Teens Hospitalized In Mass Overdose At Porter Ranch Park

LOS ANGELES, CA — Firefighters in Porter Ranch responded to a mass overdose at a neighborhood park involving six high schoolers Friday night.

Paramedics were called to the Holleigh Bernson Memorial Park shortly before 9 p.m. Five of the six teens had to be hospitalized, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange.

"After assessing six high-school-aged patients who ingested an unknown substance, five were transported to area hospitals by LAFD ambulances, with non-life-threatening medical complaints," he said.

Authorities did not say what substance the teens may have been exposed to.

Paramedics in Los Angeles have been called to scenes of mass overdoses involving teens increasingly over the last few years as fentanyl has become widely used to lace everything from marijuana to pain pills sold on the Internet.

In May, paramedics were called to a Los Angeles middle school to treat at least three students experiencing "altered level of consciousness," which turned out to stem from suspected fentanyl overdoses. Authorities administered Narcan to save the children.

In December, paramedics were called to Van Nuys Jr. High School where 10 students required medical aid for overdoses. In that case, the overdose symptoms are mild and did not appear to involve fentanyl.

Last year, , 15-year-old Melanie Ramos, died on the floor of a girls' bathroom on the campus at Bernstein High School in Hollywood after overdosing on fentanyl on Sept. 13. Her friend was found nearby suffering from an overdose. They were among a spate of seven fentanyl overdoses linked to a Hollywood campus in September. Two teens were arrested on suspicion of providing Percocet pills laced with fentanyl to their classmates.

A few months before that, three teenage girls overdosed at a Santa Monica apartment while using with they thought was ecstasy purchased online.

Through mid-July of 2021, fatal drug overdoses among Los Angeles teens was up more than 330 percent, according to the Los Angeles County Department Public Health. Recently, the California Department of Public Health found that Fentanyl-related overdose deaths in California's youth ages 10-19 years spiked by 625 percent. The state saw 261 fentanyl-related overdose deaths among youths in 20201 up from 36 in 2018.

In most of these cases, the victims were unaware they are ingesting fentanyl. The cheap, potent and highly addictive substance is used to lace everything from methamphetamine to opioids, ecstasy, and painkillers such as Percocet. Los Angeles Unified School District officials warned parents that teens may be buying drugs online. According to the county health department, drugs purchased online are frequently laced with fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be as much as 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

In many ways, the ease of access to fentanyl and its explosion on the local drug scene, caught schools, health officials, police and parents in Los Angeles unprepared.

In response to the surge in campus overdoses, the Los Angeles Unified School District officials voted to provide Narcan, or Naloxone, on every campus.

There are steps families can take to reduce the risk of fatal fentanyl-related overdoses, according to the Los Angeles County Public Department of Health.

Have Narcan or Naloxone on hand. It can be purchased without a prescription at California pharmacies.

Avoid purchasing drugs from unreliable sources. Drugs from strangers or purchased online pose a significant risk of being contaminated with life-threatening substances.

Never use drugs alone. Have a trusted person present as a safeguard in case of overdose. Anyone using drugs alone can call Never Use Alone at 1-800-484-3731 and an operator will remain on the line and will call emergency services if the user stops responding.

Test drugs before using them. Fentanyl test strips identify contaminated drugs. Although such test strips aren't 100 percent reliable, they can save lives if used correctly. You can purchase them affordably online at: BTNX, Dose Test, Dance Safe, Wisebatch, or TACO.

Know the signs of an opioid overdose:

• Stupor or altered mental state
• Loss of consciousness
• Slowed or erratic heart rate
• Respiratory depression or failure
• Nausea or vomiting
• Pinpoint pupils
• Skin color changes
• Seizures
• Cold and clammy skin
• Muscle Spasms