A South Effingham High School senior is in trouble with the law after he apparently brought marijuana-laced brownies to school.

Zachary Lowe was taken to Effingham County Jail on several charges after five SEHS students became ill eating brownies that may have been laced with marijuana.

Students went to the school nurse Monday complaining of ailments, SEHS Principal Dr. Mark Winters said.

“We started piecing together that they were all from the same class and that they had all eaten brownies,” he said.

Seven students ate the brownies, which were consumed during a third period military history class, and school officials had to act swiftly, according to Winters.

“If the day ended, then the evidence was gone,” he said.

Several students were questioned and school officials wanted to find anyone who had eaten them. Lowe was one of the students who ate the brownies, and his car was eventually searched.

Lowe faces charges of possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana on school property and possession of alcohol by a minor.

The incident is still under investigation by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office Drug Suppression Unit, according to spokesman Detective David Ehsanipoor.

“It is shocking that it happened,” Winters said. “This student is not a student who has caused a lot of problems. He’s a typical high school student, so it was surprising that he would do something of this magnitude.”

Lowe also has been suspended from school and is prohibited from taking part in any other school activities, such as the prom and graduation.

His successful completion of his senior year depends on any assignment he may miss because of his suspension.

Winters said Lowe’s parents were “shocked, angry, disappointed” when told of what happened.

Now the school is putting in place new policies on what students can bring into the classroom.

“Parents are concerned how this could happen,” Winters said.

Under the new guidelines, if a student is bringing in food for a class project, that class teacher has to sign off on the project. It must be approved by an administrator and the student’s parents also must sign that the ingredients listed in the item are what’s in there and that the supervised the making of the dish.

Staff writer Callie Arnold contributed to this article.