Students hospitalized after drinking opioid-laced juice at West Philadelphia school, district says
PHILADELPHIA - Scary scenes at a school in West Philadelphia after a dozen students ingested juice laced with an opioid drug, sending several to the hospital Wednesday.
The Philadelphia School District says the students were inside a classroom at Crossroads Accelerated Academy when they drank grape juice laced with WONK, which is described as an opioid.
Two students illegally brought in the drink, passing it around to 12 students in total, according to officials. The students range in age from 12 to 16.
School District of Philadelphia Spokesperson Monique Braxton told reporters the students immediately began experiencing headaches and some vomited.
"Search your medicine cabinets, search your children's bedrooms, this is something that is illegally possessed by the students and it's something that is definitely not wanted on our school property," Braxton said.
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The district says five of those students were transported to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and placed in stable condition. The seven others were picked up by families.
The school was temporarily placed on lockdown around 12:15 p.m. as police and counterterrorism officers investigated the scene.