Mother Charged for Giving Cannabis Edibles to Child
Sylvia Rubio, a 38-year-old mother from Radium Springs, New Mexico, is facing felony charges for providing medical cannabis to her 13-year-old daughter. Rubio was arrested, charged with child abuse and is also facing charges relating to contributing to the delinquency of a minor and distributing cannabis to a minor.
According to the Las Cruces Sun-News, the official criminal complaint states that her daughter took cannabis chocolates to school last November. The school principal got a hold of the chocolates, and contacted child protective services because of the incident.
When she was questioned, Rubio explained that she has a medical cannabis card and also her own license to produce medical cannabis herself. She said that a homeopathic doctor advised that she give edibles to her daughter to help treat her anxiety.
Rubio then admitted to giving her daughter the edibles, claiming that she gave her gummy candies knowing that they contain THC. However, she said the last time she gave her daughter gummies was in April. She denies giving her the chocolates, but said that she kept the chocolates in an unlocked cabinet in her bathroom.
A drug test confirmed that there was THC in Rubio’s daughter’s system. She is now being held without bond and awaiting trial.
While there is no doubt that Rubio went about self-medicating her daughter in the wrong way, it has been proven that cannabis is probably not linked to anxiety and depression and cannabis has been shown to help children with certain medical conditions if they medicate properly.
Above all, it appears that the prejudice against cannabis is heavily coloring charges against a woman for being negligent or making a mistake. The coming months will tell whether she will beat these charges or face jail time because her daughter got her hands on the cannabis chocolates.
