Two children hospitalized after eating THC-laced candy they got from a food bank

A food bank in Utah is apologizing in the wake of two kids being hospitalized after consuming THC-laced candy that was accidentally sent home with families last week.

KSL-TV reported that a 5-year-old and an 11-year-old were taken to the hospital Friday night after eating "Medicated Nerds Rope" that was in food bags their families had received from a church in Roy, Utah, that was distributing food for the Utah Food Bank.

According to the outlet, the food bank distributes food at Roy Baptist Church every week. This week, instead of having people come into the church to select what they need, families were handed pre-packaged bags of food in a drive-thru set-up because of coronavirus concerns.

The Roy City Police Department said in a statement on Facebook that 63 bags containing three or four candy ropes were given out. The department said it was actively reaching out to any families that left contact information with the church.

Each candy rope contained 400 milligrams of THC, according to the packaging, KSL said. NBC News noted that normally adults are prescribed just 15 to 45 milligrams at a time.

How did this happen?

With the quickly growing need for food and supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, many food banks are sending out donations as fast as those donations are going in, so some donations can slip through the cracks.

The Roy City Police believe the whole thing is an accident. Police Sgt. Matthew Gwynn told NBC News, "Right now, we do not believe nor do we have any evidence to support that the donation was intentional. We have discussed this issue with our local food bank and it appears to be an accident."

Ginette Bott, president and CEO of Utah Food Bank, said, "We are absolutely horrified that this product went out to any of our partner agencies, and can easily see how volunteers would not have known what to look for," KSL reported.

Bott added, “We apologize to any families who may have received this product and are changing our processes involving such donations immediately to avoid this happening again."

No, this is not an official Nerds product

Nerds parent company Ferrara Candy Company said Saturday that the THC-laced candy, which comes in official-looking Nerds packaging, was a counterfeit product, NBC News reported.

"We want to reassure consumers that Nerds products donated directly by the company ... are safe to consume," the company said, according to NBC.