COVINGTON, Ky. — An 8-year-old boy was hospitalized after eating an adult edible gummy with THC, believing it was candy, according to the boy's family.
Na’eem Abdul-Salaam said he went to Mikes Fish And Chicken in Covington and thought he was buying his favorite candy nerds.
"It's like candy. That's what I thought," Na’eem said.
Na'eem was at the local food mart with his uncle, Chris Brown. Brown told his nephew he could use his allowance money to buy candy. So, the two paid separately.
Na'eem ate the whole gummy candy, but told his uncle when they got back to the car that he thought he was ripped off.
“It was only one in there. For $10,” Na’eem said. “I thought I was gonna get 3 of them."
That's when they started to piece together that what Na'eem had purchased might not have been candy.
"My uncle ran to go get the pack and then he read it,” Na’eem said. "And then that's when he found out it was an adult edible."
The gummy Na'eem was sold was labeled “Medicated Nerdy Bears” containing delta 8 THC and other cannibanoids. One single gummy bear was 10 servings.
"Same type of package, same type of writing," Brown said.
Brown said he went back to Mike's Fish and Chicken.
“I asked them how could you do this? You have to be 21 to purchase this. He's not, you can clearly see he's not even a teenager,” he said. “And she said 'I thought he was buying it for you.'"
A few hours later, Na'eem said he started feeling very sick.
"I just started yelling and screaming because how much pain I was feeling,” Na’eem said. "My head just kept feeling like it was getting stabbed. Like that wasn't normal."
Brown said he tried to get his nephew to calm down.
“He was delirious, and all of a sudden, he threw up like he was on the exorcist or something," said Brown. "It was all on the floor."
Brown took him to St. Elizabeth Hospital.
"They rushed him straight back because his heart rate was elevated," Brown said.
Na'eem was released from the hospital after his heart rate returned to normal.
"This is why I called WCPO, because I think there should be some type of accountability," Brown said.
WCPO went to Mike's Fish and Chicken to ask them about the incident.
They declined to speak with us on camera.
Brown said he wants to make sure what happened to Na'eem doesn't happen to another child.
Covington police said they are investigating the incident. They said they have a detective assigned to the case, but can't reveal any more information at this time, because it's an open investigation involving a juvenile.
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