Two Cork teens hospitalised after consuming cannabis jellies 

TWO east Cork teenagers were hospitalised and a third also fell ill after taking cannabis jellies.

Gardaí have revealed the incident occurred earlier this year, as a new interagency taskforce is being set up to raise awareness about the dangers of such products.

All three teens made a full recovery after taking the products but gardaí warn that the jellies can be extremely dangerous.

Now, gardaí have come together with the Food Safety Authority, Revenue and the Health Services Executive to set up a taskforce to address the increasing popularity in the products.

It comes as €250 worth of suspected cannabis jellies were seized in Cork city on Monday night.

€1,200 of them were seized in an operation in Kerry last week.

A spokeswoman for the Food Safety Authority said: “The aim of the taskforce is to work in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies to remove from sale illegal food products containing controlled substances (drugs) eg THC and to increase public awareness of the dangers of these products.”

Garda sources say that in many cases, the products are being purchased online, although some are also being sold in shops.

Earlier this month, two young children were hospitalised in Dublin after eating cannabis jellies.

A garda spokesman said: “An Garda Síochána would like to again warn the public about the dangers of cannabis jellies and the risk they pose, particularly were a child to eat them. The packaging is very similar to other confectionaries and can be easily mistaken.” 

Last month, the FSAI issued a warning about the products, describing the sale of the products as “a sinister attempt to sell narcotics in the form of sweets”.