Ten Los Angeles students appear to have overdosed on cannabis edibles Thursday at their middle school in the San Fernando Valley, officials said.
The students, between 12 and 15 years old, were in mild to moderate distress at Van Nuys Middle School around 10:30 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Seven of them were taken to pediatric medical centers.
Authorities couldn’t say for certain what drug the Van Nuys Middle School students ingested, but they believe it may have been marijuana, Fox 11 reported.
“It was possibly an edible cannabis. [They were] lethargic as if we were seeing their faces looked a little glazed over,” said LAFD Public Information Officer Erik Scott.
“This is not any sort of fentanyl-affiliated overdose. We want to make sure everybody knows that,” Scott said.
Fire officials originally thought just five students were struggling with overdose symptoms but found the others after 50 firefighters canvassed the entire school “including hallways, classrooms, offices, and recreation areas to ensure there were no students unaccounted for.”
Officials told ABC 7 that some of the students may have hidden in classrooms when emergency crews arrived.
Officials are still investigating the incident and how the students got their hands on the drugs. Hospital officials will determine what substance they ingested.
From Fox 11:
Fire officials told reporters on the scene that the overdose does not involve fentanyl and that they believed it was a possible cannabis overdose.
“It was possibly an edible cannabis. [They were] lethargic as if we were seeing their faces looked a little glazed over,” a representative for the department said.
The students were between the ages of 12 and 15 years old.
Several parents arrived on campus to pick up and check on their kids, but the campus remained open for the day, the Los Angeles Unified School District reported.
Some students told FOX 11 that the school told them they were conducting a practice lockdown… leaving many students and parents in the dark about what was really happening. The district noted that none of the students were administered with the anti-overdose treatment Narcan, which has been supplied to all LAUSD campuses following recent cases of students ingesting fentanyl.
“We take the health and safety of our students very seriously,” according to a statement from a district representative. “Every effort is made to ensure our students learn in a safe environment. Los Angeles Unified maintains an ongoing partnership with local health agencies, community partners and medical experts to provide training to school staff and education for our school communities.”
“Our students are always encouraged to speak with our school staff if they are feeling unwell or need assistance. We also encourage everyone to follow the district’s message: if you see something, say something.”
