Berlin, September 27th, 2026 (The Berlin Spectator) – Berlin’s Senate Department for Health has warned residents against consuming candy sold as THC-infused gummy bears after several people were hospitalized and one man died following apparent consumption of the products, according to German-language newspapers.
According to the department, multiple cases have emerged since last week in which people who ate the purported THC gummy bears developed what a spokeswoman described as “varying degrees of intoxication”, with symptoms consistent with opioid poisoning rather than a typical reaction to cannabis. The active substance involved has not yet been identified.
The most serious case occurred on the morning of September 22nd, when paramedics were called to an address in the Neukölln district. A 42-year-old man had reportedly gone into cardiac arrest after eating one of the gummy bears. Emergency responders attempted to resuscitate him, but he died at the scene. Police confirmed the incident but said it remains unclear whether the candy was actually responsible for his death, noting the matter is under investigation. The “Bild” tabloid was first to report on the case involving the fatality in Neukölln.
Treatment with Naloxone
Four days earlier, emergency crews had responded to a separate medical emergency in Friedrichshain, where a 30-year-old woman was found with severe impairment of consciousness after apparently consuming the same type of product. About an hour later, paramedics were called to the same address for a 40-year-old man showing identical symptoms.
Both were taken to hospital. Health officials said both survivors responded to treatment with naloxone, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, a detail that has fueled suspicion the gummy bears may have been laced with an opioid substance rather than containing THC alone.
The health department said it has since issued a warning to Berlin’s district authorities, hospitals and counseling centers, explicitly cautioning against the consumption of “products of this kind”. Officials stressed that the exact substance responsible has not yet been determined and that testing is ongoing.
