Philadelphia Man Accused Of Selling THC Edibles To Children In Montgomery County
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Philadelphia man is accused of using social media to sell THC edible snacks to children in Montgomery County. THC is the mind-altering chemical found in marijuana.
Twenty-year-old Quashon Rice is charged with drug trafficking.
Investigators say Rice used social media to sell and advertise his illegal drug business to kids. He even personally delivered the edibles to them.
Dishing out drugs disguised as tasty treats. This screenshot looks like bags of snacks, but Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele says they are actually homemade THC-laced cereal snacks with flavors like Fruity Pebbles and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Steele says 20-year-old Quashon Rice was selling them to children as young as 11 years old across Montgomery County.
"He was driving out to neighborhoods throughout Montgomery County, delivering drugs at schools, delivering drugs at parks, and taking it to kid's residences," Steele said.
A criminal affidavit details how Rice used social media to carry out his illegal drug scheme.
Police say a screenshot from Rice's account where he posted his menu to Instagram, offering items like cereal bars, cookies, candy, Oreo brownies, and regular brownies all ranging between $10 and $15.
Rice also gave step-by-step instructions on how to order and offered discounts for reposts and shares that helped advertise his product.
"This individual knew who he was dealing to, knew who he was targeting," Steele said.
Steele says the investigation all started after a student at East Norriton Middle School was given an edible without knowing it by another student who purchased them from Rice.
Police traced the Instagram accounts back to Rice and executed a search warrant at his Philadelphia home. There, officers found a ghost gun and materials used to make the edibles.
Steele reminded families they must monitor their child's social media accounts.
"We have to be very vigilant as parents to make sure our kids don't go down the wrong track with some of these individuals that don't care about them," Steele said.
Instagram disabled Rice's first account but he made a new one. Eyewitness News reached out to Instagram and we are still waiting to hear back.
Rice is facing felony drug trafficking charges.
CBS3's Jan Carabeo contributed to this report.