Officials announce charges of Philadelphia man accused of selling drug-laced edibles to children

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Montgomery County officials announced charges Wednesday against a Philadelphia man accused of selling homemade drug-laced edibles to children.

Quashon Rice, 20, was arrested on felony drug trafficking charges.

Investigators in Montgomery County say Rice had been delivering the THC-laced snacks to children as young as 11 years old.

Police say the edibles were sold through an Instagram account called "top2treats" and delivered directly to middle schools, high schools, and public parks.

According to authorities, the investigation into Rice began on May 10 when a officer responded to the East Norriton Middle School cafeteria when the school staff members believed a student had been provided an edible marijuana snack without his knowledge and became sick.

The student recalled eating a rainbow-colored Rice Krispy treat given to him by another student.

That student then confirmed purchasing the drug-laced edible from the Instagram account officials alleged was operated by Rice through an obtained search warrant.

Officials say once Instagram disabled the "top2treats" account, Rice continued his illegal sales activities on a new account, "toptreatz4."

At the time of his arrest, officials say they recovered a ghost gun, in addition to THC-laced edibles materials.

"This defendant's illegal drug trafficking business supplying drugs to children and encouraging children to be drug dealers is an egregious case. We will be seeking a long state prison sentence so that he will be in a place where he won't be able to harm any more children," said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele.

Rice was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and is currently held with a bail set at $95,000 cash.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 27 at 12:45 p.m.