"You don't know what's in it:" 11 teens get sick after consuming THC-laced gummy bears

LA PORTE COUNTY, Indiana -- Several teenagers are recovering after they became sick from drug-laced candy.

La Porte County sheriff's investigators have the name of the person who sold drug-laced gummy bears to the teenagers. They believe the drugs may have come from a state where marijuana is legal.

"You've got to keep it away from the kids. Absolutely, and that's concerning they're putting it in gummy bears now where, you know, I've got four kids. My kids come home with gummy bears and that's concerning," a mother said.

Parents and law enforcement are concerned after 11 teeangers were taken to hospitals after getting sick from gummy bears laced with THC, the main ingredient in marijuana.

"Every time we take some type of drug off the street, the drug dealers will come up with something even worse or even more likable by like a group of teenagers," Captain Michael Kellums with the La Porte County Sheriff's Office said.

Captain Kellums said just before midnight on Friday, July 7th, a deputy responded to a 911 call from County Road 325, and found a 19-year-old man along the roadway complaining about a rapid heart beat, pain in his legs and blurry vision. He told the deputy there were 10 more of his friends nearby suffering from similar symptoms.

"The strength is so strong that it caused an adverse reaction in 11 people. Not one person. Not three. It wasn't just a small batch or a bad batch," Captain Kellums said.

Sheriff's officials said the teenagers, six men and five women each took half of the gummy bears before getting sick.

"You know, when you put a can of coke in front of me and I know I'm going to drink 16 ounces of Coca-Cola, you know what's in it. When you take something that is made and manufactured in another state that unfortunately allows this type of thing, you don't know what you're getting," Captain Kellums said.

The bigger concern for law enforcement is these drug-laced gummy bears finding their way into kids' hands.

"Teenagers might think that this is fun or its a part of growing up, but leave that laying around after you've ingested it and a little kid picks it up, we might have a worst case scenario here," Captain Kellums said.

This case is being reviewed by the La Porte County Prosecutor's Office to see whether any charges will be filed.