FAIRBURN, Ga. — At least six students at Bear Creek Middle School in Fairburn became ill after consuming what they thought was ordinary candy passed out by a classmate on Friday. It turned out to be cannabis-infused gummies.

“My daughter said when they were eating it, the student was laughing saying it’s not real candy. It’s an edible,” mother Angel Butts said.

Butts says a school resource officer called her Friday afternoon to say that her daughter and other students had consumed the THC edibles.

“When she came home, she was moving really slow. Her eyes were visibly red. They were very low. She was complaining that she felt dizzy and she felt scared. She just never experienced anything like that before, and she wouldn’t have. She’s only 13 and she’s never done drugs before. It was very upsetting for me and for her because we had never been through anything like this before,” said Butts.

With the widening acceptance of marijuana use and its legalization in many states, more children are consuming highly potent cannabis-infused edibles and getting exposed to drugs at a younger age.

“As parents, if you’re going to have that type of stuff, you have to make sure that it’s out of reach so a child can’t get it and give it to other children,” said Butts.

The mother sent her daughter back to school Tuesday with a stern warning.

“I told her, ‘Don’t take anything from anyone else. I don’t care who they are. It could have been ten times worse than was it was, anything could be in those gummies,’” said Butts.

The school principal sent out a message to parents Monday assuring them that the student who passed out the cannabis gummies was being properly disciplined. He also said the consumption, possession and distribution of such products would not be tolerated.