Three children are being treated in hospital in Dublin after consuming what are believed to be cannabis jellies.
The incident occurred on Sunday night at a house in west Dublin. The children are “preteens” and their condition is not life threatening, gardaí said.
Gardaí have launched an investigation after being alerted by the HSE.
“It’s understood the children became ill having consumed a product advertised as cannabis-infused edibles,” a spokesman said.
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The jellies were branded as Runtz sweets. A small quantity of the sweets have been recovered and are being analysed by Forensic Science Ireland.
Jellies infused with cannabis or synthetic cannabis have become increasingly common in recent years and are easily purchased online.
Health authorities issued warnings about such substances late last year after three teenagers were hospitalised after taking sweets containing synthetic cannabinoids.
“It is anticipated that counterfeit edible products available on the market are made in clandestine laboratories and the potency and contents of products cannot be guaranteed,” the HSE said.
“A number of these products seized recently have been analysed by Forensic Science Ireland and have been found to contain only new and extra risky synthetic cannabinoids and not in fact any THC as indicated on the packaging.”
