick from eating cannabis edibles at Spring Ridge Middle School Jan. 2 has been charged via criminal summons with one count of reckless endangerment after a police investigation found his child got the candies from his bedroom.
Owusu Sondai Kanipe, 46, told narcotics investigators that the "edible gummy candy belonged to him," charging documents stated, and that they were "given to him by an associate who came to his house for a party."
Kanipe had put the plastic bag containing the cannabis gummies on top of a dorm refrigerator in his bedroom at his Great Mills residence "after knowing his daughter has been entering his bedroom and taking things without his permission."
The count of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, could net five years in prison for Kanipe if he is convicted, according to court papers. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for March 2, 2018 in the St. Mary's Co. District Court in Leonardtown. The assigned case number is D-043-CR-18-000036.
The gummy candies contained both THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (Cannabidiol), both of which are chemicals derived from the cannabis plant.
The initial incident spread great worry throughout the community and the school system, sparking fears that the students had ingested opioids and were suffering from overdoses.
All five went to the emergency room at MedStar St. Mary's Hospital for treatment and were later released to their parents.