GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Two Gwinnett County children were hospitalized after taking THC gummies that police say belonged to their caregiver.
Police say the adult, Ablakely Sorey, knew the kids had taken the gummies and needed medical attention, but didn’t do anything about it.
After the incident at an extended stay hotel, one of the children ended up on a ventilator.
Sorey is charged with two counts of cruelty to children.
Doctors told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson that too many adults are not careful enough with these kinds of drugs.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
“Kids are climbers, so even if you think something’s up on a counter, kids are going to climb up and get to it,” pediatrician Dr. Rebecca Reamy said.
CDC researchers counted as many as 71 emergency room visits per week across the country involving cannabis and children 10 and under in 2022.
Dr. Reamy says she is seeing similar trends in Georgia hospitals right now.
“We are seeing a huge number of children who have come to the hospital because they’ve gotten into their parents or their aunts or babysitter CBD gummies,” she said.
She says these gummies should be off of nightstands and counters and locked up the same way that any other drug would be.
“You can buy them in the gas station and they’re not that big of a deal, but they really, really are,” Dr. Reamy said.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]