GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Three elementary school students were hospitalized Monday after police say they became sick from ingesting a controlled substance.
Rockville City Police and Montgomery County Police detectives responded to College Gardens Elementary School in the 1700 block of Yale Place in Rockville after the students became sick.
Detectives determined that a group of students found a container of blue items that they believed to be candy. Three of the students, all 7 years old, briefly ingested the items and then spit them out, police said.
When they started to feel dizzy, all three went to the school nurse who called paramedics. They were taken to local hospitals as a precaution.
None of the items were recovered, and detectives are unsure of exactly what the students consumed. Based on the toxicology of some of the victims, investigators believe that the items may have been a methamphetamine-related drug, such as Adderall or MDMA (ecstasy or Molly).
“I am relieved that the students will ultimately be fine, but in many ways, what happened today is frightening,” Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said. “I hope that it serves as a powerful motivator for parents to keep having the difficult conversations with their children about the dangers of taking or eating unknown substances."
All of the students have since been discharged from the hospital and are home with their parents.
In a letter to parents, Principal Stacey Rogovoy asked parents to remind students that they should not eat food unless they brought that food from home or purchased it at school.
"It is imperative that we remember that no food of any kind is to be shared with other students," the letter reads. "Please reiterate to your child that they are only to eat food that they bring from home or purchase at school. If they ever find suspected candy or other food on school property, they need to immediately speak to an adult at school."
The investigation into this incident is ongoing.
>Below is Rogovoy's letter to parents obtained by WUSA9: