An employee at an Acworth daycare was arrested last week after a toddler in her care was taken to the hospital and tested positive for THC, officials said.
The 20-month-old child was taken to the hospital due to “unusual lethargy” on Feb. 18, Acworth police said in statement. Tests revealed THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in marijuana, in the child’s system, police said.
An investigation led detectives to accuse an employee of Laugh and Learn Day Care, 24-year-old Zyraina Stanice Fu’cia, of allowing the child to eat a “THC product” directly from her pocket. Police did not say if Fu’cia realized the child was taking the product at the time, and they did not describe the product.
Fu’cia was taken into custody Tuesday on a felony count of second-degree cruelty to children and misdemeanor count of reckless conduct, police said. She was released Wednesday on bond of more than $5,000, jail records show.
Laugh and Learn Day Care was fined by the state twice in 2024 in cases that alleged overly aggressive disciplinary measures, according to records kept by Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL).
The business was fined nearly $500 for a December 2023 incident in which a worker disciplined a child by pulling on their arm, causing an injury, according to DECAL.
Just a few months later, Laugh and Learn was fined nearly $800 by DECAL in a case that involved a staff member being arrested. According to the DECAL report, a daycare worker was charged with first-degree child cruelty and misdemeanor battery after they were accused of pushing a child down on a cot when the child did not want to lay down.
The daycare workers involved in each case were not named.
The investigation into the incident remains open, police said. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Acworth police detectives at 770-974-1232.
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