CLEVELAND, Texas – More than a dozen students who got sick at Cleveland High School Tuesday afternoon were high on Lorazepam, according to CISD.
Officials said 16 students took the drug, which is used to treat anxiety and seizures.
"That particular drug is really dangerous," said George Youngblood, executive director of Teen and Family Services."They’re in the same drug family as Xanax or Valium."
Youngblood specializes in counseling teens on drug abuse.
"It’s one of the most dangerous drug families to detox from because it can cause seizures and really needs to be medically supervised from a detox perspective, he said. "And it is a very addictive drug."
School officials became suspicious when the students got sick after lunch and appeared intoxicated.
Ambulances were called to the school and nine students were transported to Cleveland Regional Hospital or Kingwood Hospital. They were all treated and released.
Police said four students who provided the drugs will be charged with possession of a controlled substance or distributing.
Experts say Lorazepam and other prescription drugs popular with teens can be found in many homes and parents may not realize the street value.
"Parents may unknowingly leave these pills out for their kids to have access to. And so, someone may take it to a school and sell it," Youngblood said.
Students told us drugs like Lorazepam can cost anywhere from $5 to $6 a pill.
Teens often combine the pills with alcohol, adding to the danger.
"A combination of alcohol and benzodiazepines is extremely dangerous. I think if you go down to the emergency room around Houston on Friday and Saturday night it’s very common to see adolescents in there with a drug overdose," Youngblood said.
The students who took the pills also face disciplinary action.
