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8 students treated for pain-pill use

Castle View High may be victim of 'pharming' trend

April M. Washington and Hector Gutierrez

Published February 9, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Eight students at Castle View High School were taken to the hospital Friday after ingesting prescription drugs given to them by another student, school officials said.

The Douglas County School District called 911 about 2 p.m. after a student told administrators that eight students had taken prescription medication, said Whei Wong, district spokeswoman.

Officials said they believe that the students took a narcotic painkiller known as oxycodone. Other students also said that word had spread around campus that a male classmate was supplying oxycodone to the affected students.

The drug's side effects include nausea, dizziness and vomiting. The Castle Rock school called for emergency help when some students began "exhibiting symptoms of nausea and constricted pupils," Wong said.

"We have learned that one student allegedly brought the medication from home and distributed it to fellow students," she said. "As soon as we found out, we sent medical personnel to the school to make sure the kids were all right."

Wong said that all eight students were taken to Sky Ridge Medical Center for further evaluation. The students' parents were notified, school officials said.

On campus late Friday afternoon, student Corinna Peters, 15, said she saw three female students and one male student being taken from the nurse's office to the waiting ambulances at the end of the school day.

One of the girls was on a stretcher and the other three were able to walk out, aided by ambulance crews and firefighters, she said.

Peters said that earlier in the day, she had noticed one of her friends acting strangely.

"He was, like, looking around and didn't know where he was," Peters said. "It was really weird to see him like that."

Peters said that students became emotional when they learned that their classmates were being taken to the hospital.

"Everybody was crying; everybody was sad," she said. "I've been giving a lot of hugs."

Student Conor Leigh, 15, said he had seen one female student vomit in the hallway and another in tears for no apparent reason earlier in the day.

District officials called the incident unacceptable and said that appropriate measures would be taken.

Counselors will be on hand for all students Monday at Castle View.

Just this month, the Douglas County School District warned parents about teen "pharming" parties in a newsletter posted on its Web site. The parties, which have become a national trend, involve teens who give or sell controlled prescription drugs to classmates and friends.

The problem is so serious the National Football League ran public address commercials about it during the Super Bowl.

"They're getting it from their parents' or grandmother's medicine cabinets," Wong said.

About 3 million young people ages 12 to 17 abuse prescription drugs nationwide each year, according to data from the National Substance Abuse Mental Medical Services Agency.

Prescription drugs play a factor in a quarter of all overdose deaths reported in the U.S., studies show.

washingtonam@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5086

Oxycodone

* Generic name: oxycodone (ox-i-KOE-done)

* Brand names: Endocodone, ETH-Oxydose, M-Oxy, OxyContin, Oxyfast, Oxyir, Percolone, Roxicodone, Roxicodone Intensol

* Oxycodone is a narcotic pain reliever, similar to morphine, used to treat moderate to severe pain. It may be habit-forming.

* Oxycodone is a drug of abuse. Patients are urged to keep track of how many pills have been used from each new bottle.and to flush any unused pills down the toilet.

* An overdose of oxycodone can be fatal. Overdose symptoms may include extreme drowsiness and muscle weakness.

* Less-serious side effects are more likely to occur, such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and dizziness.

Comments

  • February 9, 2008

    8:15 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    ElGordo writes:

    Surburban life...

  • February 9, 2008

    8:54 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Barron writes:

    Ah, yes. Rush Limbaugh's poison of choice that nobody talks about. Of course, in his case, he couldn't help it...

  • February 9, 2008

    10:04 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    acm writes:

    Whei Wong! She use to be a Fox 31 News flunky.

  • February 9, 2008

    10:34 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    BTP writes:

    Its a miracle that someone didn't die. I hope other kids are paying attention.

  • February 9, 2008

    12:47 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    HolierThanThou writes:

    "may be habit-forming" ?

    Very funny...

    Oxycodone is an extremely effective pain reliever. A 5-mg dose will relieve your pain. A 15-mg dose can make you forget that you have a broken leg. It's great stuff and can make old curmudgeon as happy as a little girl.

    But that stuff is addictive as all get out, every bit as strong as heroin. If your doctor prescribes it to relieve pain, follow instructions carefully and take no more than you absolutely need, perhaps a bit less.

    If you get hooked on that stuff, you will be a serious junkie. You will need help to recover. You will need rehab. And if you're addicted to it long enough you may loose your hearing in one or both ears, and will suffer such severe brain damage that you'll end up talking nonsense like Rush Limbaugh. Or worse, you might actually believe that crap.

