BALTIMORE — Some students were taken to the hospital after ingesting an unknown substance at school.
"It was a very, very unfortunate and scary situation at Dunbar yesterday,” said Sherry Christian who is the Baltimore City Public Schools Media & Public Relations Manager.
Christian said around lunch time Monday, five Dunbar High School students ingested an unknown substance and had adverse reactions to it. Three students were taken to the hospital by ambulance, while two were taken home by their parents.
Officials later confirmed that the unknown substance had THC in it.
"It can be really scary when you see what was written on social media, I can't confirm what the substance is yet,” said Christian.
A letter was sent to parents informing them of the incident, stating in part the steps that are being taken to address the situation while working with the appropriate authorities and warns about the circulating rumors.
"This is a really unfortunate situation, I feel like it's becoming an epidemic in the city,” said Ashley Clark who has a 9th grader at Dunbar High School.
Even with a letter sent home, she said it raises concerns for her as she didn't find out about the incident until school let out.
"I just feel like that's a bit unacceptable. I feel like as parents we should be notified first when these type of situations arise, god forbid it's one of our own children" said Clark. "I don't understand that, they've been pretty on top of everything else but this is just as serious as a shooting.”
She said this situation has led her to have a serious conversation with her daughter.
"I’m very open to speaking with her and letting her know there's possibilities that people can be giving you things and you might want to try it cause your friends are, so don't be that person because you never know what someone is giving to you,” said Clark.
Dr. Theresa Nguyen, the Chair of Pediatrics at GBMC, warns of the dangers that come along with drugs that aren't prescribed to you as the effects can be unknown.
"It can be hallucinations, psychosis, it can have a lot of effects on your heart. So many medications have side effects on your heart, many organ systems, and we just don't know,” said Nguyen.
Christian said the three that were taken to the hospital have been released. Counseling will be available to students and they are still looking into what the substance is and where they got it.
