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A 20-year-old Philadelphia man has been arrested on felony drug trafficking charges after prosecutors accused him of selling homemade THC edibles to children as young as 11 years old in places including “middle schools, high schools, parks and purchasers’ homes.”
Quashon Rice delivered the drug-laced treats to “multiple areas in Montgomery County including Ambler, Bala Cynwyd, Bridgeport, Cheltenham, King of Prussia, Norristown and Willow Grove,” according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
“This defendant was targeting children as young as 11 years old to sell his drugs to, imbedding drugs in cereals and snack products that appeal to children,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement. “He then sold them where children are — on social media, specifically Instagram, where he would show the product as well as provide step-by-step instructions for how the kids could order the edibles and have them delivered.”
Prosecutors say they opened an investigation into Rice’s alleged activity in early May when a East Norriton Middle School resource officer responded to a report of a “student [who] had been provided an edible marijuana snack without his knowledge and was now sick.”
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Quashon Rice, who Pennsylvania prosecutors accuse of selling THC edibles to children, is facing felony drug trafficking charges following “19 sales and deliveries within Montgomery County, 18 of which were to juveniles.”
(Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office)
The student “had eaten a rainbow-colored Rice Krispy treat” provided by another student who purchased the edible from an Instagram account called “top2treats,” the attorney’s office said.
Further investigation uncovered that Rice operated that account and communicated with the student distributor and “multiple other juveniles quoting specific prices, delivery fees and a variety of edible THC products available including Fruity Pebbles bars, cookies, brownies, Cinnamon Toast Crunch bars and other types of edibles,” the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said.
After that account was shut down by Instagram, Rice allegedly started up another account – this time called “toptreatz4.”
One of the posts allegedly made on the “toptreatz4” Instagram account.
(Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office)
“A review of the content from March 2022 to May 2022 for both accounts received from Instagram, detectives learned that the user of the Instagram accounts facilitated the sale of drugs to children at locations including public middle schools, high schools, public parks, an Urban Air trampoline park and his juvenile customers’ homes,” prosecutors said. “Further evidence showed the defendant knew he was selling drugs to children as young as 11 or 12 years old.”
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At the time of Rice’s arrest in Philadelphia on June 14, prosecutors say police found a “ghost gun,” materials to manufacture THC-laced edibles, 40 individually packaged edibles and around 10 bags of marijuana in counterfeit commercial packaging.
Two more posts that prosecutors say appeared on Instagram accounts operated by Quashon Rice, a 20-year-old from Philadelphia.
(Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office)
He is facing charges including Solicitation of Minors to Traffic Drugs and Possession With Intent to Deliver on allegations of 19 sales and deliveries in Montgomery County, all but one to juveniles. Rice’s bail was set at $95,000 cash and is expected to appear in court on June 27.
