Junior Prom Shut Down by Pot Brownies

At Friday night's junior prom, four North Andover High School students became violently ill after consuming brownies laced with marijuana, causing school officials to shut down the event early.

The event was at Atkinson Country Club in Atkinson, N.H., Friday. Students were taken by bus with chaperones from the high school to Atkinson Country Club at about 6 p.m., and Principal Carla Scuzzarella along with teachers, chaperones and police were at the country club to monitor the event.

"As always, in planning events such as this the safety of students is the school's prime concern," North Andover Superintendent Chris Hottel emphasized.

But at some point in the evening, four students became ill. It was discovered that the students had eaten some marijuana-laced brownies before leaving the high school.

School authorities immediately called 911, and paramedics arrived and took the students to Lawrence General Hospital as a precaution. The students were later released, but it was discovered that as many as 11 students may have eaten the pot brownies. Those other students were interviewed.

Hottel said Scuzzarella spoke with him afterward, and they decided to end the prom at 10 p.m., an hour earlier than scheduled, especially because they didn't know how many students might become sick from the pot brownies.

"In the course of the investigation, it was determined that 19 brownies had apparently been distributed by a student earlier in the day before arriving for the evening at the high school," Hottel said.

When the students arrived back at the high school that night, police were waiting. The affected students were told to have their parents meet them there so they wouldn't drive home impaired, and school officials gathered the parents in the school's auditorium and explained what had happened.

"As the investigation by the school administration continues on Monday morning, it is likely that there will be disciplinary actions taken," Hottel said. "In addition, the North Andover Police are investigating."