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Georgia man who touched his baby with THC oil faces felony charges

Thomas Looby.

A Georgia man who police say made his 6-month-old baby sick when he touched the infant with medical marijuana oil on his hands was charged with a felony.

Police in Suwanee said the baby was extremely sick and had to be taken to the emergency room. The infant's tests came back positive for marijuana.

Thomas Looby, 46, was charged with reckless conduct and possession of a class one drug, which is a felony. Suwanee Police Department Capt. Shane Edminsten said this wasn't like any other case he'd seen before.

"This is the first time we've run into anything like this," Edminsten said.

Police said Looby and his fiancee took their infant to a hospital when the baby started to act lethargic.

"I guess you could say the baby was high," Edminsten said. "I guess the contact just with the oil on his hands with the child seeped into its skin and made it high."

Looby showed police a letter from a doctor in California prescribing him high-grade THC oil, which he said he rubs on his hands for arthritis.

Records show Looby used to live in California. The concentration is legal there, but not in Georgia.

Police issued warrants last week and Looby turned himself in. He bonded out six hours later.

The family has declined comment.

Police said the arrest was a tough decision to make.

"It was a hard call, but we can't allow the children to be affected by this," Edminsten said.

The infant has recovered.