October 22, 2014
2 high school students hospitalized after consuming energy drink
Two students from Rockwall-Heath High School never made it to their homecoming dance recently — they ended up in the hospital instead.
Officials with the Rockwall Independent School District say that the students drank something that’s a “potential health risk” – a supplement called Potion 9.
The marketing for Potion 9 includes statements about being a “mood enhancing supplement” and “producing euphoria.” One the bottle is a cute, harmless cat.
But some doctors question whether it’s basically a hallucinogen.
The district says several students drank Potion 9, or P9, on the bus ride to the dance Saturday night at Southfork Ranch.
A student who wants to remain anonymous says that a group of about 50, mostly sophomores and juniors, drank the P9, which can be found at buypotion9.com, sold for about $17 a bottle.
The ingredients listed on the bottle include caffeine, vitamin C, B-6 and other substances.
It’s marketed online as a “mood enhancement” supplement and is legally sold in convenience stores and online.
A letter from Rockwall ISD to parents says two students who drank P9 were hospitalized after “becoming sick to their stomachs and falling into a heavy sleep.”
Both students were treated and released from the hospital.
The district made a doctor available Tuesday night at a meeting for parents to ask questions.
“In order for a drug to be illegal, the legislature has to pass a law saying, ‘This chemical structure is illegal,’” said physician and author Harold Urschel, M.D.
“We’re responding to however the law’s written; reinforcing what’s written in the laws by the legislature,” said Rockwall ISD Public Safety Director Terry Garrett.
But Heath police say a challenge is when chemists change the formulas too fast for lawmakers to keep up.
“Without knowing what’s in this Potion 9, I don’t know if the legislature will deal with it,” said Garrett.
Potion 9 is marketed toward men and women with a promise to increase their sexual and social lives.
Because it’s not illegal, the students were not punished and back in school Monday.
Some parents told FOX 4 off camera that they’re worried. Others, though, said that they aren’t because they believe their teen isn’t experimenting with Potion 9.
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/26852827/students-end-up-in-hospital-after-consuming-energy-drink