'He was hearing voices': Shattered NYC mom reveals son, 11, overdosed on THC gummies at Super Bowl party
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK CITY: Veronica Gill, a mother of an 11-year-old Staten Island boy, recalls the horrifying ordeal as her son, Ryan, overdosed on marijuana gummies. Now Gill is pleading with the mayor to take action to stop future tragedies with edibles. This comes after the youngster was hospitalized as he consumed THC gummies at a Super Bowl party that he "mistook" for normal sweet gummies. After the New Springville gathering at their friends' home, Gill noticed her son, Ryan, "acting really strange" and thought something was wrong.
As the child's giggles abruptly changed to cries for aid and his body began to tremble, Gill was alarmed. In a state of panic, the mother of three hurried Ryan to an urgent care facility. The doctors had to call an ambulance to transfer the boy to the emergency room at Richmond University Medical Center because of his racing heartbeat.
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'He was hearing voices'
Gill said, “My son was sitting on the couch with me, and he started zoning out. At first, I thought he was pretending because he opened his eyes wide and laughed. Then he would zone out for a minute again, then open his eyes wide and laugh." she continued, "He started saying ‘Mom, I feel really weird.’ He was hearing voices. Then he started shaking … I thought he was maybe having a seizure," as per New York Post.
Ryan received a battery of exams, including a CAT scan because "God forbid, they had to rule out a tumor," Gill recalled. A urine test showed Ryan had just consumed a sizable amount of THC. “I was literally in shock. I couldn’t believe it,” Gill recalled, as reported by New York Post.
When Gill learned that her son had reportedly stolen the marijuana-laced candies from the "straight-laced" party-goers' house, she was even more alarmed. “When [my friend] went back to check the drawer after we told her what happened, she realized that the candy had THC in it. She called us hysterically crying,” Gill said.
The mother wasn't furious with her friend, who told her, "I have no idea how the hell this got into my house." Instead, Gill complained that the packaging for edibles like the ones her son ate is allowed to resemble those of conventional candy brands, with only minor THC warnings that customers may overlook.
“A lot of people have said ‘How did she not know [they were edibles]?’ And I tell them, ‘I wouldn’t know.’ People that use that stuff know. People that don’t, don’t even think to look [for THC warnings],” Gill said. “I’m really not blaming the homeowner at all, because they’re also a victim of this packaging," she added.
Is Ryan okay?
According to the mother, Ryan spent the night in the hospital, sleeping and consuming fluids as the symptoms subsided. “Thank God he’s okay,” she said.
Gill pleaded with Mayor Eric Adams to take action against illegal cannabis vendors, especially those whose goods are pushed toward children. On December 15, the mayor committed to taking action during a press conference at City Hall, as per New York Post. “What if [the mayor] makes it so that, if the illegal [sellers] don’t have a warning sign on their packages, in big, black, bold letters, they get double the fine? Just to try to protect the kids,” Gill said.
According to a recent study published in Clinical Toxicology, the number of calls to poison-control centers for abuse and misuse of cannabis products among Americans ages 6 to 18 has soared, increasing from 510 cases in 2000 to 1,761 in 2020. There are just four licensed stores in New York, but more than 1,400 unauthorized vendors sell unregulated goods across the city with little help from the police.