Five students between the ages of 10 and 13 were rushed to a hospital Thursday after eating gummies allegedly laced with THC at Harmony School for Innovation on the Northeast Side of San Antonio. Emergency crews responded to the campus at 8215 Glen Mont after reports that the students had ingested the edibles, and one student reported feeling an “uneasy” sensation after eating the gummies.
According to News 4 San Antonio, dispatch audio confirmed emergency crews were called to the school after the students reportedly ingested the gummies. The Bexar County Sheriff's Office, which handles primary law enforcement in unincorporated areas and select school response zones in Bexar County, confirmed the response and said all five students were evaluated at a local hospital, according to KENS 5. Officials said they expect all five students to recover.
How Texas Law Treats Student THC Cases
Any disciplinary fallout for the students involved would likely fall under Texas House Bill 114, enacted in September 2023, which mandates that public school students found possessing, using, or delivering THC or marijuana on school grounds be placed in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, or in-school suspension if alternative facilities are full, per the same account from the Texas School Safety Center. The law was designed to set strict, statewide consequences for vaping and drug possession incidents in Texas schools.
It remains unclear whether the gummies consumed at Harmony School for Innovation were a legally purchased consumable hemp product or an illegal controlled substance, and how the students obtained them. Texas has spent the past several months tightening its rules around THC products sold at retail. New Texas Department of State Health Services regulations that took effect on March 31 require a strict 0.3% total-THC cap combining delta-9 THC and THCA, child-resistant packaging, and a minimum purchase age of 21 for all consumable hemp products sold statewide, as reported by The Texas Tribune.
Separately, following a Texas Supreme Court decision, state health authorities began enforcing rules on July 31 that classify chemically converted compounds such as synthetic Delta-8 THC and THCP as Schedule I controlled substances, according to Clark Hill. That court mandate dissolved a years-long injunction that had allowed manufactured Delta-8 items to be sold in Texas smoke shops.
A Statewide Surge in Pediatric Cannabis Exposure
The Harmony School incident fits into a documented statewide pattern of rising cannabinoid exposure among children. Data from the Texas Poison Center Network showed marijuana-related calls involving children aged five and under in Texas surged 495% between 2017 and 2022, with overall state cannabinoid calls reaching 2,592 in 2024, the Texas Tribune has reported separately. Nationally, a study published in the journal Pediatrics found that pediatric exposures to cannabis edibles among children under six rose 1,375% between 2017 and 2021, with 22.7% of reported cases requiring hospital admission, according to research indexed on PubMed.
Federal regulators have pointed to packaging as part of the problem. The FDA and FTC issued joint warnings to companies selling delta-8 THC edibles in packaging that closely mimics popular children's candies like Sour Patch Kids, Nerds Ropes, and Starburst, according to the FDA. Federal health officials said they received more than 125 adverse event reports linked to copycat THC foods.
Not the First San Antonio Campus Incident
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar launched specialized school safety task force units in March 2023 aimed at curbing the rapid spread of illegal THC vapes and edibles among San Antonio students, according to the San Antonio Report. At the time, Salazar warned parents that high-potency THC products were creating campus safety issues.
San Antonio has seen this kind of scare before. In March 2023, four Southwest High School students required medical treatment on campus after consuming a cannabis-infused beverage brought to school, KENS 5 reported at the time. School administrators urged parents to discuss drug risks with their children in the aftermath of that incident.
Open questions remain in the Harmony School for Innovation case, including how the students obtained the gummies and whether any criminal charges or DAEP transfers will follow. Hoodline has also previously reported on a gummy scare hospitalizing four students at William Penn Middle in April, part of a wider trend of THC edibles turning up in classrooms across the country this year.
