By Jaimee Lynn Fletcher
Orange County Register
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Two people were taken to the hospital after they ate marijuana brownies.
About 9 p.m. Friday, police were called to Mario’s restaurant on Main Street near Beach Boulevard after four people complained they were feeling sick after eating brownies they bought from a marijuana dispensary in Long Beach, Lt. Russell Reinhart of the Huntington Beach Police Department said.
They complained of hallucinations and difficulty breathing, and paramedics took two of the patients to a hospital, police said.
Reinhart said police are not considering the incident a criminal act because the patients had medical marijuana cards, which makes eating the brownies legal under state law.
While smoking marijuana produces effects almost immediately, ingesting marijuana can be a slower process with more intense effects, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
While in some cases marijuana taken in moderate doses produces euphoria, relaxation and enhanced sight, hearing and taste, negative reactions can include panic attacks, trouble breathing, delirium and increased heart rate, the library of medicine reported.
Copyright 2010 Orange County Register