    Kids, do you really want to end up feeling like one big itch that can't be scratched? Do you want to be paranoid and afraid of ridiculous things that most folks laugh at? The raving lunatic, Rush Limbaugh, is sponsored by multi-millionaires like Richard Scaife. You will end up preaching conservatism and watching non-stop Jesus-TV in some God-forsaken trailer park. Then you will die gulping down rotgut in a vain attempt to satisfy your craving for that hill-billy heroin, the stuff that got you sent up the river for 10 years to be the play thing of Bubba the Bungholer.

    I, for one, don't want to see that happen.

  • February 9, 2008

    1:45 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    randyj01 writes:

    Gee, I sure hope the idiot who gave them out didn't steal them from someone who really needed them. Just one more example of our screwed up society

  • February 9, 2008

    6:06 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    LOUIE writes:

    It's unfortunate, but we are a drug orientated society. Look at the commercials we bombard our society with. Through gradualism, we may say one thing, but are quite conditioned to acceptance of drugs in our everyday life. Why be supprised by the abuse; all society's have for centuries struggled with drug abuse. China executed millions right on the streets in a futile attempt to eradicate opium addiction ( got to love the Brits on ownership of Hong Kong for a century). Where is Eutopia? Everyone searches. Some find religion, some gold, others drugs. Our minds are very complex, there has never been throughout history been a cure for the addiction of drugs, only futile attempts and limited sucesses. It's not to say we shouldn't try, but it would have to be one of mankinds greatest achievements to succeed. We walked on the moon, so don't give up! Indian people use some pretty potent drugs as a religious belief and it is protected. What about the rest of society, can't they find the same inner piece in thier search? Why one people are allowed, another denied? Complex is an understatement. Glad these kids survived, but look at mankind in the broader picture. I'll lisen to suggestions, see more draconian laws, maybe we do the China solution, but you will have yet to find the answer in mankinds affinity for eutopia.

  • February 9, 2008

    10:20 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    redwhiteandBLUE writes:

    Maybe this will be a such a bad experiance, that they'll never do pills again or any other drug in the future. I hope.

  • February 10, 2008

    7:33 a.m.

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    coloradomom writes:

    After working in Douglas Co. Schools, I'm surprised that this finally got out. It's been happening for years but it was always a "secret" that we couldn't share! I took several students to Skyridge in the three years I worked there...all drug induced experiments...or accident overdoses! Time for parents to wake up and either lock up the meds or get ride of them after you are done! ALL TEENS COULD DO IT...4.0 students to total loners! WAKE UP!

  • February 10, 2008

    10:41 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    LOUIE writes:

    Froward69, I agree with your concern; having a solution however is still to be determined. I believe knowledge of this plague is the greatest tool you can give a child today, and still may lose the fight. Destroying years out of life. Look at all the attempts, by civilizations much more advanced than ours, throughout history; can you say who ever won this battle? Knowledge is the greatest tool in a childs toolbox. Thus when they come to confront this deadly important issue in thier generation, perhaps they may come closer to the solution. There is such a broad picture to this issue. Question to be asked: is it the states job, a parents, or society when both of these fail? When do you open the eyes of God's most innocent in creation? Give truth, not lies, or threats of violence; the latter tools are the most destructive in a child's toolbox. I am concerned as any parent, my sons and daughters have the greatest achievements of mankind yet to come...I can tell him about my generation walking on the moon...

  • February 10, 2008

    11:01 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    fiesty writes:

    Parents need to TEACH their children, and be prepared nonetheless. My son is special needs and takes 6 meds. Due to my spinal injury, among others, I take both morphine and percocet (and I'm so used to it, it hardly works anymore). I have all my medication locked up in a mini-safe, and we put my son's meds in a 7-day dispenser, and lock up his too. We then watch him take his medication every day. Even so, just in case I were to forget and leave it out, we have talked about how the meds we are on could seriously hurt (if not kill) someone else. We've also discussed how "getting high" (sniffing paint, strangle games etc) is so dangerous because it means the brain isn't getting enough oxygen. Whenever there is a story like this on the news, I show him and discuss exactly what the kid did wrong. If he has a friend over, he knows to keep an eye on them. If he hears about something like this going on at school, he knows to tell a teacher. Ditto about guns- we have a gun safe, and have gone over the same rules.

    The parents here, both of the kid distributing and the kid accepting, need to take some responsibility here too, whether it be from not really discussing the issue with their kids (just "don't do drugs") or not taking care of their medication properly.

  • February 10, 2008

    8:10 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    cookie writes:

    I thought we wern't supposed to flush meds.