THE chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs on Friday raised fears that schoolchildren might fall victim to candies laced with marijuana following the arrest of Bobby Albert Bobcock and Jan Allen Ledesma.
The two were arrested last Saturday for allegedly producing such illegal drug.
“News reports have it that Bobcock and Ledesma purportedly sold candies to college students only. But I fear that these marijuana-laced candies have reached several elementary schools prior to the capture of these criminals,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the panel chairman, said.
“A child would never know that these candies are spiked with drugs. For a young child, they might look like an ordinary treat, but clearly, they are very dangerous,” Barbers added.
Barbers also appealed to parents to always keep an eye on their children.
Barbers said: “Studies show that consuming marijuana can have worse effects than smoking it. A child wouldn’t know about the dangers of illegal substance.
“So, may I remind all parents to be very vigilant—please tell your children to stay away from candies in strange and unfamiliar wrappings. It is also important that we monitor our kids’ activities all the time.”
Barbers, a co-sponsor of the death penalty bill of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, also renewed his call for the restoration of the death penalty on drug-related crimes, especially on those crimes that involve minors.
“I hope and pray that the capital punishment be restored as soon as possible. Let us not wait until the drug menace ruins the lives of our youth. We must not show mercy for narcotics criminals who put our country’s future at stake,” Barbers said.