The chocolate looked like an ordinary treat for a group of YMCA campers in East Orange, New Jersey. Authorities later said it was allegedly infused with psychedelic mushrooms, sending 13 children to hospitals for evaluation. The campers were between 10 and 13 years old.The incident has also prompted an investigation by local authorities.
According to ABC7 New York, emergency crews responded after multiple campers began showing symptoms consistent with mushroom ingestion. Investigators are now working to determine how the chocolate bars ended up at the camp and who brought them onto the property. Authorities believe the treats were distributed after one child unknowingly passed them around to other campers, thinking they were candy.
The campers were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. Officials said all the children were in stable condition and are expected to make a full recovery, with none of the reported illnesses considered life-threatening. Parent Cynthia Cunningham later recalled finding her daughter visibly shaken after the incident. “I got there my daughter was destroyed, very emotional. She thought she was in trouble. We were in the car, she would shift her body to one side,” she said.
Police investigate as parents demand answers
Under its laws, New Jersey permits the sale of cannabis edibles only to adults who are at least 21 years old and only through state-approved dispensaries. Those products must also comply with packaging and labeling rules designed to reduce accidental exposure, particularly among children.
Those safeguards extend to the products themselves. As The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, New Jersey does not allow the sale of cannabis products that resemble conventional foods, such as brownies or chocolates. Because cannabis products can only be legally sold to adults 21 and older, the campers could not have purchased them themselves…