James PackardNear Los Angeles, 10 students overdosed on cannabis at a local middle school. At least six of the kids, between 12 and 14 years old, went to the hospital Thursday.
Now investigators are trying to figure out where the kids got the substance and why it had such harmful effects.
"Did all 10 kids have the same possible cannabis? That's going to be part of the ongoing investigation, so we don't want to speculate too much," said Captain Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department. "That would be a possibility that there was all from the same bunch, but that has to be conclusively determined. The important information here is that this is not fentanyl-related, that these patients are in mild to moderate distress, so we don't want parents to be unnecessarily worried."
That's reassuring to parents in the school district, where a 15-year-old died just two months ago in an apparent fentanyl overdose. She bought what she apparently believed were Percocet pills from another student.
Laura Brinker lost her son Connor to fentanyl last year. She says parents and students alike need more education about the dangers of some drugs.
"I was not educated as a mother," Brinker said. "I knew about drugs obviously, but the lethalness of fentanyl, I was not aware of."
While fentanyl is not involved in the overdoses this week, it's a startling reminder of how naive young kids can be to the side effects of drugs. Plus with such ease of access, it's important for kids to know what they're putting in their bodies.
"Do we know the source of the possible overdose? That is a concern, but we do not have that information at this point," Scott said.
