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14 Year Old O/D's on "Ecstasy" (Updated Jun-25)
Town Responds to Middle School Ecstasy Overdose
April 26, 2004
BELMONT (BCN) -- While a 14-year-old girl who apparently overdosed on Ecstasy this weekend remains hospitalized in critical condition, her community is coming together to discuss how to keep its youth off drugs.
Just three weeks ago, parents attended an informational meeting on drugs at Ralston Middle School, where the girl is an eighth-grader, according to Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Superintendent John McIntosh.
The parents were given pamphlets detailing the kinds of drugs their students could come in contact with, including the drugs' effects and what they look like.
However, McIntosh said he was surprised to learn that a drug like Ecstasy was circulating among such a young age group.
"This drug was a real shock," McIntosh said, adding that this is the first time Belmont police have dealt with an Ecstasy case involving a middle school student.
"When you get into the more hard-core drugs, the use is much less prevalent," he said.
The young teen took Ecstasy with two other 14-year-old girls during a slumber party at a home on Lincoln Avenue, according to police.
Shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday, someone called police from the home reporting that the girl was unconscious. She was rushed to an area hospital, where she has remained in critical condition ever since.
Police arrested 20-year-old Belmont resident Antonio Rivera, along with an unidentified 17-year-old boy, for allegedly supplying the drug to the girls.
In the course of the investigation into the overdose, police say they have uncovered an array of other drugs, including rock cocaine, powder cocaine and marijuana.
Acting police Capt. Patrick Halleran said he did not have information on the quantity of drugs confiscated or whether the girls at the slumber party had come into contact with drugs other than Ecstasy.
Officials at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, say Ecstasy, or MDMA, has earned an underserved reputation among some users as a "safe drug."
That, along with the fact that many users experience a temporary euphoria while on the drug, has contributed to a rise in the drug's popularity, according to a NIDA report.
The drug's pleasant effects include "feelings of mental stimulation, emotional warmth, empathy toward others, a general sense of well-being and decreased anxiety," according to the report.
However, "MDMA is not a benign drug," the report reads. "MDMA can produce a variety of adverse health effects, including nausea, chills, sweating, involuntary teeth clenching, muscle cramping and blurred vision. MDMA overdose can also occur - the symptoms can include high blood pressure, faintness, panic attacks and, in severe cases, a loss of consciousness and seizures."
As the Belmont school community deals with the potent reminder that drugs are available to its kids, district officials are working to open communication lines between schools, students and parents.
McIntosh said letters are being sent home to parents by both the district and the principal at Ralston.
A meeting held Monday morning was attended by staff and counselors from the middle school, counselors from a local high school and the district, school psychologists and a Police Department counselor.
Teachers at Ralston were given a statement to read during homeroom period, and one counselor "shadowed" the schedule of the hospitalized girl, attending all the classes she normally attends and speaking to the girl's classmates.
"It's actually going well," McIntosh said. "The students are dealing with it the best they can."
Police Capt. Halleran said he hopes the incident can serve as a "wake-up call" to those who feel shocked that such an event could occur their own community.
"Hopefully some good can come of this," he said.
Link
Town Responds to Middle School Ecstasy Overdose
April 26, 2004
BELMONT (BCN) -- While a 14-year-old girl who apparently overdosed on Ecstasy this weekend remains hospitalized in critical condition, her community is coming together to discuss how to keep its youth off drugs.
Just three weeks ago, parents attended an informational meeting on drugs at Ralston Middle School, where the girl is an eighth-grader, according to Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Superintendent John McIntosh.
The parents were given pamphlets detailing the kinds of drugs their students could come in contact with, including the drugs' effects and what they look like.
However, McIntosh said he was surprised to learn that a drug like Ecstasy was circulating among such a young age group.
"This drug was a real shock," McIntosh said, adding that this is the first time Belmont police have dealt with an Ecstasy case involving a middle school student.
"When you get into the more hard-core drugs, the use is much less prevalent," he said.
The young teen took Ecstasy with two other 14-year-old girls during a slumber party at a home on Lincoln Avenue, according to police.
Shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday, someone called police from the home reporting that the girl was unconscious. She was rushed to an area hospital, where she has remained in critical condition ever since.
Police arrested 20-year-old Belmont resident Antonio Rivera, along with an unidentified 17-year-old boy, for allegedly supplying the drug to the girls.
In the course of the investigation into the overdose, police say they have uncovered an array of other drugs, including rock cocaine, powder cocaine and marijuana.
Acting police Capt. Patrick Halleran said he did not have information on the quantity of drugs confiscated or whether the girls at the slumber party had come into contact with drugs other than Ecstasy.
Officials at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, say Ecstasy, or MDMA, has earned an underserved reputation among some users as a "safe drug."
That, along with the fact that many users experience a temporary euphoria while on the drug, has contributed to a rise in the drug's popularity, according to a NIDA report.
The drug's pleasant effects include "feelings of mental stimulation, emotional warmth, empathy toward others, a general sense of well-being and decreased anxiety," according to the report.
However, "MDMA is not a benign drug," the report reads. "MDMA can produce a variety of adverse health effects, including nausea, chills, sweating, involuntary teeth clenching, muscle cramping and blurred vision. MDMA overdose can also occur - the symptoms can include high blood pressure, faintness, panic attacks and, in severe cases, a loss of consciousness and seizures."
As the Belmont school community deals with the potent reminder that drugs are available to its kids, district officials are working to open communication lines between schools, students and parents.
McIntosh said letters are being sent home to parents by both the district and the principal at Ralston.
A meeting held Monday morning was attended by staff and counselors from the middle school, counselors from a local high school and the district, school psychologists and a Police Department counselor.
Teachers at Ralston were given a statement to read during homeroom period, and one counselor "shadowed" the schedule of the hospitalized girl, attending all the classes she normally attends and speaking to the girl's classmates.
"It's actually going well," McIntosh said. "The students are dealing with it the best they can."
Police Capt. Halleran said he hopes the incident can serve as a "wake-up call" to those who feel shocked that such an event could occur their own community.
"Hopefully some good can come of this," he said.
Link
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not cool. I knew a couple.
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
