Mother's warning after son eats 'cannabis gummies'

Illegal drugs are being packaged to resemble authentic sweets

A mother from Oxfordshire is warning of the dangers of drugs packaged to look like sweets after her son ate an entire bag of cannabis gummies.

The 17 year-old took the illegal drugs, branded to look like Starburst sweets, in his bedroom and had to be rushed to hospital after developing chest pains.

Researchers studying similar drugs have said some even contain the synthetic drug spice, rather than cannabis.

Thames Valley Police said it recognised "the concern these gummies pose, particularly due to their appeal to younger individuals".

The woman, who has asked not be named, said her son had never tried cannabis edibles before.

She said he took one and, when nothing happened, finished the whole pack of six – not realising they can take more than an hour to take effect.

Professor Chris Pudney, from the University of Bath, who works with police forces to test cannabis edibles, said it was likely he had consumed a "massive dose".

The pack suggested each sweet contained 68mg of THC - the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis.

Prof Pudney suggested that would be an "incredibly high" dosage "and for some people would probably be quite risky".

"Every time you use one of these products you really don't have a great idea of the dosage of THC you're getting," he said.

"And in some cases we even found it's not THC at all - it's actually a synthetic drug that we normally find in prisons called spice."

Prof Chris Pudney has found THC levels in cannabis edibles contained "a lot of variance compared to what the packet suggested"

Professor of psychology at the University of Bath, Tom Freeman carried out the UK's largest survey into cannabis.

He said it was not know how prevalent illegal cannabis edibles were in the UK, but based on current seizure data it was expected to be "an increasing trend".

Prof Freeman said manufacturers were using sweet brands on their packaging because "the youth of today are a big, lucrative market for commodities such as cannabis, nicotine and alcohol".

"For cannabis the typical age of prevalence is around 15 to 16," he said.

"We then see an escalation into the late teens and early 20s."

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police added: "We would ask people to be aware and report any concerns that they may have."