LEXINGTON, S.C. — A South Carolina elementary school teacher is accused of having marijuana edibles in her student prize box, authorities said.
Victoria Farish Weiss, 27, is charged with possession of a Schedule 1 drug, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon told WIS-TV.
Weiss was a second-grade teacher at Rocky Creek Elementary School in Lexington, WCSC reported. As of Wednesday, Weiss no longer worked for the school district, according to WLTX. She turned herself in to authorities on Friday.
An edible is a food product, similar to a candy or a baked good, that contains marijuana or the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, THC, The State of Columbia reported. Edibles are illegal in South Carolina.
SC elementary school teacher had marijuana edibles in student prize box, sheriff says https://t.co/bQ64kUTBa1
— WYFF News 4 (@wyffnews4) October 16, 2021
“They’re often packaged in wrappers and bags with logos and colors that look similar to traditional candy brands,” Koon said. “While they are available in other states and online, they’re illegal in South Carolina.”
Koon said Weiss bought a mixed bag of candy from a Dollar General store to reward students, the television station reported.
“We became involved in this case Sept. 23 after we received word a Rocky Creek Elementary School student picked a pack of marijuana edibles out of a box full of candy Weiss used to reward students,” Koon told reporters. “Detectives confirmed during interviews that Weiss took the pack of edibles from the student and told him to pick something else from the box. The student went back to the box and happened to grab another pack of edibles.”
The sheriff’s office said two students went to the prize box. One child took “Stoney Patch Kids” gummies, believing they were Sour Patch Kids, WCSC reported. The other child took a lollipop, the report stated.
None of the children ingested the marijuana edibles, Koon told reporters.
During a search of Weiss’ house, investigators found packs similar to the ones the student took from the prize box, WYFF reported.
In a written statement, Lexington County School District Superintendent Greg Little called the incident “unacceptable” and said Weiss had originally been put on administrative leave after the incident.
“The safety of our students is our top priority,” Little wrote. “It is unacceptable for a staff member to potentially threaten the wellbeing of a child. We will continue to work to ensure all of our children have a safe environment to learn and grow. Rocky Creek Elementary has a sterling reputation which will not be tarnished by the actions of one person.”
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