How Prescription Drugs Ended Up In A McDonald's Happy Meal
While you might worry about the preservatives in your McDonald's order, it's likely that you've never worried about prescription drugs being tossed in with your cheeseburger and fries. Unfortunately, that's exactly what accidentally happened at a McDonald's location in Auburn, Maine (via WHSV). Apparently a mom of an 11-year-old, Shirlee Marchesseault, was looking for her son's Happy Meal toy in the box when instead she found two packets of Suboxone.
"My blood was boiling," Marchesseault said. "I didn't even know what to do at that point, so I called the police." According to NBC, Suboxone is a medication prescribed to help treat opioid disorders. Clearly, it was far from the toy she was looking for and prescription drugs in the hands of a child is always dangerous. Police quickly got to the bottom of the situation and found not one, but two employees to charge for the incident.
This is how it happened
The investigation revealed that Mariah Grant, a 29-year-old employee at the McDonald's location, had sold the Suboxone to a co-worker at the beginning of their shifts, according to NBC. Michael Sevey, the 43-year-old buyer, had simply tucked the prescription drugs away into his shirt pocket after attaining the drugs. Sevey then went on to work his shift at the drive-thru window of the Auburn McDonald's.
"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," police told the outlet. "The employee had no knowledge that the prescription was missing from the shirt until later in the shift, when the incident was brought to the store's attention." Apparently the McDonald's management at the location had helped police get to the bottom of the incident. Ultimately, Grant was charged with unlawful drug trafficking, while Sevey was charged with unlawful drug possession.