"What if my kids had eaten it?" Mother finds baggie of what she believes to be marijuana inside Sonic bag

MARYLAND (WITI) -- A trip to Sonic -- intended as a treat for her young children, ended with a mother in a state of shock.

A Maryland mother says she went to a Sonic restaurant last week with her six-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son after a trip to the library.

After passing chicken strips and fries to her children, Carla McFarland told the Fredrick News-Post she reached into the bag for her own food, and found a small, plastic bag containing what appeared to be marijuana.

The bag of suspected marijuana was discovered in a container holding McFarland's fries.

"I just kind of sat there in my car in shock. I kept thinking, 'what if my kids had eaten it?'" McFarland told the Frecrick News-Post.

McFarland contacted Sonic's management and called police.

McFarland said a manager also called police and told her that an employee took responsibility for the bag, saying that it must have slipped from her apron.

The manager told her the employee had been fired.

The franchisee confirmed to the Frederick News-Post that the employee has, in fact, been fired -- and that the incident remains under investigation.

Carla McFarland says Sonic's management was apologetic, and says her meal was remade at no cost to her.

The Sonic franchise opened in May. It is the popular drive-in chain's only location in Frederick County -- according to the Frederick News-Post.

CLICK HERE for more on this story via the Frederick News-Post.