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A pizza place in Wisconsin accidentally laced some of its pies with oil infused with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), affecting at least 85 people, according to a new CDC report. THC is the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis and can be the cause of numerous side effects if ingested, including hallucinations, nausea, and memory loss.
The incident reportedly occurred at Famous Yeti’s Pizza in Stoughton, Wisc. last year. The pizza restaurant used the THC-laced oil after they ran out of their own cooking oil. Employees borrowed the oil from a shared kitchen used by multiple businesses, including a store that sells THC products, and were reportedly unaware that the oil contained THC.
The CDC investigated
According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published last week, at least 85 people ranging in age from 1 to 91 years, experienced symptoms consistent with THC intoxication after eating Famous Yeti’s pizza. Over a three-day period, emergency medical services reported to Public Health Madison & Dane County in Wisconsin that they had transported seven people to a local hospital for various symptoms, including dizziness, sleepiness, and anxiety. All of them reported having eaten at Famous Yeti’s.
The 85 people who met the criteria for THC intoxication after eating at Yeti’s Pizza, reported suffering from dizziness, sleepiness, anxiety, short term memory impact or time distortion, increased heart rate, nausea, paranoia, panic attack, increased blood pressure, vomiting, or hallucinations. 47 of the people with symptoms were male, and 38 were female, 33 said they visited a health care provider (28 at a hospital emergency department and five elsewhere), and three were hospitalized for at least one night.
What did the restaurant say?
“…the restaurant owner reported that on October 22, the restaurant had run out of cooking oil and used oil from the cooperative kitchen to prepare dough that was served during October 22–24,” the CDC report reads. “The owner initially thought the oil was plain canola oil but later realized it might have been infused with THC. Oil from a large, labeled storage container, in the same area where the owner found the oil he used, tested positive for THC using the qualitative Duquenois-Levine reagent test. A police investigation concluded that the provision of THC-contaminated food to customers was unintentional, and no criminal charges were pursued. The restaurant reopened on October 26 after cleaning and sanitizing following standards in the Wisconsin Food Code.”
The CDC went on to suggest “regulations regarding practices such as standard, clear labeling and locked storage for ingredients containing THC, might decrease the risk for unintentional THC exposure at licensed food businesses.”
The restaurant stated in a post on Facebook after the incident, “Famous Yeti’s is working closely with local authorities to improve our storage and security protocols to prevent this from happening again and to guarantee the safety of our customers.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or harm caused. ”