Pizza accidentally laced with THC makes dozens sick at Wisconsin restaurant
Pizza inadvertently laced with THC — the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana — has apparently sickened dozens of people in Wisconsin.
Health officials in Dane County say Famous Yeti’s Pizza in Stoughton, about 20 miles southeast of Madison, served pizza contaminated with THC Monday through Thursday.
Paramedics alerted health officials Thursday that they had transported five people who said they became ill after eating pizza at the restaurant.
Health officials said they have received dozens of reports of people getting sick from the pizza and are still receiving reports. A full overview will be available in a final report, they said.
Officials said a restaurant cook ran out of oil, entered a shared commercial kitchen in the same building and accidentally grabbed a jar of oil from a shelf that contained Delta-9, a form of THC.
Marijuana is illegal in Wisconsin, but products such as THC derived from the hemp plant are legal. Health officials said the oil in question can be used to make everything from cookies to condiments.
THC-related symptoms can include dizziness, increased blood pressure, vomiting, anxiety, paranoia and hallucinations.
Cale Ryan, co-owner of Famous Yeti’s Pizza, told the Wisconsin State Journal that the cook simply picked the wrong oil. He said one batch of dough, which makes 60 pizzas, was contaminated. He has heard from about 20 customers who have been affected, he said.
“They’re really getting stoned,” he said. “They get intoxicated from the THC, so I think it’s more alarming than anything to feel like that. It’s basically eating something edible, but without knowing it.”