TODDLER ATE CANNABIS had CAKE WHICH MUM BAKED

18-MONTH-OLD GIRL RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER SUFFERING SEIZURE

A TODDLER suffered a seizure after eating a cake laced with cannabis which her mum had baked, writes Suzy Gibson.

The mum called 999 and accompanied the girl to hospital, Leicester Crown Court was told. The court heard it was “an unfortunate incident” in a house where the parents

“become too relaxed about cannabis”.

A TODDLER suffered a seizure after eating cake laced with cannabis which her mum had baked - and then left in reach of the little girl.

The mother called for an ambulance and accompanied the ailing 18-monthold to Leicester Royal Infirmary, it was revealed in court.

Caroline Bradley, prosecuting, said: “She told a member of hospital staff the child had eaten some cake made of cannabis.”

She originally lied and said a visitor had brought it to her Leicester home without her knowledge, but later confessed to having baked it herself.

The youngster must have found it in the fridge, the mother said.

When her partner’s phone was inspected by the police, text messages revealed that he was a cannabis dealer.

Leicester Crown Court was told the girl, who was suffering from stomach pains at hospital, tested positive for cannabis - although it was not possible for medics to conclusively say the cake caused the seizure or pain, as she was also found to have a low sodium levels.

The child recovered and was returned home, following social services inquiries.

Miss Bradley said the police searched the couple’s house the next day and found five clear plastic bags containing cannabis, worth £670, in an airing cupboard being used as a wardrobe.

The father told the officers he only smoked cannabis outdoors and kept it on a top shelf in the cupboard, out of reach of the youngsters.

However, messages on his phone revealed he had offered to sell different strains of cannabis to others.

The mother, when questioned, later admitted using cannabis butter (made from cannabis oil) as an ingredient in the cake. She said she had fallen asleep before the child consumed some of it.

The judge was told that social services were aware of the situation and the children had been placed on a child protection register, but they remained at home as a family unit.

Michael Garvey, mitigating, said: “Social services are satisfied with the mother’s parenting. It was an unfortunate incident - they’d become too relaxed about cannabis in the house.”

Both parents, in their mid-20s, admitted one offence of child cruelty, by exposing their daughter to physical danger in a manner likely to cause suffering or injury to health, last summer.

The father also admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply, and the mother admitted possessing the same class B drug.

The couple are not being named because of a court order protecting the identity of their daughter.

Judge Keith Raynor said of the father: “He’s the primary source of the cannabis that led to the cake, which led to the cruelty charge, although the mother had a part in the making of the cake.”

Sentencing, he told the defendants: “You were so stupid to make a cannabis cake without considering what was going to happen to the cake if the child came across it. You unlawfully exposed her to physical danger by leaving it in a place where it could be eaten.”

The judge said he accepted the cruelty offence was “very much at the lower end” involving negligence.

The mother was placed on a 12-month community order. The father received a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months.