Experts warn against dangerous edibles after multiple children ingested what looked like candy

STUDIO CITY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- With Halloween just around the corner, experts are warning parents against deceptive marijuana edibles after more than 17 students were medically evaluated Thursday after possibly consuming a banned substance that looked like candy.

"They mistake them for candy, they take them and they share them with others and they're very dangerous to a young child," said retired DEA agent Bill Bodner.

This comes after 17 children at Walter Reed Middle School in Studio City had to be medically evaluated after possibly consuming a banned substance that officials said looked like candy on Thursday.

"It's definitely frustrating. You feel like 'What are the parents doing at home? Are they doing a good job teaching their kids what to stay away from?'" said Michael Cameneti, a Walter Reed Middle School parent.

On Tuesday, 5 other students from Nobel Charter Middle School in Northridge had to be evaluated after possibly ingesting cannabis-laced edibles.

As gummies become more common, so are their problems.

Emergency room doctors say they're seeing more and more cases of kids finding their way into what looks like a fun treat, but ends up being a dangerous trip to the hospital.

"Children can be especially susceptible to gummies because of their size and weight. What could be a normal dose for an adult can be toxic to a child," said Dr. Ted Kokosinski, emergency department director at Northridge Medical Center.

As Halloween approaches, medical experts say parents need to remain diligent.

"We just really want to make sure that with Halloween coming up that children don't accidentally ingest gummies," said Dr. Kokosinski.

Law enforcement experts say the concern isn't really that someone would hand edibles out intentionally on Halloween, but that all that candy kids do come home with may get mixed up with gummies that belong to parents or older siblings.

"You have to supervise what your children are eating now because with these gummies out there, it's more dangerous than ever," said Bodner.