Virginia Mother Charged With Murder After 4-Year-Old Son Dies From Eating THC Gummies

[sl8]

Last edited Mon Oct 24, 2022, 07:39 AM - Edit history (1)

Also see Law & Crime article in separate post, below.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/virginia-mother-charged-with-murder-after-4-year-old-son-dies-from-eating-thc-gummies/3187538/

Virginia Mother Charged With Murder After 4-Year-Old Son Dies From Eating THC Gummies

Tanner Clements died two days after he ate marijuana edibles at a home in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. A pediatric ER doctor has advice for what parents should do if their child gets hold of THC gummies

By Julie Carey, Northern Virginia Bureau Chief and Gina Cook • Published October 20, 2022 • Updated on October 21, 2022 at 7:50 am

A mother in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, faces felony murder and child neglect charges after her 4-year-old son died from eating marijuana-infused gummies earlier this year.

Investigators said Dorothy Annette Clements didn't get help soon enough for her son, Tanner Clements, when he was found unresponsive on May 6 at a home they were both visiting.

Tanner Clements died two days later.

Dorothy Annette Clements told a police detective that her son ate half of a CBD gummy and that she called poison control and was assured that he'd be OK, according to search warrant documents.

But the detective said she found an empty THC gummy jar in the house and toxicology results showed Tanner Clements had extremely high levels of THC in his system, documents say. THC is the active ingredient in marijuana that gets people high.

[...]

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Cannabis (not marijuana) does not kill. Smothering while unresponsive can kill

It is a racist term to call cannabis "marijuana", because that term was used to tar Mexicans and brown skinned people as being drug addicts, criminals, and lazy in the 1930s (cf. Anslinger). Rather like the effort these days to tar Central Americans and brown skinned migrants as drug addicts and criminals by Fox Noise and other reich wing outlets.

Cannabis doesn't kill, but when a person is "unresponsive", they need care and attention to prevent other causes creeping in. If an unresponsive person rolls over onto their face in bed, they might smother themselves to death.

It's like a drunk rock star dead face down in a three inch pool of water. The booze didn't kill him, drowning killed him. But the death would have been easily avoidable if an unresponsive person had been cared for and not been alone.

So, yes, the mother should face charges for criminally negligent homicide/manslaughter, but I doubt whether murder charges are right. I thought murder required intent to kill or grievously harm.

[ShepKat]

2. Thank you !

dam I hate the word 'marijuana'

[GreenWave]

3. I agree that there is more to this story.

[sl8]

5. Intent is not a requirement for VA "felony murder" charges.

I think it's the same for all or most states that have "felony murder" charges.

[sl8]

4. Different take on story from Law & Crime:

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/virginia-mother-charged-with-murder-after-4-year-old-dies-from-ingesting-delta-8-thc-gummies/

[...]

“Detectives from the Child Victims Unit investigated the death and learned from doctors that the child’s toxicity level showed a high level of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol),” the SSO said in that post. “Detectives believe the child ingested a large amount of THC gummies.”

Marijuana alone has never resulted in a reported physical overdose in humans that is fatal – and is generally considered impossible by the medical community. Users can overdose in extreme situations.

Many outlets have misleadingly reported on the case as involving a form of “weed” or “marijuana edibles.”

An inquiry by Fox News, however, dispelled some of that typical confusion by revealing that Virginia authorities, when pressed on their claims, later clarified and explained that the gummy candies believed to have been consumed by the deceased child, Tanner Clements, actually contained “delta-8 THC,” citing SSO Major Troy Skebo.

[...]

[intheflow]

6. Still doesn't say how the child died, though.

It's weird that someone would die TWO DAYS after ingesting pot gummies. I mean, of course the kid would would test positive after eating them, because we all know THC can be found in people's system 30 days after smoking, so that's not surprising. But two days after eating the gummies, the child just stopped living? There is something really strange about this story.