South Dakota

Man Arrested After His Mom Accidentally Serves Pot Brownies to Senior Citizens

Police received several calls about “possible poisonings” involving seniors who attended a card game at the a South Dakota community center

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A South Dakota man is facing a felony drug charge after his mother unknowingly served his marijuana-laced brownies to a group of seniors at a local community center, according to officials.

The 46-year-old man is charged with possession of a controlled drug or substance, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine upon conviction. He declined an NBC News request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Recreational marijuana remains illegal in South Dakota after its Supreme Court last year struck down a voter passed measure to legalize it.

A report from Bon Homme County Deputy Sheriff Joel Neuman says dispatchers received several calls on Jan. 4 about possible poisonings. All the calls involved seniors who had earlier been at a Tabor Community Center card game.

An investigation into the incident led Neuman to believe the patients were all under the influence of THC, the compound in cannabis that produces the high sensation and that the THC came from a batch of brownies brought by a woman to the community center, the deputy wrote in a probable cause affidavit.

Two seniors who ate the brownies identified the woman who brought them. The woman told Sheriff Mark Maggs that her son had baked the brownies she brought to the card game, according to the affidavit. The woman gave Maggs the remainder of the brownies at her home.

Officials said the son admitted bringing some THC butter back from a recent visit to Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal for people 21 and older,  and using it to make the brownies.

He was arrested and released on an unsecured bond of $3,000. An initial court appearance is scheduled Jan. 25.

The Associated Press/NBC
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