Happy Meal
Closeup of kid holding french fries packet

Meanwhile in Maine: Mom Finds Drugs In Son’s Happy Meal, Some Parents Have All the Luck

File this story under “nice problem to have.” A mom in Maine recently contacted the police after discovering drugs in her son’s Happy Meal.

The 11-year-old (who seems a little bit old for a Happy Meal, no?) apparently got a dose of Suboxone along with his fries-laden feast. The drug is commonly prescribed to treat opiate use disorders (OUD) but can also be abused.

“My blood was boiling. I didn’t even know what to do at that point, so I called the police,” Shirlee Marchesseault told WGME of the discovery. “I’m just wondering, like, how often does this happen? It shouldn’t be in the hands of any child. It’s dangerous.”

Authorities interviewed McDonald’s employees and reviewed surveillance footage before concluding that the incident was an accident.

“The investigation has determined that an employee, while preparing meals for the drive-through, had the Suboxone prescription in a shirt pocket, along with a BIC pen. The employee bent over to retrieve something from behind the counter, at which time the prescription and pen fell from the shirt pocket, landing in the Happy Meal box,” the police said.

Sounds plausible enough…except that the employee got the drug illegally from a coworker. (Whoops.) So one was charged with unlawful possession of schedule drugs and the other faces charges of unlawful trafficking in schedule drugs. They were both fired from their fast-food gigs.

“In our restaurants, nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our employees and customers. I was shocked and disappointed by the behavior of these crew members, which goes against the values we have as an organization and will not be tolerated,” Taylor Goble, the owner and operator of the McDonald’s, told People. “We are taking this matter seriously so that we can continue to maintain our high standards.”

We really don’t see what the issue is. If we found free drugs in our kids’ Happy Meals, we’d go back for seconds!

Cover Photo: William Voon / EyeEm (Getty Images)

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