Children and parents have been warned by the police to spot if a normal-looking sweet is actually dangerous. The extra advice comes after a young woman lost her life

Police have been forced to show young children the difference between cannabis-laced sweets and the real thing.

The extra drug education comes after the tragic death of a young woman in London recently.

Parents have also been advised to be alert after law student Damilola Olakanmi, 23, passed away after buying and eating the cannabis ‘gummies’ from an online messaging app on her phone.

Damilola ate a brand called ‘Trrlli Peachie O’s’, but fell ill in Ilford on Tuesday, March 29.

Justice campaigner and relative Richard Taylor, 75, issued a heartbreaking statement after her mum Wumi kept a bedside vigil during her daughter’s fight in hospital.

He said: “Wumi has lost her only child – she has nothing now. They had to hold her up because she broke down every time a friend came to the house to give support.

“It’s a tragic warning to all young people about how they live their lives. They should resist drugs.”

So how can young children tell the difference?

How do you tell the difference between cannabis sweets and normal sweets?

There are key differences between normal gummies and cannabis-infused sweets such as the way the packaging looks and the spelling on them.

Dairy Milk bars, for example, are sometimes changed to ‘Danky Milk’ while Sour Patch sweets have been changed in some cases to ‘Stoney Patch’.

Police have visited Boundary Primary in Blackpool to teach 10 and 11-year-old-students about the risks of the drug.

The parents of children at Farringdon Community Academy in Sunderland were told they “look like normal packets of sweets but may have odd spellings and different fonts”.

Why are the police worried about sweets?

Some drug dealers have been hiding cannabis in gummy sweets like Haribo, Nerds and Millions.

It has led some schools to ban the sweets altogether as dealers lace the treats with synthetic cannabis, also known as ‘spice’.

Spice can cause paranoia, hallucinations and even death.

Of Damilola’s passing, family member Dunnie spoke of the tragic loss caused by the drug sweets.

They said: “She was very kind and loved looking after children and wanted to please everyone. The family will never come to terms with this. We need to know what happened. Her mother is not young anymore.”

Northumbria Police have reported that the tweets are being sold for as little as £5.50 on the messenger app Snapchat.

Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell of the Met’s East Area BCU said: “I must warn the public against taking any illegal substances, including those packaged in the form of cannabis sweets.

“Please do not buy or consume these products. They are illegal and, because of the child-friendly packaging, they can pose a risk of accidental consumption.

“The particular batch of sweets were contained in packaging featuring ‘Trrlli Peachie O’s’ branding. It has not been confirmed at this stage where the sweets were manufactured.”