Clovis police are actually looking into students selling marijuana lollipops at the school in Northeast Fresno.
They look innocent enough, but these lollipops are infused with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The candied drug was popular at medical marijuana dispensaries, favored by users who'd rather not smoke to get the benefits. Now students at Clovis North say it's a favorite for high schoolers trying to use drugs undetected.
"It looked like one of those caramel pops with the green on top and stuff, and I just thought, you know, it's just a lollipop until I started hearing people talk about it," said Clovis North senior Payam Samadian.
"I've seen the lollipops in class too," said senior Ryan Ruiz. "It was just that people were doing it and it seemed like an innocent way to do it, but they got all caught up just because someone snitched probably. I don't know."
Clovis police arrested a 17-year-old girl for selling the lollipops. Investigators say she'd been getting five to ten dollars a pop for them for about a week and a half, and she may not have been working alone.
"There were some other students that were involved apparently at a lesser level, from what I understand, and those students will be treated administratively through the school district," said Clovis police spokesperson Janet Stoll-Lee.
Clovis Unified administrators say each student's situation will be handled individually, with punishments as harsh as expulsion on the table. Just knowing the drugs made it on campus, though, is enough to frighten some parents.
"That's scary," said Gwyn Kim, whose daughter is a sophomore at the school. "You bring your kids here where you think it's safe. It's like the shootings. You think your kids are safe and you don't know."
Police are still trying to trace the source of the lollipops. They believe the candies came from Clovis, which is why Clovis police are investigating even though the campus is in Fresno.
The teen caught selling the lollipops is in custody at the Juvenile Justice Center.
